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A favourite "day out" for visitors staying in Polperro is to visit Fowey, which is an interesting small town on the west side of the Fowey estuary. The Fowey estuary is full of interest, with craft of every size from rowing boats to global freighters. On the eastern side of the Fowey estuary is a village called Polruan which has beautiful views and interesting pubs and is connected to Fowey by a pedestrian only ferry. From a smaller village called Bodinnick, slightly further up the estuary, there is a vehicle ferry to Fowey. (Adjacent to the slipway to the ferry is a wonderfully situated house called "Ferryside" - not open to the public - where the famous author Daphne du Maurier once lived).

From Polperro you can walk via the South West Coastal Path from Polperro (long walk - 6 miles - but beautiful coastal scenery - return by bus or taxi) or go by car to Polruan, and park in a large-ish car park above the village of Polruan (well signposted). After enjoying the delights of Polruan you can walk down to the quayside and take the pedestrian ferry across to Fowey - but don't forget to make the return crossing before the ferry stops for the day! (And if you are returning by bus, be sure of the bus times!)

If you actually want to take your car across to Fowey, drive from Polperro to Bodinnick. This is also a good way to get to Par, St. Austell and other places to the west, such as the Eden Project, as it is appreciably shorter in terms of distance than the alternative road route via Lostwithiel. The ferry crossing, though short (about 5 minutes) is always interesting, but in high season you must expect queues (so journey timemay then be longer than the Lostwithiel road route).

Please note: There is a note about Ferry prices for 2009 on our homepage