Cornish courtesy flag by Kathryn Lewis

Fowey, pronounced Foy, is named after the river.  We’d motor-sailed from Salcombe partly to charge the batteries but partly to avoid the beat into the South Westerly.  We’ve sailed to Fowey a few times to race in Regatta Week.  We visit more regularly by land as we have family living nearby.   We like it a lot.

It’s a first for me to sail from the East to gain the harbour entrance.  It’s not an easy entrance to spot.  You have to keep an eye out for the tower on the Gribbin Head and then trust as you get closer you’ll see the stumpy lighthouse that marks the entrance.  Luckily we were entering in daylight and in good visibility.   There were also two ships anchored in the harbour we later learned they were waiting for high water to get up to the china clay dock.

The Victorian and Edwardian houses of Fowey decorate the hills to the West; the more traditional Cornish cottages of Polruan the East.  We motored through the entrance and upriver deciding to head into the relatively quiet waters near the china clay dock.  The harbour was busy but we found an empty and quiet mooring at Wiseman’s Creek where we could watch the world go by.

There are water taxis but we used our tender to get ashore and it was a pleasant potter down the river.  You can leave your tender at one of two pontoons as long as you leave it on the inside.  We used the lifeboat pontoon as it was slightly upriver.  The RNLI even have lockers so you can stow your lifejacket before going into town.

Most facilities are here but because Fowey doesn’t have a marina you have to search for them.  There are showers at Fowey Gallants and the Royal Fowey Yacht club.  There’s other showers and a laundrette at the Chandlers at Polruan.  Water is available from pontoon’s in Fowey.  There is also water and fuel at Polruan.  Rubbish bins are available on a pontoon in the harbour.  There are plenty of shops to provision.

It was early evening by the time we arrived in Fowey town so most of the shops were shut but there were plenty of restaurants and pubs open, a chandlery and a newsagent.  We bought a Cornish courtesy flag and some milk and yoghurt from the newsagent.  We then walked along the narrow main street along the entire length.  We had to stand back into doorways to allow cars to pass before ambling on.

Having checked to see that Fowey was still as we remember we caved in and decided to have supper in town at one of our favourite restaurants – Sam’s.  After a fishy supper we puttered back to our quiet mooring.