Holiday rentals in Polperro

Known as Porthpyra in Cornish, Polperro is a historic fishing port on the south coast of Cornwall. Located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the village is set in a valley whose steep slopes are covered with lush greenery interspersed with whitewashed fishing cottages.

The River Pol runs through the centre of Polperro into its harbour, where fishing boats await their next voyage out to sea to catch pilchards. The village’s isolated coastal location made it a smuggler's haven in the 18th and 19th centuries, when brandy caskets, tobacco, and tea passed into the harbour during the middle of the night. Today, a wander down the narrow, winding streets will bring you past historic fishing buildings, pubs, and cottages, including Shell House, a 19th-century home whose walls are exquisitely decorated with seashells. A stone breakwater separates the fishing harbour from the intimate, sandy Polperro Beach. Just around the headland is the Chapel Tidal Pool, a natural swimming pool among the cliffs and rocks.

Polperro is busiest in the summer months, particularly during the school summer holidays that extend from the end of July to the beginning of September. That’s when the warm summer climate and long daylight hours draw visitors to the Cornwall coast and when Polperro’s narrow streets get crowded. If you’re staying in your holiday cottage in Polperro in June, you can attend the annual Polperro Festival, a weeklong community event that celebrates local music, arts, and crafts. The weather tends to remain mild through the end of September when traffic on the streets thins out. Between the autumn and the spring, the Atlantic brings much wetter, windier conditions into the region.

Polperro Harbour Museum

A former pilchard factory overlooking the harbour houses the Polperro Heritage Museum of Smuggling and Fishing, which tells the stories of local people who played a role in these illicit activities. You’ll also learn about the significance of pilchard fishing in this coastal community. Do keep in mind that the museum is open from Easter until the end of October.

Coastal Walk to Talland Bay

If you join the South West Coast Path at Polperro and follow it six kilometres west along the shores of the English Channel, you’ll reach Talland Bay, where smugglers would land their goods. The walk passes dramatic seascapes with high waves crashing against the cliffs. Scrub woodlands blanket the slopes leading down to the water, and thousands of seabirds will serenade you along the route.

Eden Project

When you arrive at the Eden Project, just over 30 kilometres from Polperro, you may think you’ve stumbled into a green lunar landscape dominated by huge white biodomes. Transformed from a former barren clay pit, this global garden is actually stocked with plants from around the world. Inside the domes, you’ll find the largest greenhouse in the world, with a tropical rainforest, waterfalls, and a walkway that enables you to walk amid the treetops.