Portloe

An archetypal Cornish fishing village described as “one of the least spoiled and most impressive” by Sir John Betjeman, Portloe sits in two valleys with its tiny harbour sheltered by coastal cliffs. It is in the parish of Veryan and dates back to pre-Tudor times, but the earliest cottages today are late 17th century.

For centuries the mainstay of the fishing trade was the pilchard, the season lasting from July to December when the shoals would arrive in Cornish waters. They were caught for local consumption and for export, and for this they were packed into barrels. Oil from pilchards was used in cottage oil lamps. Around the turn of the 19th/20th centuries, pilchards became scarce, the industry dwindled, and today there are only a few crab/lobster fishermen.

With some controversy a lifeboat station was established at Portloe in 1869, but this ceased operations in 1887 without the boat ever being used in action. There was also a coastguard presence in the village intended to inhibit smuggling. It was staffed by non-locals to prevent fraternisation. In the 1920s the Admiralty shut the service down and the 9 staff accommodation cottages were sold.

Today Portloe is a very quiet and peaceful place with one hotel (The Lugger) and one pub (The Ship Inn) and no other amenities, but Veryan is less than two miles away. It is an excellent location for exploration of spectacular coastal scenery to east and west.

For the fascinating history of the village see ‘Portloe an illustrated history’ by Keith Johns and Mike Rule.