Looe is is a small coastal town, fishing port, and tourism destination situated between Plymouth and Fowey on the mouth of the River Looe. The harbour dries out but it offers two berths for visitor boats who can take to its sandy bottom alongside the town quay. During offshore winds, it is also possible to anchor outside the entrance.

The harbour berths offer good protection except in strong southeasterly conditions where it can become uncomfortable. Access is only available at high water but is straightforward. A leading light at the head of its entrance pier supports night access but it is advisable that newcomers should anchor off and only approach during daylight.

The harbour should not be approached in any developed southeasterly conditions when the sea breaks across the entrance. Expect very strong tidal streams in the harbour on the ebb, particularly so during springs.

Keyfacts for Looe Harbour

Position and approaches

Haven position

50° 21.058' N, 004° 27.063' W

This is the head of Banjo Pier that extends 150 metres east by southeast from the north entrance point of the harbour. The pier exhibits a white sector leading light between 267° and 313°, Oc.WR.3s.

What is the initial fix?

This is the middle of the white sector of the Banjo Pier light, between 267° and 313°, Oc.WR.3s. It is situated ½ a mile out from the entrance and on the 10 metre contour.

What are the key points of the approach?

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How to get in?

Looe Harbour is situated 10 miles west by northwest from Rame Head, and about 1 mile north of Looe Island, a.k.a. St. George's island, at the mouth of the insubstantial River Looe. Divided in two by the river, East Looe and West Looe developed as two separate towns on either side of the river mouth. They were finally connected by a seven-span road bridge during Victorian times that is situated about a ½ mile above the river entrance. The small tidal harbour below the bridge is used today by an active fleet of fishing vessels and pleasure craft that can take-to-the-hard.



The entire harbour dries to sand except for along the east wall, where a narrow stream flows, about 15 metres wide and from 0.3 to 0.5 metres deep. This is reserved for the harbours active fishing vessels. With a mean spring range of about 4.8 metres; and a mean neap range about 2.2 metres, it can accommodate vessels of up to 16 metres in length and 2.9 metres draught by arrangement.

The designated visitor berths are situated on the West Quay and have depths of 2.6 to 3.5 metres at MHWS and of 1.4 to 2.3 metres at MHWN. Approach the entrance at HW ±2 taking care to avoid strong ebb currents, particularly during springs. These streams can attain a rate of 5 kn at springs on both the in-going and outgoing streams.

The 2018 charge for visiting Looe Harbour is £18.00 per night; please contact the Harbour Office on arrival. Further details are available on the harbour's website . The Harbour Office overlooking the river from East Looe is open from 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday, closed for lunch 12 - 1 pm, P: +44 1503 262839, VHF: Channel 14.





Offshore details are available in the southern England’s Coastal Overview for Start Point to Lizard Point . The position of Looe Harbour is readily identified by Looe Island. Also known as St. Georges Island, it lies ¾ of a mile south of the entrance to the harbour close south of Hannafore Point to which, at low-water springs, it is nearly connected with Looe Island by flat shelving rocks. The small island is a ⅓ of a mile wide and 45 metres high.

Vessels approaching from the west should stand well off Looe Island to avoid The Ranneys reef that extends more than ¼ of a mile southeastward of the islet. The lit ‘Ranny’ south cardinal is moored 250 metres from The Rannys, Q(6)+LFl.15s. Then give the shoreline at least a ⅓ of a mile berth, steering for the initial fix as there are numerous rocks between the entrance and Looe Island.




The harbour is approached from the east then the initial fix is set within the designated white sector light of the Banjo Pier which is between 267° and 313°. At night the Banjo Pier light exhibits a white light Oc.WR.3s and with the benefit of local knowledge aboard, a recommended line of approach is on a bearing 275° T of Banjo Pier Light.

These bearings keep a vessel clear of the unmarked Limmicks situated nearly a ⅓ of a mile to the northeast of the entrance. This is a rocky reef that dries in places to 4.5 metres and extends up to a ¼ of a mile offshore.




