Cornwall · Where to stay · Polperro
A tiny smugglers' harbour squeezed into a fold in the cliffs — possibly the most photographed village in south Cornwall, and the one that does best in shoulder season when the day-trippers thin out.
Photograph — Mycreativesideunleashed / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Polperro · South-East Cornwall
Polperro is one of those Cornish fishing villages that has crossed the line from working community to operating museum — the harbour still has a few working boats, but the village is now overwhelmingly built around tourism. Cars can't enter the village from Easter to October (a horse-drawn tram and an electric milk float carry luggage from the upper carpark); the streets are too narrow for a Transit van. The compactness is exactly the point: walk twenty minutes in any direction and you're in deserted coast path or wooded valley.
Self-catering is overwhelmingly in converted fishermen's cottages around the harbour and on the steep lanes above. Most have no parking and arrival is a luggage exercise. The wider area opens out: Crumplehorn just above the village (working hamlet, single pub-restaurant), Talland Bay two miles east (twin coves, beach café), Lansallos a mile west (National Trust hamlet, no shops), and Lantic Bay further west still (proper wilderness cove, no road access). Polperro itself is best as a 3-7 day stay; the surrounding lanes hold longer.
The cluster of fisherman's cottages around the harbour and on the lanes climbing away from it — walking distance to three pubs (the Three Pilchards, the Blue Peter Inn, the Crumplehorn Inn), the harbour itself, and the smuggling museum. Cars stop at the upper carpark; bags are carried, wheeled or trammed down. Best in May, June, September, October.
Picturesque-village short stays, couples, photographers
The working hamlet immediately above Polperro — a five-minute walk down to the harbour. Self-catering here is a mix of cottages in the converted mill complex and houses on the lanes above. Properties have parking, which makes the practical experience significantly easier than in the village proper.
Easier-access base for Polperro, longer stays, families with luggage
Two miles east of Polperro — twin sandy coves divided by a small headland, with the Talland Bay Beach Café (excellent) and the Talland Bay Hotel above. Self-catering here is mostly clifftop houses with proper sea views. Coast path walk to Polperro in 90 minutes; drive in ten.
Couples, walkers, photographers wanting both Polperro and Looe within reach
A National Trust hamlet a mile west — a tiny church, a couple of farmhouses, a National Trust car park, and a steep walk down to one of the prettiest coves in south Cornwall. No shop, no pub, no village in the conventional sense. Self-catering here is largely National Trust holiday cottages and a few private rentals. Properly remote.
Walkers, solitude seekers, photographers
Two miles west — a wilderness cove reached only on foot, with no road access and no facilities. Self-catering nearby is in the lanes around Polruan and Lanteglos, with the Lantic Bay walk as one of the holiday's centerpieces. The remoteness is the appeal.
Serious walkers, photographers, anyone willing to walk for the beach
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