Caravan Travels

#025 – 21st Jun – Looe

Quite a sky this morning!

10.06am – It’s another blue sky this morning with lots of sunshine; the weather has finally turned for the better at long last. Although there are still a few puffy white clouds in the sky, it’s obvious it’s going to be a glorious day here in Looe.

Today is the day of the annual Looe Raft Race, a charity fun event on the Looe river, which dominates the town immediately before it meets the sea. When Garry and I were talking with the RNLI lady the other day she described how the event usually plays out and it sounds like a hilarious spectacle which we ought not to miss. We’re all going down there together at 10.30 this morning.

This map shows the Looe river meeting the sea. The racers come up the river from the beach.

11.18am – We’re all parked-up and in The Sardine Factory Cafe in West Looe awaiting the start of the raft race. The weather is perfect with lots of sunshine but it’s not too hot.

Early photos from Looe this morning, prior to the start of the raft race.

11.43am – The raft race is progressing-well outside and we’ve got a pretty good view from our location. The rafters seem to be having a lot of fun, splashing each other and we’re part of a very large crowd who have turned out to support them. Some of the rafts don’t look at all safe, so we’re expecting to see some rafters falling into the water. We’re still at the Sardine Cafe which adjoins the Looe Heritage Centre. It’s a convenient place to bob in and out of to view bits of the race as the day is steadily heating-up.

The Looe Heritage Centre is a tastefully-designed facility for learning about Looe’s history.

Some of the rafts competing in the race

5.32pm – We’re back at the caravan again now following an excellent Sunday roast dinner at The Copley Arms at Hessenford, which is just up the road from our campsite. We’re currently sitting outside in the shade enjoying the sunshine and peacefulness around us.

The Copley Arms did a great Sunday Roast!

After the raft race we took a water taxi across the river to the main part of Looe (East Looe) and pottered around the shops for a bit before going on a 45-minute ride around Looe Island on a glass-bottomed boat. It was really enjoyable getting out on the water for a bit, and we saw a number of seals which had dragged themselves up on the shores around the island.