BODINNICK/POLRUAN

In this part of the South Cornish coast we are well and truly back in the land of estuaries and creeks, and therefore getting around is made much easier by the little ferries plying back and forth. There are two ferries linking Fowey to the east bank of the river: the car ferry to Bodinnick and the pedestrian ferry to Polruan. The importance of Bodinnick as a ferry terminal in times gone by is evident from the presence of an inn on the Bodinnick side of the crossing called the Old Ferry Inn. If you want to visit both of these delightful little places, it is possible to walk between the two, on a path above Pont Creek, though be warned it is a fairly strenuous walk in places, but your hard work will be rewarded by wonderful views of the creek and estuary below.

Polruan, reached by the pedestrian ferry, is bigger than Bodinnick and lies at the tip of a mini-peninsula completely surrounded by water courtesy of the River Fowey, Pont Creek and the English Channel. It has a long history of nautical activity such as boat-building, and more recently yachting. As for defences from the French and other would-be assailants, Polruan was ahead of the game, with the building of the Blockhouse predating Henry VIII’s fortifications further back along the coast by almost a hundred years. This fortification had a twin on the Fowey side, and the idea was to block entry to the river by means of a chain between the two – clever eh?

Map of the area.

The Quay, Polruan, Lanteglos CP - geograph.org.uk - 662588. Polruan.  Photo by Humphrey Bolton, via Wikimedia Commons.