The Traveling Idiots-Where The Tuck Are They Now?: Polperro, Looe and the South West Coastal Trail

I really don't know how Beth does it but I'm so thankful for her skills at finding places like Polperro. We've been here for three nights already and it's such an amazing little village. At this time of year Polperro is still quite sleepy which is the way we like it. About half the shops and cafes are open so there is plenty do without having to fight the crowds that we've heard are here from Easter through September.
Our cottage has a full kitchen so we had stopped and bought quite a bit of groceries at an Aldi in a town about 30 minutes up the road. We've also found some nice food at a couple of the local pubs. The most popular one in town seems to be the Blue Peter Inn. While the name sounds more painful than appetizing the menu is pretty extensive and the staff are very friendly. The fish and chips we had the other night were very good and I'm sure we'll venture the 50 yards or so along the harbor to eat there a few more times before the week is over.
As I had mentioned in the previous blog Polperro has an extensive history dating back many centuries as a fishing village. It has a well protected natural harbor that has been made even safer by a barrier wall, as well as a gate that can be closed if the weather gets too severe. We've watched a few of the commercial fishing boats return and unload their catch. They seem to do pretty well.
Back in the late 1800's Polperro became quite famous for smuggling. The remote location and nice harbor made it a smugglers paradise. What was being smuggled in wasn't necessarily what you might think. It wasn't alcohol, drugs or weapons. The contraband being brought in was tea, food and lace. It seems as if taxes were so high that the smuggling business was a thriving one for many years.
There are stories of many legendary smugglers with one of the most famous ones being a chap named Willy Wilcox. At low tide there are a number of caves along the beach. The way the story goes Willy hid in the caves along with his contraband at low tide but may have forgotten that the tide rises and falls very dramatically around here (15+ feet difference between low and high tide). I guess that if the kings tax men couldn't catch him that the rising water did the trick. I heard a local telling someone else this story in a coffee shop and he said a few times a year you can still hear Willy calling out for help. We haven't heard him and I think we're good with keeping it that way.
After resting Saturday we decided to visit the city of Looe which is about five miles away. Taking the car isn't quite as easy as it may seem. You see parking in this small village is minimal so the designated parking space for our cottage is about a quarter of a mile away. Walking to and from the parking space yesterday was quite easy compared to walking down with our luggage (even though we pack light) and groceries when we arrived. We've since learned that even though there isn't parking we can drop off and pick up our luggage less than a minute from the cottage. This will be helpful at the end of the week!
Looe, is quite similar to Polperro although on a slightly larger scale. It has a well protected harbor but is more active with shops and restaurants along it's waterfront. One place we were excited to visit was Sarah's Pasty Shop. Now don't let your mind go in the gutter. A pasty is a traditional baked pastry associated with the Cornwall area of England. They are typically filled with meat and vegetables. We had been told by a number of people that when in Looe the place to get your pasties is Sarah's Pasty Shop. Sadly Sarah's is closed on Sunday so we had to take our business somewhere else. I can't remember the name of where we ended up but it was plenty good. If we go back to Looe during the week I'll do a little research and report my findings.
This morning we were greeted with bright sunshine which we understand is fairly rare around here at this time of year. High temperatures have been in the fifties. So in clouds or sun it's been very pleasant. From people we've talked to we understand it rained quite a bit last week. Thankfully we've had nice weather and the forecast is for it to continue through the week.
Today (Monday) we were able to take advantage of the weather and enjoyed just a small bit of the South West Coastal Path (SWCP). The SWCP as the name implies is a coastal path but the amazing thing is that it is made up of over 600 miles of trails. We did about nine miles from Polperro through Talland Bay to Hannafore Point and back. It was an amazingly picturesque walk and while it was quite hilly the whole way the most difficult thing was trying not to stop every five steps or so to take in the views or to snap another picture. Beth refers to it as "B & B" (Beauty and Breathing) time.
It was a great walk, our legs are a little tired but we're confident they'll get us to the Blue Peter Inn for dinner!