Having been here a week now, we decided we must go into Looe to buy some fresh fish. The day was lovely so we strolled through town and walked along the beach. Looe is a lot nicer than I remember, not as twee as St Ives or Fowey (both of which I like very much), but having pretty much everything…..lovely train run into town from Liskeard along the river, shops enough, harbour, beach and walks. Oh yes shopping….we went to Pengelleys, and looked at the enticing fresh fish display and chose a lovely large haddock fillet and a whole gurnard, both of which proved excellent choices for main meals over the next couple of days. The gurnard I baked in foil in the oven with a few herbs and lemon, and it was very meaty and quite delicious. Ugly fish, though!

As you can see from the picture of Looe it sits on a tidal estuary and there is quite a different feel as to whether the tide is in or out. On a Summer’s day the blue-green water extends far up the valley (our valley!) and the views are pretty as a picture. When there is just mud, the impression is one of almost abandonment. When we first came to Cornwall and walked around the Helford river and up Frenchman’s Creek, I thought the mud flats were quite depressing and had a sad aspect as if the locations themselves were dying. I came fairly quickly to appreciate that low tide gave tremendous atmosphere…mystery, nostalgia for something lost. So now I really appreciate Looe and the twin valleys of East and West Looe in all its moods.