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Arriving in Fowey

Travel distances

Newquay to Fowey

Newquay 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

37 miles

by road

By car

About 1 hour

in normal traffic

By bike

About 3 hours 45 minutes

steady pace

By foot

About 12 hours 20 minutes

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. Newquay's beach car parks fill by mid-morning in season too.

Which way to go

The fastest route

Leave Newquay on the A392 to the A30 and follow it east to the Innis Downs junction, then take the A391 south towards St Austell.1 Join the A390 east and turn off near St Blazey for the A3082 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. Around an hour in normal traffic.

The scenic route

For a quieter run with a river at the end, leave the A390 at St Blazey for the lanes 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. Alternatively the coastal detour by Charlestown and Par takes in two historic harbours on the way.

Caravans and motorhomes

The A392, A30, A391 and A390 are the main roads through mid-Cornwall and carry 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

    Newquay

  2. St Austell

    5.8 miles off the B3269, adds roughly 7 minutes

    The largest town in mid-Cornwall and the capital of the china-clay country, whose spoil tips have been landscaped into pale hills, one now roofed with the biomes of the Eden Project.3

  3. Charlestown Beach

    4.3 miles off the B3269, adds roughly 8 minutes

    A preserved Georgian harbour just south of St Austell, built for the clay trade and still home to tall ships, familiar from many a film and television costume drama.

  4. Polkerris Beach

    1 mile off the B3269, adds roughly 6 minutes

    A small, sheltered, west-facing sandy cove with an old pilchard cellar and a beach cafe, tucked below the Gribbin headland on the final approach to Fowey.

  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.4 In Newquay, use the Tregunnel Hill or Manor Road car parks before you leave.

Train and bus

There is no direct line to Fowey. The practical route is the Atlantic Coast Line from Newquay to Par, then a short bus from Par to Fowey, about fifteen minutes.5 Total journey time is around an hour and a half with connections.6 Both the main line and the Newquay branch meet at Par, so the change is an easy one.

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.7 Winter brings a dramatic quiet and empty coast-path walks.

About the Newquay to Fowey journey

The thirty-seven miles from Newquay to Fowey carry you from the Atlantic surf of the north coast to a sheltered, wooded estuary on the south, two very different kinds of Cornish water. The drive crosses the middle of the county, over the high ground and down through the china-clay country to the drowned river valley where Fowey sits.

Leaving Newquay for the A30, the road runs east across the central plateau, then turns south through the 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, which is part of its charm after the open sweep of Newquay.

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.8 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.4 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 Newquay

Fowey to Newquay reverses the A390, A391 and A30 and takes about the same hour. The climb out of the estuary is easier heading north, and the roads run well back across the clay country and the central plateau to the Newquay turning.

Related journeys

Newquay to Truro14 miles

Newquay to Truro

30 mins by car (About 30 minutes)1hr 30mins by bike (About 1 hour 30 minutes)

Newquay to Truro is 14 miles and about 30 minutes by car. The A3075 route, the coast road, buses, the Langarth Park & Ride and the best time to travel.

Newquay to Padstow14 miles

Newquay to Padstow

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

Newquay to Padstow is 14 miles and about 25 minutes by car via the A3059. Compare the fast inland route and the coastal beach road, parking and stops.

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.

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. 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[↩]
  5. First Kernow (no date). Bus services, routes and timetables in Cornwall [online]. Available at: https://www.firstbus.co.uk/cornwall First Kernow[↩]
  6. 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[↩]
  7. Royal Fowey Yacht Club (no date). Fowey Royal Regatta [online]. Available at: https://foweyroyalregatta.co.uk Fowey Royal Regatta[↩]
  8. English Heritage (no date). St Catherine’s Castle [online]. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/st-catherines-castle English Heritage[↩]
  9. Project OSRM (no date). Open Source Routing Machine: route shape and detour calculations [online]. Available at: https://project-osrm.org Project OSRM
  10. 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
  11. Google (no date). Google Maps: live traffic and turn-by-turn directions [online]. Available at: https://www.google.com/maps Google Maps