Looe, Cornwall, UK - fishing harbour, seaside town & magic place - come and enjoy!
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Dynnerghewgh dhe Logh!
Welcome to Looe!
Looe is the principal seaside town of south-east Cornwall
Looe harbour is the base for an important fishing fleet and the town is also the headquarters of British shark-fishing.
 
 
In medieval times there were two towns on opposite banks of the River Looe. East Looe includes the fishing harbour, the main shopping centre and the sandiest beach. West Looe is quieter, but also has shops, restaurants and hotels and leads to Hannafore with its fine views of Looe Island. The two towns are joined together by a bridge across the river.

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Ferries, Fowey &    Polruan
Facilities
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Location
Looe Island
Luggers
News
Polperro
RC Churches
Running
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Sclerder Abbey
Shops
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Talland Bay

Walks
Wrecks

Most recent development -
29 June 2009

© 1999 - 2009 www.looe.org
www.looe.org was launched on 1 October 1999 and aims to serve both visitors and residents.
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Time Team logo - Channel 4 TV Did Jesus Christ come to Looe?
Channel 4's popular archaeology programme, Time Team, earlier this year was from Looe and Looe Island - investigating the ancient chapel on the highest point of the island and a matching one on the mainland. Legend has it that Jesus visited Looe when a boy and it seems that Mediterranean traders did come to Looe. The team found various artefacts including a Roman coin so maybe the legend could have a grain of truth in it? More abouth the Time Team programme
Visit our page about Looe Island (also known as St. Michael's Island and later as St. George's Island) - click here
Nelson returns - in spirit at least
Statue of Nelson the seal at Looe, Cornwall - photo copyright www.looe.org 2008For many years Looe had a popular & much-loved regular visitor to its harbour - a seal called Nelson (because he had lost one eye in an injury or accident). Sadly Nelson has gone to the great ocean in the sky but now he is fittingly commemorated by a handsome life-size statue in the harbour which was formally unveiled in 2008 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, the famous sailor. Local sculptor Suzie Marsh gave her services in making the sculpture free of charge and the costs of casting and siting the bronze statue were met by grants and donations from many charitable and other bodies and by individuals. Click on photo for large version.
Somerfield truck reversing 250m daily to deliver to Looe supermarketVirtuoso Performance Daily
It's a daily event that probably few people even notice, but no less remarkable for that. What is it? The daily delivery by articulated pantechnicon to the Somerfield supermarket in East Looe. Because the store is located a long way up Fore Street, a narrow, winding street, with nowhere to turn, the Somerfield delivery truck has to make its delivery by reversing 250m along this narrow and curving street which also has other traffic in both directions and the occasional illegally parked vehicle to contend with as well. Generally Somerfield's drivers do this completely unaided and so expertly that hardly anyone notices. This must be the nightmare delivery run to be sent on first time, but when they have mastered it drivers must feel a great sense of achievement and pride in their driving skills. Next time you are buying your groceries at Somerfield spare a thought for the skill of the drivers on the Looe delivery!
More photos: 2 3 4 5 6 - also, click on photo above for large version.
LIFE ABOARD A CORNISH FISHING LUGGER
The last days of working fishing luggers in Cornwall are vividly captured in a new book by former Looe fisherman Paul Greenwood. His frank account of the hardships he encountered at sea as a young crewman aboard the lugger Iris in the 1960s is a brilliant evocation of a bygone age that contrasts with modern conditions in the fishing industry today.
   In Once Aboard A Cornish Lugger, the author describes how he overcame sea-sickness and learned his job on deck working the nets and lines alongside four other crewmen aboard the Iris, skippered by Frank ‘Moogie’ Pengelly, the last lugger skipper left in the port of Looe. In the four and a half years he spent aboard the Iris, Paul Greenwood endured fatigue, cold and wet, often in rough weather while working night and day hauling nets and lines. “Those four years that I worked with ‘Moogie’ set me up well for the rest of my sea-going career,” he says, “because nothing subsequently ever seemed as hard or as physically demanding as the time I spent working on the deck of the Iris.”
   Visit our new page on Cornish luggers which has details of how and where you can buy this new book - click here
Finding the Lord where potatoes once were stored
If your idea of a church congregation is a faithful few of advancing years then you've clearly not heard about the Grace Community Church, an independent Evangelical church, which meets in a converted farmhouse and potato barn at Morval near Looe and regularly has around 200 worshippers each Sunday and has recently opened two new churches in Bodmin and Torpoint. Interested? More information on the church and its service times may be found on www.graceccmorval.co.uk or phone 01503 240930 (office hours) / 01503 24033 (outside office hours)
Roman Catholic Church, West Looe Hill - new times for Mass:
Weekday Mass, Fridays 10.30 am.
The First Mass of Sunday (Vigil Mass) at 5.30 p.m. every Saturday evening .
A Sunday Mass will continue to be celebrated at Sclerder Abbey at 9.15 am every Sunday.
Enquiries to Priest-in-charge, Fr David Annear - 01503 272627.
Further notices on Parish Website
www.sclerder.talland.org
Sorry! We no longer answer individual queries due to the high volumes involved. The answers to most questions are on this website already! If not, try one of the telephone numbers below. Please note: We do not produce or distribute any printed material, tourist guides, etc - please contact the Toourist Information Office (tel. no below) for such material.
Useful Telephone Numbers:  
Looe Tourist Info Office - 01503 262072
Looe Harbour Commissioners - 01503 262839
Looe Town Council - 01503 262255
Caradon District Council - 01579 341000
Any others? Let us know
If you contact any of these numbers, please mention you found their number on www.Looe.org
To contact us: email: click here
 Please note: this contact address is strictly only for contributors and potential advertisers - unfortunately we do not have the resources to answer individual queries or supply information - sorry!). Try using our Online Forum if you have questions about Looe you would like answered - click here
Click here to discover the wide range of holiday cottages and houses offered by Coastal & Country Holidays
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East Looe Quay - May 2008 - photo copyright  www.looe.org - all rights reserved
East Looe beach - photo copyright Tim Johnson and www.looe.org 2003
Looe river and bridge July 2003 - photo copyright RJT
West Looe quayside - photo RJT Aug 2003, copyright
View across Looe river to Millpool and East Looe river - May 2008 - photo copyright www.looe.org - all rights reserved
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The top photo (of E Looe beach) is the copyright of Tim Johnson, others copyright www.looe.org
Polperro Heritage Press logo - click on this image to visit our websiteLocal history and a good read - visit our website to buy online any of our many Cornish & other titles

How did Cornwall get a forest of timber in 2001? Find out here