The Jolly Sailor Inn, West Looe, Cornwall
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Stay above a classic old Cornish pub with a view of the harbour from your four-poster bed.
The Jolly Sailor Inn in West Looe isn't as close to the waves as some of the Cornish seaside B&B pubs I feature in these pages - but it has more nautical character than most of them. In fact, The Jolly Sailor Inn is one of Britain's oldest pubs and ships once moored alongside its walls. Land has since been reclaimed and now it's a longboat's length from the harbourside. Don't wear your best shoes here. Locals sometimes don wellies to paddle through bar when sandbags fail to stop very high tides.
The original 16th-century bar houses the landlord's collection of model ships, maritime maps and naval memorabilia. The main beam above the bar came from a French ship of the line at the battle of Trafalgar. Walls are whitewashed stone, paintwork is black, there are oak beams, flagstone floors and a hidden smugglers' trapdoor. The Jolly Sailor Inn has five ensuite B&B rooms upstairs, each with TV, simple pine furniture and a view across village square to busy harbour. Some look out to the river and harbourside. Two have four-posters.
It's known as 'The Jolly' to everyone in Looe. They say there are the ghosts of old smugglers here too. Food is simple pub grub, like scampi in a basket, but there's a bistro upstairs that does more ambitious dishes, like pork in Madeira.
Guests who stay in the western half of this South Cornwall fishing town will find it's the quieter part. East Looe has the busier beach and more tourist shops and cafes. For a day trip try the BR train on Looe branch line to Liskeard through a gorgeous valley - the guard jumps off at one spot to change the points by hand.
Princes Square , West Looe, Cornwall, UK
Contact tel: +44 (0)1503 263387
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The Jolly Sailor Inn, West Looe, Cornwall
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