Exploring Lerryn

6 August 2024

Our South Cornwall tour explores a part of the county where you are never far from tiny villages like Lerryn, nestled in wooded valleys, loved by locals, and with a few unexpected claims to fame!

Lerryn, named after the Cornish word for ‘waters’, is as picturesque as they come. It boasts an Elizabethan bridge and a little post office-come-cafe. Its village green overlooks stepping stones that cross the river, a tributary of the River Fowey. As for location, this tranquil setting is close to the ancient Lostwithiel–once the capital of Cornwall–and the seaside idyll, Fowey.

Visiting Lerryn, Cornwall All Year Round

We love Lerryn whatever the season. In the summer you can sprawl on the green with an ice cream in hand, as boats bob by. Or in the autumn when the river banks are richly flanked with golden leaves. A frosty morning when the mist lingers over the water or spring when the woods are a wash with bluebells.

There is actually a little school here, much loved by the community, and a pub serving tasty food. And the Red Store, an elevated hall at the waters edge, regularly houses art exhibitions and workshops.

Parking in the village can be limited, which means our tours are ideal. We pick you up and drive you to the best places leaving you free from the stress of parking, or navigating those slender Cornish roads!

Lerryn’s Claims to Fame: Wind in the Willows

Now I mentioned ‘claims to fame’, well the famous children’s author Kenneth Grahame may have penned his book ’The Wind in the Willows’ at Falmouth’s Greenbank hotel, but the idea for Ratty, Mole and the troublesome Toad came from his holidays at Lerryn and Fowey. Ethy Manor which presides over the river bank is what inspired Toad Hall and walking the river’s shores it is easy to imagine the riverside creatures off on their adventures!

Ethy Woods makes a wonderful walk (best at low tide) to St Winnow. A little church on the river banks, utterly unspoilt. These ancient woodlands were also the location for a buried treasure find, ’The Ethy Hoard’ found here in 2000. A clay jar full of 1,095 Roman coins discovered by Jonathon Clemes and Trevor Bird. So you never know, you might find treasure too! Lerryn does have a bit of a smuggling past…

Frank Parkyn’s Garden

The woods on the village side hide something of a more recent past, the remnants of an abandoned pleasure garden. Nature is slowly reclaiming the garden, after its founding just over a hundred years ago.

Frank Parkyn, a local lad who made good, built the garden after being inspired by the Tivoli Gardens of Copenhagen. Now all you can see are the remains of a few structures, but this would once have been a thriving place with a water fountain, band stand and an octagonal swimming pool. Its founder was a China clay manufacturer who wanted to give something back to his community. These gardens were perfect for the village’s 1922 regatta, by all accounts a riotous affair with races, pillow fights and dancing. Today it just takes a gentle walk through the woods behind the village, a more peaceful place it would be hard to find.

We love taking people here to Lerryn, whether you want to walk in the woods, sit on a bench and take in the river view, hop over the stepping stones or kayak down the river, it’s a lovely spot.

(Cornwall Live have a good article here if you want to find out a little more information about the pleasure park)

Want to experience Lerryn without the stress of driving?
Lerryn can often be included as part of a private South Cornwall Guided Tour, depending on your interests and the route on the day. Let a local Cornish guide take care of the narrow country lanes while you enjoy the wooded creeks, quiet villages and coastal scenery of South Cornwall.