Here is some information you may find useful for your holiday.
A warm welcome to The Anchorage, Polperro. We hope you have a wonderful stay.
Your feedback is invaluable to us, please leave your comments in the guest book.
If you have the time could you please indicate how you found us - internet, brochure, looking through the window, holiday cottages, or any other way.
1. Location
4. The facilities and how they work
6. Local shops (for groceries)
7. Walks
9. Beaches
10. Days Out
11. Access statement
12. Countryside code
13. About the house and its history
14. Polperro history
The Anchorage is located right on the wall of the inner harbour (on the waterfront).
As the streets of Polperro are very narrow, we would recommend that you locate your parking space and park there upon arrival to prevent congestion.
No matter what the Sat Nav says DO NOT drive into The Warren.
The streets of Polperro are very narrow and The Anchorage cannot be accessed by car. It is a downhill walk from the garage, but if you do require a luggage taxi, phone Kevin (luggage taxi service) below. There is also a bus service available in the Summer months. We recommend that all of your luggage has wheels
Luggage taxi service 07875 422652
The only networks that receive coverage in the village are Orange and T-Mobile. You will lose reception with any other network once you leave Looe (or as you approach Polperro). There are public phone-boxes in the village.
Linda (your housekeeper) 07773 040711
Steve (housekeeper back-up)
Giles (Holiday Cottages) 01503 272320
Chemist Roberts 01503 272250
Coastguard
Doctors 0844 770962
Dentist 01503 262001
Derriford Hospital (A&E) Plymouth 0845 1558155
Emergency services 999 or 112
NHS Direct 0845 4647
The Anchorage phone (in only) 01503 272749
4. The facilities and how they work
The hot water immersion heater controls are located in the twin bedroom
If needed the electric fire switch is powered from another plug by the window. Make sure they are both switched on.
Same with the shower, make sure shower, extractor and fuse outside the bathroom door are all switched on.
All bed linens and towels (except for cot) are provided and there is a washer/dryer machine in case you need to wash anything while you are on holiday.
The vacuum cleaner is in the locked cupboard, if you need to access it please contact the housekeeper.
We have tried to provide everything you need for an enjoyable stay. The kitchen is well equipped, with clean tea towels, washing up liquid and sponge/scouring pads provided at each changeover, please contact the housekeeper if you do not find any.
The rubbish is collected on a Monday morning between 8.30am and 9.30am (black bag only). Do not leave the rubbish out the night before because the seagulls will take it apart. Unfortunately, there are no recycling facilities for the holiday cottages in Polperro.
There is a first aid kit just in case.
Take care with the windows.....
If it happens to be a tad windy, please keep the windows shut, we don't want to be searching the harbour for our window again, like in 2009. A curious guest opened the window during a gale and was left holding just the handle. Luckily it was high tide when the window blew out - it floated to the other side of the harbour and was retrieved in one piece by one of our neighbours the next day.
We have provided :-
Music CD's, Film DVD's, HDMI touch screen TV with integrated DVD.
HDMI cable suitable for cameras Canon EOS 550,Ixus 990, 110, GH30, GH20, HTC-100 , Scart and S-Video AV Cable, Radio.
A selection of books, Cornwall guides, Games, an iphone docking station.
WiFi broadband (log-in instructions are on a loose acetate sheet please leave them as you found them so that other guest can use them after you have gone).
Ever changing views of the harbour without getting out of your chair, the best bathroom view , Photographs by Alex Maddox.
There 2 grocery shops, a bakers (closes at Saturday lunchtime) an off licence, a post office, and a newsagents, which sells most of the basics. There is a little meat on sale at the newsagents and grocery shops. There is also a chemist.
If you would like groceries to arrive when you get to the cottage - Tesco's provide a delivery service - tell them you are at the beginning of The Warren - they won't deliver further up The Warren.
There is no bank in the village - Looe is the nearest, but there are two chargeable ATMs at the post office and the Blue Peter pub.
There are fabulous walks in every direction.
Turn right out of the cottage and walk towards Talland bay, stop for a cup of tea and return home. However, if you are feeling energetic, carry on to Looe explore the town and get a cab or boat back.
Turn left and go over the bridge, past The Pilchards and the Blue Peter and find the cliff path and you are on the way to Fowey (that is a longer walk)
There are many restaurants in the village and the pubs also have good food. The restaurants range from fine dining to hearty standard fare - you'll want to try them all - but will you have the time?
You will find that all of the Pubs and most of the Restaurants (depending on the time of day) are child friendly
There are 5 pubs in the village
The Blue Peter, The Crumplehorn, The Old Mill
The Ship, The Three Pilchards
A number of excellent Restaurants
The Cottage, Couches, Fore St Brasserie
House on Props, The Kitchen, Nelsons
Neville's, Pol Mary, Somewhere, Treble Café
Tea Rooms/Snack Bars
Wheelhouse, Plantation, Bakery
…. And many more besides
There is a sandy tidal beach in Polperro, which for obvious reasons can only be accessed when the tide is out. There are also steep steps (can be tricky) down to the tidal 'swimming pool' that is located behind the Blue Peter - not recommended for young children. Other beaches, such as Talland Bay, can be reached by a short car journey - or an enthusiastic walk.