An excellent natural alignment for the final approach on the entrance is to bring Banjo Pierhead on to a bearing where it covers the wall extending out to it from the north side of the entrance. Expect this to be on a bearing of about 297° T and when 100 metres from the pierhead break off and steer for the middle of the channel. This avoids foul ground that fronts the Hannafore shoreline close south of the entrance, and which extends out as far as 150 metres in parts near the entrance.





The entrance is 60 metres wide between Banjo Pierhead and the western Hanaford cliff with the best water being in the centre. Stone quays extend along both sides of the riverfront. The visitor berths will be found on the West Quay about 240 metres up from the root of the quay, immediately up-river of the third set of steps on the west side. The harbour speed limit is 5 kn.




The visitors' berths are clearly marked on the West Quay immediately above the ferry steps. A fender board is required to come against the wall. During busy periods rafting is possible up to three vessels deep.




Anchor in the harbour, but it is also possible to anchor outside where good shelter will be found from westerly winds. Anchor either off the beach north of the entrance or in Looe Bay, southeast of the pierhead in the red sector of the pierhead light. Both offer excellent sand holding but a riding light is essential as there are many fishing boat movements when a sufficient rise in the tide makes the harbour accessable.

Why visit here?

Looe derives its name from the Old English word Loo meaning 'lock' or 'inlet'. Archaeological evidence, such as the so-called Giant's Hedge and the stone circle at Bin Down (from the Cornish ‘Bin Dun‘, meaning ‘hill fort’) on a hill above East Looe, indicates that the area around Looe was inhabited as early as 1000 BC.

At the time of the Domesday Book in 1086 the manor of Pendrym, which included much of the site of modern-day East Looe, was still held by William the Conqueror, as part of his own demesne, which he later devolved to the Bodgrugan (Bodrigan) family. Land across the river belonged to the manors of Portalla (or Portallant) and Portbyhan (variously spelt Portbyan, Porthbyghan, Porthpyghan, among others).




By the 12th-century, Shutta on the steep hillside over East Looe, is recorded as being inhabited. Between 1154 and 1189 Henry II granted a charter in favour of Sir Henry Bodrugan as Mayor of East Looe. West Looe was given free borough status sometime after this (the first known historical mention of the town dates from 1327) and in the 1230s East Looe secured the right to hold a weekly market and a Michaelmas fair. East Looe's layout looks like a ‘planted borough’, a concept similar to modern new towns, since most of its streets form a grid-like pattern.

Low-lying parts of Looe continue to suffer frequent flooding when the tides are very high. For practical reasons, most fishermen's houses in ancient Looe, like elsewhere along the south coast, were constructed with their living quarters upstairs and a storage area at ground level below: for boats, tools and fishing tackle, etc; these are termed ‘fishermen's cellars’.

Sometime before 1144, the Order of Saint Benedict occupied Looe Island, building a chapel there, and the monks established a rudimentary lighthouse service using beacons. Another chapel was founded on an opposite hillside just outside West Looe; both are now marked only by ruins.
The parish church of East Looe was at St Martin by Looe but there was a chapel of ease in the town. St Mary's Church, East Looe was dedicated in 1259 by Walter Bronscombe, Bishop of Exeter. Despite rebuilding commencing in 1805, it has since fallen into disrepair, although the original Tower still remains. On the centre of the bridge in medieval times stood the Chapel of St Anne (dedicated in 1436): this dedication was attributed to the town chapel by Dr George Oliver and has been adopted ever since, displacing that of St Mary.




West Looe comprised part of the parish of Talland since the early Middle Ages, but a chapel of ease, St Nicholas' Church in West Looe was extant before 1330 when it is recorded as being further endowed and enlarged. After spells as a common hall and a schoolhouse, this building has reverted to its original ecclesiastical use, having been substantially restored in 1852, 1862 and 1915.
An early wooden bridge over the Looe River was in place by 1411, which burned down and was replaced by the first stone bridge, completed in 1436 and featured a chapel dedicated to St Anne in the middle (the current bridge, a seven-arched Victorian bridge, was opened in 1853). By this time Looe had become a major port, one of Cornwall's largest, exporting local tin, arsenic and granite, as well as hosting thriving fishing and boatbuilding industries. The town was able to provide some 20 ships for the Siege of Calais in 1347.

