How to get there - Bodinnick Ferry (west side) on B3269 north of Fowey. Pay-and-display car park.
Suggested Launch Site - Slipway adjacent to car park. Keep clear of ferry operations.
General
Description - Another set of attractive steep-sided wooded creeks, with small hamlets at the top end. The best two creeks are Penpoll Creek and Lerryn Creek, branching off the main estuary about 1 mile and 2 miles respectively above the ferry. Penpoll is about 5 miles return, and Lerryn about 7 miles. You can also put in at Lerryn for a one-way trip to Bodinnick at high tide, but the creek dries out soon after.
Start about 1.5 hours before high tide to take advantage of currents and to avoid getting stranded on the mud at the top of the creeks. An more sheltered river than the Fal, but keep clear of commercial shipping(at least until the china clay industry winds down)and go upriver from the ferry unless equipped for proper sea canoeing.
For the romantics, this is Daphne du Maurier country - she lived here and incorporated the countryside into her novels.
Comments on this trip
David Quoroll 12 Aug 2008
The Fowey is a truly beatiful river to canoe. My favorite is Lerryn where there is a good pub and excellent village shop with riverside tables. You can only get here at high tide but it is well worth it. I have a couple of alternative suggestions. Try starting at Lostwithial, where there is free parking, at high tide and go down to Fowey with the current. Also consider getting in or out at Golant. This is a little higher up the river than Bodinnick and parking is limited. The advantage is that you avoid the potential of meeting a clay ship visiting the deep water harbour above Bodinnick. Love the site!
