A walk on the Percuil

Here is a suggested walk for you to try - a loop around the fabulous Percuil River on the Roseland taking in Polingey and Pelyn Creeks.

Head towards St. Mawes on the A3078. Drive beyond Ruan High Lanes and Treworlas and just after passing through Trewithian, take the left turn to Gerrans. Drive all the way through the village and look for the first junction on the right. Almost hidden in the hedge is an an old-fashioned finger signpost inscribed Portcuil. Turn right there and wind your way through the small white walled hamlet of Tregassick, and it’s just two minutes to your destination. There are two options for parking: A layby/green verge area at the top of the hill or the parish councilrun car park on the right just before the boatyard and slipway. The car park has plenty of space for parking along with a toilet block and honesty box (£2 all day). In high season it can get busy with cars, campers, boats and trailers.

I normally park at the top of the hill as the views are stunning (example below). The shortest walk, probably less than a mile, begins here, at the rightmost gap in the hedge and follows the footpath downhill towards the water. Turn left, keep the water on your right, and you’ll eventually reach the car park, turn left again, walk up the lane and you are back to where you started.

A longer (4.2 km/2.6 mile) walk, also starts from the green verge area. Start by walking back up the road towards Tregassick. Before you reach the white walls of Tregassick House, look for a footpath on the left signposted Polingey Creek.

Take that path for a minute. When it meets a larger track, turn right and turn immediately left into a footpath between Cornish hedges. Dogleg through two fields with their narrow stone stiles and descend the steep steps all the way to the path just above Polingey Creek. Turn left, direction Percuil.

From here it’s a very pleasant 1 mile/1.6 km walk on the water’s edge, through woods and open fields with great views over Polingey Creek, the junction to Trethem Creek and then the Percuil River itself.

This is a beautiful area, with plenty of views over the river and surrounding countryside. There are several places where, when the tide is out, you can descend to the foreshore and walk amongst the laid-up boats and wrecks. Be careful though not to get caught by an incoming tide. You will see several abandoned boats that have rotted away over the years, now only showing their frames. A boat boneyard, you could say, but wondrous too if you imagine the lives these vessels once led and where they may have travelled before ending up here.

Photo: All that remains of the pre-WW2 fishing boat Our Kate.

Old and abandoned boats on the Percuil River

Follow the footpath across several fields until you reach the car park. From here walk 100m down to the boatyard and slipway for more nice views.

To continue, walk back up the lane for 150m and just past the car park, look for a gap in the stone wall on the right. Signposted Pelyn Creek.

This path takes you through pine woodland, across several fields, alongside and then on to Pelyn Creek, a small cove with lovely views to St Mawes.

Pelyn Creek

From there, retrace your steps, but instead of turning left (to Percuil), keep going ahead towards Gerrans. The path winds slowly uphill, across a field and joins the lane just beyond the green verge, where you started. This walk took me about an hour including multiple stops and a chat at the boat yard.

The sad remains of a once proud vessel

If you have a favourite walk in the area, why not share it in the Probus News?