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Arriving in Fowey

Travel distances

Falmouth to Fowey

Falmouth to Fowey on the map

Start and finishThe route by roadSee the stops along the way on their own map ↓

Open this route in Google Maps ↗ for live traffic and turn-by-turn directions.

Distance

27 miles

by road

By car

About 50 minutes

in normal traffic

By bike

About 2 hours 45 minutes

steady pace

By foot

About 9 hours

estimated at a 3mph walking pace

Before you set off

Fowey's streets are too narrow and steep for visitor parking, so the car parks sit at the top of the town and fill early in summer. The final descent is steep and tight, and the late-May Fowey Festival and the August regatta fill the town, so plan your parking before you arrive.

Which way to go

The fastest route

Follow the A39 north to Truro, then the A390 east through Probus, Grampound and St Austell.1 Beyond St Austell leave the A390 near St Blazey for the A3082 and B3269 down to Fowey. The approach descends steeply through woods to the estuary, so park at the top of the town rather than trying to drive to the quay.

The scenic route

For a quieter run with a river at the end, stay on the A390 past St Austell to Lostwithiel, the ancient stannary capital on the tidal Fowey, then follow the B3269 south through the wooded Fowey valley into the town.2 It adds only a few minutes and the valley road is one of the loveliest in East Cornwall.

Caravans and motorhomes

The A390 is the main east-west road through mid-Cornwall and carries caravans and motorhomes without trouble.1 The descent into Fowey is emphatically not for towing: use the Caffa Mill or the main top-of-town car parks, or the Park & Ride where it runs in summer, and walk or take the ferry down to the waterfront.

Stops along the way

Stops along the way — tap or hover a pin for a photo, the detour and a link to its guideStart and finishThe route by road

  1. Start

    Falmouth

  2. Truro

    0.2 miles off the A39, adds roughly 2 minutes

    The county capital at the head of the Fal, an easy first stop for the cathedral and museum before the road east.

  3. St Austell

    0.2 miles off the A390, adds roughly 2 minutes

    The old china-clay capital, and the gateway to the Eden Project in its reclaimed clay pit and the Lost Gardens of Heligan a few miles south.3

  4. Lostwithiel

    3.9 miles off the A3082, adds roughly 11 minutes

    The medieval stannary capital of Cornwall, astride the tidal Fowey River, with a Norman bridge, antique shops and the ruins of Restormel Castle a mile upstream.4

  5. Arrive

    Fowey

Practical information

Parking

Fowey keeps visitor cars out of its narrow core. The main car parks are at Caffa Mill by the Bodinnick ferry slip and at the top of the town, both within a short walk or a bus ride of the quay. In summer a Park & Ride operates from the edge of town. Crossing on the Bodinnick car ferry to the east bank can open up easier parking on the Polruan side.5

Train and bus

There is no direct line to Fowey. The practical route is a bus or train from Falmouth to Truro, the main line east to Par, then a short First Kernow bus from Par to Fowey, about fifteen minutes.6 Total journey time is around two and a half hours with connections.7 Both the main line and the Newquay branch stop at Par, so connections are reasonable through the day.

The best time to travel

Late spring and early autumn show Fowey at its best, busy but not overwhelmed. The late-May Fowey Festival of Words and Music and the mid-August Royal Regatta both fill the town, so book well ahead or visit outside them.8 Winter brings a dramatic quiet and empty coast-path walks.

About the Falmouth to Fowey journey

The twenty-seven miles from Falmouth to Fowey link two of Cornwall's finest natural harbours, both tucked into drowned river valleys on the south coast, and the drive between them is a tour of mid-Cornwall's changing country. It takes about fifty minutes, most of it on the A390, the old main road that strings the southern towns together.

East of Truro the road runs through Probus and Grampound and into the china-clay country around St Austell, where the spoil tips of two centuries of clay working have been landscaped into pale hills, one of them now roofed with the biomes of the Eden Project.3 Beyond, the land folds into the deep oak woods of the Fowey valley, and the road drops suddenly to the water. Fowey faces its twin village of Polruan across a working harbour still busy with china-clay ships and yachts.

