The South East Cornwall Walking Festival 17-25 September and Looe’s Making Waves Music Festival 23-25 September.

Then you can change from walking boots to dancing shoes to head down to any of the 3 sound stages over the weekend of 23, 24 and 25 September where the focus will be on different music styles in a fantastic music festival ‘Making Waves’ with headline acts including Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds and Roy Wood and his Rock n Roll Band. 

Making Waves Music Festival in Looe - the staged venues:

• West Looe Quay marquee with a Cornish traditional feel
• The Rose Garden Marquee, East Looe with an easy listening ambiance
• The Beach and Seafront with an al fresco rock, pop, punk vibe.

Music will be concentrated during the day on the 3 soundstages then local pubs, restaurants and cafes will take over in the evening to maximise the benefits to the local economy.  Workshops, street entertainment and dance performances will add to the festival atmosphere.

And it’s very affordable!  A weekend ticket is £40 for all venues if your’e over 18, while 14-17 age group pay only £10 and accompanied under 14s go FREE.  Saturday only tickets are £25. The weekend kicks off on Friday with a ‘giant pasty’ procession from East Looe to West Looe where everyone is invited to ‘make some noise’ to welcome the pasty followed by a Noz Lowen on West Looe Quay from around 5pm (traditional Cornish dance). So if you haven’t got your tickets yet, click on the Making Waves Festival logo above and get online to book! After Wednesday, tickets will be sent via text to your phone. You can also get them from the Looe Tourist Information Centre (tel 01503 262072) or on the gate.

If you need accommodation, at Polraen, Check Availability for 2 and 3 night breaks until end September.

See you there!

The lugger was the main fishing boat operating off the south Cornish coast up untill the 1960s. Originally sailing vessels, some were later installed with engines. Over this weekend the engines will once again be switched off as both boats from Looe and as far afield as Brittany turn back time.

Those wishing to watch the races will find great vantage points at Hannafore, West Looe or from the end of the Banjo Pier.  The highly popular event, organised by The Looe Lugger Association, is supported by local business and Town Organisations. It is very much a tradition – a Cornish tradition – but with huge appeal to visitors to the county as it offers such great photo opportunities and the atmosphere is really authentic.

Races will take place on the Saturday from 10.30 till 17.40, Sunday from 11.30 till 3.30, weather permitting. The Sailing Club in Looe and the Fish Market tend to be the centre of most social activity but if you stroll along the quayside, you may stumble across the occasional ‘boat party’ accompanied by the sounds of a French accordion played by our visiting friends from Brittany.

Fowey

The Daphne du Maurier Festival in Fowey begins on Thursday 13th May and runs until Sat 22nd May. For me, it heralds the start of our amazing season of festivals in South East Cornwall. 

Accommodation in Fowey can frequently get booked up well in advance so if you are still looking for a room, consider us at Polraen Country House (more details below) but back to the festival. … a celebration of Art and Literature now in its 10th year, the Dumaurier Festival is a most entertaining and eclectic programme of music, comedy, art, drama, recitals, sculpture,  etc etc, both free and by ticket. A myriad of events are held in festival marquees, village halls, libraries and colleges in and around Fowey and the festival manages to combine local traditions and communities alongside the famous names.  This year’s line up includes  names as diverse as Pam Ayres, Julian Lloyd Webber and The Stranglers! Tickets are now available through an online box office.

If you’re having any difficulty finding accommodaton in Fowey,  it’s easy driving distance (about 20-25 minutes) to the festival from our location at Sandplace in the Looe Valley. From Looe, you can  drive to the village of Polruan on the east side of the Fowey River, park up and catch the passenger ferry across. If you prefer to take the car across the river and park in Fowey, you can use the Bodinnick Car Ferry. Either way, you’ll more than halve the round trip journey compared to going on the A38.  Check availability to see what rooms we have left during the DuMaurier Festival.