Where do we start - so much to do, so little time to do it in. Once you have prized yourself away from the view, you might want to:
In The Village.
The village itself has friendly pubs with good food, cafes and tea rooms, restaurants ranging from fine dining to good honest English grub. Why not start with a hearty breakfast at the nearby House on Props.
Once you are fed and watered pop into the Heritage Museum, Model Village, Art Galleries, craft and gift shops like Angel at www.angelinspire.co.uk and take a wander around the lanes and alleyways.
For the more energetic try a boat trip from the harbour or a cliff top and coastal walk - don't miss out on a swim in the local rock pool, courtesy of the tide and of course when you have finished it would be rude not to visit a local pub such as TheThree Pilchards www.threepilchardspolperro.co.uk on your way back to The Anchorage.
Every June Polperro has it's own festival of music and arts.
Further Afield.
Further afield for days out, we recommend :
The Eden Project www.edenproject.com
Lost Gardens of Heligan www.heligan.com
The Monkey Sanctuary www.wildfutures.org
Bodmin Moor and the Railway www.bodminandwenfordrailway.co.uk
Shopping at Trago Mills www.trago.co.uk
A day's golfing the nearest being at Looe and Fowey, with many more courses to chose from. www.looegolfclub.co.uk
For sailing go to www.looesailingclub.co.uk for Looe and The Royal Fowey Yatch Club at www.rfyc-fowey.org.uk
Enthusiastic walkers may like to tread the South West Coast Path www.southwestcoastpath.com or the Ramblers Association www.ramblers.org.uk for more information on walking trails.
Trips to : Looe www.looe.org , Fowey www.fowey.co.uk , Lostwithiel www.lostwithiel.org.uk , Mevagissey, Lands End, Polruan www.polruan.org.uk , Padstow www.padstowlive.com and St Ives www.stives-cornwall.co.uk to name but a few and the wonderful local beaches.
For more general information on Cornwall try the official tourist board site www.visitcornwall.com
The housekeeper will give you instructions, if you have not been to the village before, on where to meet and pick up the keys. One of the charms of the The Anchorage is that it is set in the traffic free Warren - cars cannot (some have tried) drop off outside the cottage. There is a buggy taxi sevice that will bring you and your luggage to the cottage. The garage for parking is aproximately 500 yards from the cottage - the closest you can get, but not recommended, is approx 100 yards (outside the newsagent) a very tight squeeze and then reverse back.
In the Summer months a bus sevice runs up and down the Coombes - drops off at The Ship (approx 200 yards from the cottage). Make sure all of your luggage has wheels - you will need them.
The bedrooms are up one flight of stairs, so not recommended for anybody with serious mobility problems.
The windows open directly onto the harbour, it's such good fun feeding the Swans and the Ducks - no need to mention, take care with young children.
To view our Enjoy England tourist board official access statement please click here
When out and about it is important to make sure that the harmony between landowners and the public is maintained, Please click here for the code and a here for 'advice to the public'
13. About the house and its history
As far as we know the cottage is approximately 300 years old. Look how thick the walls on the Warren side are, approximately 2 and a half feet of solid Cornish stone.
So far our research regarding ownership goes back to early last century. In 1931 the tenants of Beach House (next door) John and Emma Booth, bought both properties - Beach House and the Anchorage. In 1954 they sold Beach house and moved into The Anchorage. At around this time the front of the cottage was extended and bay windows added - this part of the property was originally a garden! (see the pictures at the top of the stairs).
In 1979 the property passed into the ownership of their daughter Marion. We are the third owners since then and hope you like the changes we have made.
Polperro has had many names in its long history. In 1300 it was known as Porthpirie, by the 1500s it was Poulpier, today the name Polperro is thought to mean - the mouth of the River Pol', from the small stream which runs through the village and right by the cottage. The population is about 1,300. Polperro nestles in the valley with hills on three sides. A lovely little harbour is to be found at the end of the village, which has been a working harbour since the 1300s and probably before that.
In early days, pilchards were the main catch. Today any number of fish are brought to the fish quay, and fishing is still one of the main industries in the village, the other being tourism. There is a preservation order which operates in Polperro to ensure that the original character and appearance of the buildings are not changed too much - one has to obtain permission to even change the colour of paint on the houses. Polperro's famous son, Jonathon Couch had a house here, named - Couch's Great House'. He was a local doctor and an eminent naturalist.
The village also had its share of smuggling, influenced greatly by Zephaniah Job, who organised lawyers for smugglers who were caught and sent money for those in prison. He was also adviser, banker and accountant to many.