Looe Valley Line and Rail Ale Trail
Far from simply being “here for the beer” you can experience rail travel as it used to be and enjoy a pint or two of some of the best Cornish ale on the way.
To experience rail travel as it used to be and enjoy a pint or two of some of the best Cornish ale on the way, why not take the Rail Ale Trail on the Looe Valley Line?
Far from simply being “here for the beer” you can also enjoy spectacular scenery, Celtic history, country walks and fresh, home-cooked local food. The trail starts at Liskeard station, where you can park for free and can get on and off the train as many times as you like. All stops between Looe and Liskeard are request and you have to let the conductor know if you want to alight and remember to hail the train at the station to jump back on.
You may want to start the trail before you even board the train by sampling the tipple at The Old Stag Inn along Station Road in Liskeard or The White Horse Inn along The Parade, and enjoy a course or two of home cooking at the same time. Hungry children will probably prefer to be fed at the Fat Frog café, with its cartoon imagery and promise that it will “feed the family”. Liskeard itself is an interesting old stone-built market town with Cornish slate-fronted houses lining the narrow streets and a pedestrianised shopping area housing some interesting little boutiques and the local baker. The town is big on independent shops, especially clothes, and you will also find Baytree Galleries, selling local art and ceramics.
Once on the train you will find yourself passing through a wooded river valley alongside the old Looe Union Canal, whose owners built the railway. First stop is St Keyne where Paul Corin’s Magnificent Music Machines, a living museum of funfair organs, player pianos (or pianolas) and orchestrons (electronic versions of the pianola), which will delight any keyboard enthusiast. The museum is open from mid-April to end-October. Tel 01579 343108.
Just by Causeland station is one of the canal’s old locks. If you’re into Celtic history, alight here, turn left out of station towards Badham Farm Holiday Cottages and then take the first right turning up the hill. Do not take the next right fork into Stocks Lane but carry straight on up a very steep lane bordered by hedgerows which are bursting with Red Campion, foxgloves and vetch. At the give-way lines turn left to Duloe, whose name has several meanings: the Celtic Dhu-Loo meaning Black Looe (why, no-one knows); Du-Loo, from the French Dieu meaning God's River; and Due-Loo, from the French deux, meaning Two Looes, appropriate as the parish sits between the East and West Looe rivers.
Walk through the village along main road, past the Post Office-cum-General Stores to Ye Old Plough House, the next pub on the Rail Ale Trail. If the walk has worked up an appetite you can tuck into a home-cooked lunch or evening meal, but don’t leave it too late or you may miss the last train back.
After the pub, carry on walking away from the village. Soon you will come across two barn conversions on the left-hand side of the road, just before the church. In the middle of these buildings is a footpath signed Pedestrians Only, and a sign on the right hand side of the road points pointing to the Stone Circles. Take this footpath and pass through the gate into the field where you will see eight large stones arranged around a diameter of less than 12m. This is the smallest stone circle in Cornwall and is a 4000-year old Bronze Age relic. The quartz-rich rocks weigh up to 9 tons and would have taken 30 to 35 people to move them. As the circle is aligned to the points of the compass and a burial urn was discovered 1861, it is assumed that astrological observations may have formed part of the funeral ceremonies.
Head on for the parish church dedicated to St Cuby, a local saint born in Cornwall in the 5th century. The church is medieval but contains a sixth-century Celtic font which is probably the oldest still being used in Cornwall today. Spring water from St Cuby’s well, which is on the right hand side of the Looe Road just past Duloe Manor, is still used for baptisms. The griffin and snake designs on the side of the font are pagan and go back to Roman times.
This walk will take you around an hour and a half and will just leave you enough time to catch the next train for Looe, assuming you haven't stopped at the pub. Watch out for the remains of one of the canal’s locks at Terras Bridge, just after Sandplace station, before the track runs along the beautiful and tranquil East Looe river which gradually widens into the Looe estuary as you approach Looe station, which is only five minutes’ walk away from the town.
This fishing village is pretty hot on pubs, a sure sign that sailors of old enjoyed their rum. Many inns have nautical or smuggling names, harking back to the days when the harbour was used for much more than unloading fish. Rail Ale Trail pubs in East Looe are: The Globe Inn, The Ship Inn, Ye Old Fisherman’s Arms, The Bullers Arms and Tom Sawyers Tavern; with The Harbour Moon and The Jolly Sailor Inn across the bridge in West Looe. All serve fresh, home-cooked food apart from the Fisherman’s, and The Jolly Sailor will start food again in the summer. Step into any one of these old, beamed, ale houses and you are entering a Cornish tradition, reminiscent of the smell of tar, spray of salt and alcoholic contraband.
If you haven't already eaten lunch, why not stop at The Pasty Shop in Buller Street, near the seafront and see the pasties being hand-made in front of you? A wide choice is on offer, from traditional Cornish to vegetarian and curry. The home-made cakes and scones are also delicious for an afternoon snack.
By now you should be a connoisseur of Cornish Ale and will have enjoyed some of the wooded and open countryside along the Looe Valley. The Looe Valley line trains run daily throughout the year, and with the mild, south-east Cornish climate, a day out exploring the area can be enjoyed equally in winter or summer. For more information and a timetable, log onto www.railaletrail.com.
