A historical walk in Looe town

Picturesque streets fill the town of Looe

Fishing plays an important role in Looe with many fishermen basing themselves at the historic Buller Quay.

The busy Looe bridge joins together East and West and centuries ago the two were separate towns.

The bridge is not the original one built to link east and west. The first one was believed to have been built in 1411.

Although fishing is vital to the economy of the town, it has become increasingly dependant on tourism.

Take a look at our Looe gallery of pictures

This forms part of the historic Guildhall which was believed to have been built at the turn of the 16th century. Today it remains a busy part of the town, with the Tourist Information Centre at the rear of the building.

Further into the town you discover the earliest parts of East Looe. Known locally as the backstreets, the narrow streets are the home of the oldest houses in the town, including Church House opposite the old St Mary's Church.

At the end of the popular Looe Beach is Banjo Pier. It is a great vantage point when the weather is calm and tranquil. It's been named banjo pier because many believe it's the same shape as the instrument of the same name.

Fishing plays an important factor

The fishing boats regularly leave the harbour with holiday makers trying their hand at the ancient trade. During the summer the narrow streets are full of families. Indeed throughout the year coaches regularly bring tourists into the town.

Looe is also home to The Monkey Sanctuary which cares for former pets whose owners were not able to look after them.

Another popular attraction in the town is Looe Island, one mile off the south Cornwall coast. Its real name is St George's Island and it's 22.5 acres of outstanding natural beauty, one mile in circumference.

It's unusual for an island, in that it's partly wooded - the island has a surprisingly mild climate. It's normally only accessible by boat, but just sometimes the tide is low enough for people to walk across from the mainland.

It's thought that the first signs of human habitation were in pre-history. There's some monastic remains on a hill there, but in recent years two eccentric sisters owned the island - and they willed it to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust on their deaths.

The two sisters were known as Babs and Attie Atkins. Though not rich, they bought the island in 1965 - Attie (whose real name was Evelyn) wrote two books about their life there - 'We Bought an Island' and its sequel 'Tales From our Cornish Island'.

Before the Atkins sisters arrived, the island was better known for being home to smugglers.