From Milbrook to St Martin by Looe and Looe along the Cornish Coast

Wonderful Looe, one of the most beatiful jewels of Cornwall, in England along the Cornish Way

The path from Milbrook to St Martin by Looe runs mostly along the coast from Milbrook to St Martin by Looe and although it is certainly not the most famous section of the Cornish Path, I think it is worth the effort.

What I like of this section is the fact that although it is quite long (around 12 miles), it is reasonably easy, flat and most important the landscape is very varied. Some more famous sections of the Cornish Way are more scenic, but they are also more tiring and less varied.  

Milbrook is a very pretty village, just few miles away from Plymouth, in Cornwall, South West of England.

Here the walk from Milbrook to St Martin by Looe:

After walking through the village of Milbrook (here how to get to Milbrook) take the road to the left from the center of town (Radford Lane) and keep walking along the fields, turn left on Donkey Lane and you will finally reach the sea, appearing on the West side of the Rame Peninisula.

The Rame Peninsula is a not very popular and busy part of the Cornish Way, but I believe it is also one of the less spoiled areas by the touristic invasion and the frenetic invasion of walkers and trekkers along the English Coast.

From the end of Donkey Lane walk following the road along the sea (Military Road) keeping the sea at your left. Keep following the road until you will see a wonderful golden sandy beach on your left: this is Tintagel Beach. Here a military area with restrict access spoils totally your walk and forces you to a long diversion along the tarmac and busy road: you would hope that some illuminated mind would think to reduce the extension of the military area and allow the tourists to enjoy this section of the Cornish Coast!

Where the military area finishes, the golf club starts but thankfully here the path crosses the green and makes actually this part of the walk more enjoyable.The path leads to Whitsand Bay, a small village that makes a wonderful spot for your lunch. Just few quite cottages, benches and a wonderful blue sea.

From Whitsand Beach to Downderry the walk is quite enjoyable. Downderry doesn't have much to offer but from here starts probably the best part to the walk. First you will get to Seaton, with a beautiful and quiet beach and a nice bar to sit in the sun for a while.From Seaton is quite a climb all the way to the Monkey Sanctuary.

The shade of blue at Looe beach is simly amazing and the bench at the top of the harbour entering at Looe makes a great stop along the Cornish Way

The Monkey Sanctuary deserves a visit and a special mention in my blog. It is not a zoo or a safari park, at the opposite The Monkey Sanctuary in St Martin by Looe is a wonderful enviromental project that goes well further just protecting monkeys but it represent a fantastic mission in enviromental research and protection. It is absolutely worth a visit and even just reading The Monkey Sanctuary's website you will have an understanding of their wonderful work (to The Monkey Sanctuary: please know that I will delighted to further write on your projects!)

And near the Monkey Sanctuary along the path a beautiful Celtic labyrinth is waiting the walker along its way. It is part of a private estate I had the pleasure to visit thanks to the hospitality of Caroline Petherick. Caroline is one of the most interesting and cultured person I ever met in my travels and she has created a wonderful place along the Cornish Coast! I loved to visit her Labyrinth at sunset and most of all I was impressed for the Old Coach House she built. It is a fantatsic day to spend a week, it is not just eco-living, it is a unique feature of architrecture and design and in front of a unique and fantatstic view: what an amazing place!

The Labyrinth along the Cornish Way at St Martin by Looe

From the Monkey Sanctuary and the Celtic Layrinth the walk continues for another 4 miles toward Looe.

Looe is a picturesque Cornish village.  It has a beautiful estuary at the mouth of the river Looe. Looe has also a train station (just walk along the river and you will easily find it) and could be a nice starting point to walk the Cornish way if you want to skip the first section Plymouth - Milbrook - Looe.

Spend at least half a day in Looe. Apart a beautiful beach and a nice walk along the river, Looe offers a beautiful and old town center with narrow lanes populated in these days by many (probably too many) touristic shops.

The best way would be to arrive in Looe in the evening at the end of your walk from Milbrook, this will give you sufficient time to rest and enjoy the picturesque town. In the morning you can walk to Polperro for the next section of the Cornish Way.

This post has been made possible thanks to the generous hospitality and friendship of Caroline Petherick of St Martin by Looe, thank you very much Caroline.