Six Cornish Walks - 2. Talland Bay to Polperro

Here’s a short but exceedingly dramatic walk that is wonderful to do despite the fact that it includes an area where the South West Coast Path is closed at present. 

There’s been a landslide somewhere just west of Talland Bay so there’s a detour in place - but that doesn’t really matter because this is one of the most scenic corners of the south Cornish coast. 

Actually, I met several walkers who’d ducked beneath the fence closing the path and done the cliffside route anyway - and they said there were no problems. But far be it from me to advise readers to risk their necks. So do what we did, and take the detour. 

And what a detour. My fitness monitor watch showed that my heart rate was pounding away like a steam train by the time I reached the top of the steep hill above Downend Point, but somehow this made the walk from Talland to Polperro even more enjoyable. 

I’d been lucky enough to get a lavish room at the excellent Talland Bay Hotel and so had planned a simple there-and-back walk west to the famous and popular fishing village.

View from the garden of the excellent Talland Bay Hotel

Polperro isn’t popular for nothing. It really is one of the most picturesque places in the UK - but, I promise, it is a place much better visited by foot than by road. The approach to Polperro from Talland Bay is magical. When you eventually turn the corner and see the picture-postcard port, you almost have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not in the midst of a pleasant dream. 

The Talland Bay Hotel is located on a shelf a few hundred feet above the waves, so the first thing we had to do was descend down to the bay, before turning right and beginning the long steep ascent. In doing so, we passed one of the two cafes this lonely place boasts - both of which look very pleasant indeed. 

The coast path sets off up the incline and then soon branches off to follow the cliff-tops in its usual fashion. That’s the bit which is closed for the time being - and this is a pity because it does make a slower and far more scenic ascent of  the big hill above Downend Point. 

The present detour takes you up the steep paved road which eventually reaches an area called Brent, which is a kind of hilltop suburb of Polperro. At the summit a track strikes off seawards across a field - and this is what takes you back to the coast path, which has climbed the same hill by its more scenic route. 

All this climbing is worth the while because the next section of the walk is fabulous. Indeed, it has become one of my favourite bits of the whole of the coast path. I don’t exactly know what it is, but there is something special about the steep sloping mile of coast that takes you west into Polperro. 

There are scrub woodlands and ancient hidden, often overgrown, gardens dotted along the slope, and the afternoon we marched along this bit of littoral there were more birds singing in the scrubland than you’d think possible. In fact, I cannot remember ever being near the sea and hearing so much warbling and chirruping.

Coat path between Talland Bay and Polperro

The National Trust owns large tracts of coastal land along the south Cornish coast and its local leaflet says: “The observant visitor may spot a number of hedged enclosures beside the terraced paths. These were plots let to local people for the cultivation of flowers and vegetables, there being little space in the closely-packed Polperro valley for gardens or allotments.

“Veronica or escallonia hedges, now mostly out of control, separated one from another and provided shelter. Few of the plots are maintained now, although to the east of the harbour where a similar regime exists, some plots are actively cultivated.”

Then, suddenly, we come to Polperro - or the harbour end of things, at least - which, as everyone will know, is this community’s finest feature. It is still a working fishing port and it is sublimely beautiful. 

Polperro Harbour

John Betjeman once commented that Polperro was: “more like a film set than an old Cornish fishing port,” - and he might be right because, approaching the place from the eastern cliffs (rather than down the valley which is the way most visitors arrive) adds a special scenic buzz to the experience. If Polperro wasn’t so famous, you might think that you’d walked into some picture-perfect film set. 

The harbour is run by an elected board of trustees and over the years a number of developments have helped to make the lot of the fishermen an easier one. On our way down to the eastern side of the harbour, for example, we passed the fuel store that is fed by tanker via an underground pipeline from the top of Talland Hill.

“It's made an enormous difference,” a fisherman told me a few years ago. “It used to be impossible to get a tanker down here to the harbour so we'd have to go all the way to somewhere like Plymouth to fill up. That was time consuming and expensive.”

Another great step forward for Polperro fishermen was the replacement of the traditional timber baulk by a mechanised swinging gate.

“South-easterlies are the worst winds here,” said the fisherman. “If we get one blowing up we close the storm-gate. It tends to be a case of: last one in shuts the gate.”

The boats were still coming in the afternoon we visited - and so too were the hordes of tourists. So, after a quick ice-cream, we retraced our steps. 

And what steps they were. More than 14,000 of them according to my fitness monitor watch - which also told me this walk from Talland Bay Hotel to Polperro and back again was 3.5. miles in length and that we climbed a total of 900 feet. As I said at the beginning - short but dramatic.    

FACT FILE

Basic walk: from Talland Bay to Polperro and back. 

Distance and going: 3.5 miles (including a stroll around Polperro) - very steep in places.

LOCAL KNOIWLEDGE

Potter in Polperro

If you do today’s walk, do take time to potter around Polperro exploring its charming side-streets and alleys - it is a charming village with a fascinating history.

Polperro’s charming back streets

Botanical booty

This walk is rich in floral beauty - in the right season make sure to leave plenty of time in order to admire coastal blooms like sea thrift.

Totally in love with Talland

The Talland Bay Hotel is a truly luxurious place inn which to stay - and even better for walkers who have dogs - it is exceptionally canine-friendly. www.tallandbayhotel.co.uk

Talland Bay Hotel