The South West Coast Path near Land's End — open clifftop path above the Atlantic.

Cornwall · Walks · Polperro

Walks near Polperro.

Polperro is one of the most dramatic fishing villages in England, and the Coast Path either side of it crosses some of the wildest cliff scenery on the south Cornish coast.

Photograph — Dietmar Rabich / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Polperro · South-East Cornwall

Polperro cannot be reached by car without parking above and walking down — the village is wedged into a deep combe above a narrow harbour that somehow squeezes in a working fishing fleet. This inconvenience has preserved it almost entirely; the medieval fabric of the village, the fish cellars, the harbour walls and sluice gate are all intact. The walking from Polperro immediately rewards those who climb the hill to the cliff path: the Coast Path east and west both cover the Polperro Heritage Coast, a stretch of AONB cliff with some of the finest marine scenery between the Lizard and Plymouth.

The path west from Polperro to Talland Bay is short and excellent; the path east towards Looe is longer and increasingly dramatic, passing above sheer cliff drops with views of Looe Island offshore. Most visitors spend time in the village without walking the cliffs at all, which means the paths are remarkably quiet even in summer. Step onto the Coast Path in either direction and within five minutes the crowds dissolve entirely.

Polperro to Talland Bay

The two-mile Coast Path west from Polperro to Talland Bay is the first walk every returning visitor does. The path climbs above the harbour, passes the Peak Rock viewpoint — where the Channel opens south as far as the Eddystone Lighthouse on clear days — and drops to Talland Bay: a shingle-and-sand cove with a medieval church visible in the hamlet above. The Church of St Tallanus has Norman origins; the churchyard overlooks the sea. Return via the inland lane for a three-mile circular.

Best for

Easy Heritage Coast clifftops and a medieval cliff-edge church

Polperro to Looe via Heritage Coast

East from Polperro the Coast Path covers four miles to Looe above the highest and wildest cliffs on this section. The path crosses Hore Point with views of Looe Island — St George's Island, a Cornwall Wildlife Trust nature reserve — visible offshore throughout. A fine linear walk; return by bus from Looe or combine with the Looe River walk for a longer day.

Best for

Dramatic cliff scenery and Looe Island offshore views

Lansallos Cove

West from Talland Bay, the Coast Path continues to Lansallos — a remote, road-dead-end cove with a tiny beach accessible only on foot. The path from Polperro to Lansallos is five miles of Heritage Coast walking, crossing Raphael Cliff and the farmland above Lansallos Bay. The cove has a chalybeate spring and remarkably clear water. Return via the inland lane through Lansallos village or retrace the coast path.

Best for

Remote south coast cove accessible only on foot

Crumplehorn Mill Valley

A short inland walk from Polperro visits Crumplehorn — an eighteenth-century watermill at the head of the Polperro valley — and continues up through Killigarth to the clifftops. The valley is sheltered and botanically rich in spring; the climb to the cliff edge at Killigarth opens the view south over the Heritage Coast. A three-mile circular from the village car park providing a different perspective on Polperro's hinterland.

Best for

Valley woodland and a historic watermill above the harbour

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