Discover 6 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Fowey (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: St Catherine's Castle, Place House, and Sawmills Studios. Also, be sure to include Polruan Ferry in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Fowey (England).
Table of Contents
St Catherine's Castle
Castle in Fowey, England. St Catherine's Castle is a Henrician castle in Cornwall, England, built by Thomas Treffry between approximately 1538 and 1540, in response to fears of an invasion of England by France and the Holy Roman Empire. The D-shaped, stone fortification, equipped with five gun-ports for cannon, overlooked the mouth of the River Fowey in Cornwall. It was protected by a curtain wall and the surrounding cliffs. The castle remained in use for many years until it was closed at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Brought back into service in 1855 during the Crimean War, it was fitted with two new artillery positions, but it soon became obsolete and was abandoned. During the Second World War the castle was refortified and used to house a battery of naval guns, protecting the coast against the threat of German attack. At the end of the conflict the castle was restored to its previous condition and is now managed by English Heritage as a tourist attraction.[1]
Address: 3/4 mile from Readymoney Cove car park, PL23 1JD Fowey
Place House
Building in Fowey, England. Place House is a Grade I listed building located in Fowey, Cornwall, England. Home of the Treffry family since the thirteenth century, the original structure was a fifteenth-century tower, which was defended against the French in 1475 by Elizabeth Treffry. It was strengthened soon afterwards, largely rebuilt in the sixteenth century and remodelled in the nineteenth century, the east front dating mostly from 1817-1845. The house is not open to the public except on special occasions.[2]
Sawmills Studios
Bank. Sawmills Studios, founded in 1974 by record producer Tony Cox, is a recording studio near Golant on the banks of the River Fowey in Cornwall.
The studio building is located on its own tidal creek on the banks of the Fowey. Sawmills was one of the first residential recording facilities in the UK. The main building is a former 17th-century water mill and the site has a documented history stretching back to the 11th century. The location is unusual as it can only be accessed by boat or the Saints' Way footpath that runs past the studio.
It was used most notably by musicians such as The Stone Roses, The Verve, Muse, Oasis, Catatonia, Ride, Swans and Supergrass.
In July 2020, the studio and property were put up for sale.[3]
Polruan Ferry
Boat or ferry, Transport, City hall
Address: East Street, PL23 1PB Fowey
Readymoney Cove
Beach in Fowey, England. Readymoney Cove is a sandy beach to the south of the harbour town of Fowey, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is sheltered by cliffs close to the mouth of the River Fowey estuary and bounded, on one side, by the medieval part of the town of Fowey and, on the other, by St Catherine's Castle. The beach can be covered during spring tides. The beach is cleaned daily during high season, and a bathing platform is moored in the bay. Dogs are banned between Easter and 30 September. Above the cove is the former coach house which was the home of author, Daphne du Maurier, for a few years during the Second World War. Comedian Dawn French lives in a house overlooking the cove.[4]
Menabilly
Menabilly is a historic estate on the south coast of Cornwall, England, situated within the parish of Tywardreath on the Gribben peninsula about 2 miles west of Fowey.
It has been the seat of the Rashleigh family from the 16th century to the present day. The mansion house, which received a Grade II* listing on 13 March 1951, is early Georgian in style, having been re-built on the site of an earlier Elizabethan house, parts of which were possibly incorporated into the present structure. The house is surrounded by woodland and nearby is the farmhouse Menabilly Barton. In the Return of Owners of Land, 1873 Jonathan Rashleigh of Menabilly, Par, was listed as the largest landowner in Cornwall with an estate of 30,156 acres or almost 4% of the total area of Cornwall.[5]