Cornwall, England

Talland Bay slipway (Millpool)

Launch — A concrete slipway on the West Looe River at Millpool, owned and managed by Looe Harbour Commissioners rather than the council that runs the surrounding car park. It opens on a restricted-hour basis each spring and summer season, published annually, with a harbour commissioners' staff member present throughout; enquiries go to the Slip Master. Non-motorised craft may launch here for a conservancy charge.

Parking — The adjoining Millpool car park (Cornwall Council, around 964 spaces, tarmac surface, with EV charging) is open 24 hours; touring caravans and trailers are not permitted, and motorhomes may not remain overnight between 11pm and 8am. Looe Harbour Commissioners separately run a small parking area reserved for vehicles launching or recovering a vessel from the slipway, charged at its own parking and conservancy rates.

Access — Reached by road into West Looe (PL13 2AF); the car park has no height or weight restriction. The slipway itself is only usable during the harbour commissioners' advertised opening hours, when their staff are present; it is not available for launching outside those hours even though the car park stays open.

Season — The slipway's opening hours are republished each spring and summer season, with different arrangements over autumn and winter; the car park's own tariff structure also changes between a summer and a winter period. The Millpool car park has flooded in past storms coinciding with high spring tides, and Cornwall Council's Looe flood defence scheme may bring construction-related disruption to the area in the coming years.

Regulations — Looe Harbour Commissioners, the statutory harbour authority for Looe, control the slipway and levy a conservancy charge on non-motorised craft using it. Downstream, the water forms part of the Whitsand and Looe Bay Marine Conservation Zone, designated in 2013 and extended in 2019, where Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority byelaws ban bottom-towed fishing gear to protect seabed habitat; these restrict fishing gear rather than the passage of unpowered craft.

This slipway sits on the tidal West Looe River at Millpool, on the edge of Looe's main long-stay car park, not on the open coast the name suggests. From here the river runs down past Looe's quays to reach the sea at Looe Bay, roughly a mile downstream; Talland Bay lies a further stretch of coastline beyond that, to the west.

On the West Looe River at Millpool

The slipway sits on a tidal reach of the West Looe River, not on the open coast at Talland Bay several miles to the west. From here the river runs down past Looe's quays before reaching the sea at Looe Bay, roughly a mile downstream.

Looe remains a working fishing port, and its harbour and river carry fishing boats alongside pleasure cruises that run out to Looe Island and around the bay, so paddlers share this water with other traffic close to the town.

Looe Island, a little way offshore, is Cornwall Wildlife Trust's only marine nature reserve, home to a large breeding colony of great black-backed gulls and to grey seals; access to the island itself is limited to organised trips. Further out, the water forms part of the Whitsand and Looe Bay Marine Conservation Zone, designated in 2013 and extended in 2019, where byelaws ban bottom-towed fishing gear to protect the seabed rather than restrict the passage of unpowered craft.

Nearby

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The Round House

Coffee shop in West Looe, a short walk from Millpool.

Lammana

Coffee shop and roastery in Looe.

Website

Watergate Camping

Small, family-run campsite on the bank of the West Looe River with direct river access and individual tent pitches.

Conditions to check

Boat traffic

Looe is a working fishing harbour; its river and harbour carry fishing boats and pleasure cruise vessels running out to Looe Island and around the bay.

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