Looe is a lively seaside town in south east Cornwall. There’s plenty to see and do throughout the year such as the annual Raft Race in the summer and festive celebrations in the winter. The town is split into east and west sides, with its working harbour on the Looe river between them. Fishing is the main industry on the port, with a weekly fresh fish auction held on the quayside. 47 vessels make up the fishing fleet, including trawlers and hand line boats. There are plenty of pleasure cruises to enjoy to, many of them dog friendly.
The towns are built in the Looe river valley, with steep hills and narrow streets full of character. There’s a great sense of community here too. In 2018 local residents rallied together to organise Looe Saves the Day, an event in place of the cancelled Looe Music Festival. It’s easy to walk between the two towns, however there’s also a dog friendly ferry. It costs just 50p per person and dogs can travel for free. It takes a matter of seconds to cross the river and Woody loves sniffing the sea air as we go.
Cafés and Shops
We love exploring the cobbled streets whenever we visit Looe. There are plenty of pubs, cafés and eateries that are dog friendly such as The Fisherman’s Arms and The Ship Inn. We often pick up a pasty from one of the many local bakeries to eat as we walk. Be warned though, the seagulls in Looe are particularly pesky and love nothing more than stealing a bite! We’ve heard great things about Daisy’s Café in east Looe and will definitely pop in next time we visit!
A trip to Looe Pet Emporium is a must for Woody. A cosy pet shop, which stocks all the essentials. They sell a variety of natural chews, including tracheas, chicken feet and beef knuckle joints. They’re all sold plastic free, perfect for environmentally conscious pups like Woody. We also enjoy browsing through the charity shops in east Looe, which are all dog friendly. There are a selection of local galleries, gift shops and other small businesses here too. If there’s a dog bowl outside, chances are the shop is dog friendly and you may receive a treat from the shopkeeper if your dog is well behaved!
Walks and Beaches
Looe is right on the South West Coast Path, with stunning routes to Polperro and Seaton. There are plenty of walks and dog friendly beaches nearby. Our favourite has to be Hannafore. It’s dog friendly all year round, with free parking and plenty of amenities nearby. Local vendors serve a variety of warm drinks and refreshments for beach goers in the summer. Woody even managed to convince one man to share his strawberry ice-cream with him when we visited!
The walk around Golitha Falls is enchanting. We even spotted a deer drinking from the river on our visit. It’s about a 30 minute drive from Looe with plenty of amenities and facilities on site. Another incredible place is Cardinham Woods, again about half an hour from Looe. There are four walking trails to choose from, all of which are dog friendly.
Have you visited Looe before? Where’s your favourite place to explore?
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