Fowey has been a port since the Middle Ages, when its sailors raided the French coast and its merchants grew rich on the wine and cloth trades. Daphne du Maurier lived nearby for much of her life and set several novels in and around the estuary, and the town keeps a literary festival in her name. The narrow main street, hemmed between the hillside and the water, has defeated anything wider than a small van for centuries.

What to do in Fowey

Fowey is a town for walking and for the water. The main street runs along the waterfront past galleries, delis and the parish church of St Fimbarrus, with its tall tower above the harbour. The Fowey Museum and the du Maurier connections give the place its literary flavour, and St Catherine's Castle, one of Henry VIII's coastal forts, guards the estuary mouth above Readymoney Cove.9 The two ferries are part of the experience: the Bodinnick car ferry and the Polruan passenger ferry both cross to the quieter east bank and its coast-path walks.5 For the best view of the whole harbour, climb to the Hall Walk above Polruan.

Read the Fowey guide

Going the other way: Fowey to Falmouth

Fowey to Falmouth reverses the B3269 and A390 and takes about the same time. The climb out of the estuary is easier heading north, and the A390 runs well back to Truro, where you can pick up the A39 for the last leg down to the Fal.

Related journeys

Truro to Fowey26 miles

Truro to Fowey

45 mins by car (About 45 minutes)2hr 30mins by bike (About 2 hours 30 minutes)

Truro to Fowey is 26 miles and about 45 minutes by car. The A390 route, the Lostwithiel river road, ferries, parking at the top of town and where to stop.

Falmouth to Truro11.5 miles

Falmouth to Truro

25 mins by car (About 25 minutes)1hr 15mins by bike (About 1 hour 15 minutes)

Falmouth to Truro is 11.5 miles and about 25 minutes by car on the A39. Compare the fastest and scenic routes, the Maritime Line train, parking and stops.

Falmouth to Penzance27 miles

Falmouth to Penzance

50 mins by car (About 50 minutes)2hr 45mins by bike (About 2 hours 45 minutes)

Falmouth to Penzance is 27 miles and about 50 minutes by car via the A394. Compare the fastest and coastal routes, the main line train, parking and stops.

See every Cornwall journey →

Article Sources
  1. OpenStreetMap contributors (2026). Road network, road classifications and place names. Copyright and licence [online]. Available at: https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright OpenStreetMap[↩]
  2. Historic England (no date). The National Heritage List for England [online]. Available at: https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list Historic England[↩]
  3. Eden Project (no date). Home page [online]. Available at: https://www.edenproject.com Eden Project[↩]
  4. English Heritage (no date). Restormel Castle [online]. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/restormel-castle English Heritage[↩]
  5. Fowey Harbour Commissioners (no date). Fowey harbour, the Bodinnick car ferry and the Polruan passenger ferry [online]. Available at: https://www.foweyharbour.co.uk Fowey Harbour Commissioners[↩]
  6. First Kernow (no date). Bus services, routes and timetables in Cornwall [online]. Available at: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/cornwall First Kernow[↩]
  7. Great Western Railway (no date). Plan your journey: timetables and branch-line services in Cornwall [online]. Available at: https://www.gwr.com/plan-journey Great Western Railway[↩]
  8. Royal Fowey Yacht Club (no date). Fowey Royal Regatta [online]. Available at: https://foweyroyalregatta.co.uk Fowey Royal Regatta[↩]
  9. English Heritage (no date). St Catherine’s Castle [online]. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/st-catherines-castle English Heritage[↩]
  10. Project OSRM (no date). Open Source Routing Machine: route shape and detour calculations [online]. Available at: https://project-osrm.org Project OSRM
  11. Ordnance Survey (no date). National Grid references used to position each place on the route map [online]. Available at: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk Ordnance Survey
  12. Google (no date). Google Maps: live traffic and turn-by-turn directions [online]. Available at: https://www.google.com/maps Google Maps