With effective civic leadership, Looe thrived in the Middle Ages and Tudor era, being both a busy port and situated with close access to the main road from London to Penzance. By this time the textile industry had come to play an important part in the town's economy, in addition to the traditional boatbuilding and fishing (particularly pilchards and crabs). Trade and transport to and from thriving Newfoundland also contributed to the town's success. The Old Guildhall in East Looe is believed to have dated from around 1500.




In 1625 Barbary pirates devastated Looe, carrying off around 80 mariners and fishermen, and taking them to North Africa to be enslaved. Forewarned of the attack, most of the inhabitants of the town were able to escape, but the town itself was torched.

By the start of the 1800s, Looe's fortunes were in decline. The Napoleonic Wars had taken its toll on the country; in 1803 the town formed a volunteer company to man guns in defence against attack from the French. The blockade of 1808, which prevented the Looe fleet from reaching their pilchard-fishing areas, also put a considerable financial strain on the community. In 1805 the old St. Mary's Chapel (apart from the tower) had to be demolished due to dilapidation, and in 1817 the town was badly damaged by heavy storms and flooding.




With the building of the Liskeard and Looe Union Canal in 1828, linking Looe to Liskeard, and from 1837 the development of booming copper mines in the Caradon area, Looe's fortunes began to revive. The Herodsfoot mine produced 13,470 tons of lead between 1848 and 1884 and more than 17 tons of silver between 1853 and 1884. The canal was first used to transport lime from Wales for use in Cornish farming, and later to carry copper and granite between the railhead at Liskeard (from where rail links reached to the Cheesewring on Bodmin Moor) and to the port of Looe. In 1856 the large quay of East Looe was built to handle the demands of the shipping trade. In 1860, with the canal unable to keep up with demand, a railway was built along the towpath of the canal linking Looe to Moorswater near Liskeard, which was used less and less until by 1910 traffic ceased entirely. The railway was later linked to Liskeard proper, and as the mining boom came to an end, it adapted to carry passengers in 1879.


In 1866, a lifeboat station had been established on East Looe Beach, and in 1878 a new town hall was built: Looe's present-day Guildhall. Around this time recommendations were made that the two towns be merged under one governing body, and despite much protest, Looe Urban District Council was formed in 1898 with jurisdiction over the communities on both sides of the River Looe.
With the Victorian fashion for seaside holidays, Looe evolved as a tourist town, with nearby Talland Bay being dubbed ‘the playground of Plymouth’. This trend continued throughout the 20th century; more and more hotels and tourist facilities were built in the town, and Looe grew and prospered, with peaks in fishing and boatbuilding following the First and Second World Wars.




Looe remains a fishing town and retained several fish merchants operating from the quayside of East Looe until the advent of EU regulations. With its fleet of small fishing boats returning their catches to port daily, Looe has a reputation for procuring excellent fresh fish. The town is also a centre for shark fishing and is the home of the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain.

Nevertheless Looe's main business today is tourism, with much of the town given over to hotels, guest houses and holiday homes, along with a large number of pubs, restaurants and beach equipment, ice cream and Cornish pasty vendors.

We are currently out and about finding Havens and talking to sailors like you. By popular user request, we have posted this haven in advance of our normal production. Hence we have adapted Wikipedia data in this ‘Why visit here’ section. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this ‘Why visit here’ text under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

What facilities are available?

West Quay has a water tap. Diesel and petrol are available on the east quay. Toilets and shower facilities are available in the quayside centre which includes two rooms, both with a shower with a towel warming radiator, toilet with baby changing facilities and sink with warm air hand dryer. Contact harbour staff regarding the key. The town has the welcoming Looe Sailing Club and a chandler that also provides gas.

Buses to Polperro, Liskeard and Plymouth. Trains to Liskeard with connections to Truro and Plymouth.

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