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Arriving in Fowey

Travel distances

Padstow to Fowey

Padstow 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

38 miles

by road

By car

About 55 minutes

in normal traffic

By bike

About 3 hours 45 minutes

steady pace

By foot

About 12 hours 40 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. Padstow's own car parks fill by mid-morning too.

Which way to go

The fastest route

Leave Padstow on the A389 to Wadebridge, continue on the A389 to Bodmin, then take the A30 east for a short stretch and 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 fifty-five minutes in normal traffic.

The scenic route

For a quieter run with a river at the end, leave the A30 at Bodmin for the A38 and A390 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 A389, A30 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

    Padstow

  2. Wadebridge

    0.5 miles off the A39, adds roughly 3 minutes

    The town at the lowest bridging point of the River Camel and the hub of the Camel Trail, a natural first stop on the way inland from Padstow.3

  3. Bodmin

    On the B3268, adds roughly 2 minutes

    The old county town on the edge of Bodmin Moor, with its Victorian gaol, the Bodmin and Wenford steam railway and the moor rising behind it.

  4. Lostwithiel

    0.9 miles off the B3269, adds roughly 4 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 In Padstow, use the Harbour car park above the town.

Train and bus

There is no direct line to Fowey. The practical route is a First Kernow bus from Padstow to Bodmin Parkway, the main line east to Par, then a short 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 Padstow to Fowey journey

The thirty-eight miles from Padstow to Fowey link two of Cornwall's finest natural harbours, one on the north coast and one on the south, both tucked into drowned river valleys that the Atlantic and the Channel reach deep inland. The drive between them crosses the middle of the county, over the shoulder of Bodmin Moor and down through the china-clay country to the Fowey estuary.

Leaving the Camel at Wadebridge, the road runs to Bodmin, the old county town on the moor's western edge, 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.9 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.10 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 Padstow

Fowey to Padstow reverses the A390, A30 and A389 and takes about the same time. The climb out of the estuary is easier heading north, and the roads run well back across the clay country and the moor's edge to Bodmin and Wadebridge, with the Camel estuary at the end.

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.

Padstow to Truro24 miles

Padstow to Truro

45 mins by car (About 45 minutes)2hr 15mins by bike (About 2 hours 15 minutes)

Padstow to Truro is 24 miles and about 45 minutes by car via the A39 and A30. Compare the fastest and scenic routes, buses, parking and stops along the way.

Padstow to Falmouth47 miles

Padstow to Falmouth

1hr 10mins by car (About 1 hour 10 minutes)4hr 30mins by bike (About 4 hours 30 minutes)

Padstow to Falmouth is 47 miles and about 1 hour 10 minutes by car via the A39 and A30. Compare the fastest and scenic routes, the train, parking and stops.

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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. Sustrans (no date). Camel Trail (Padstow to Bodmin) [online]. Available at: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/find-a-route-on-the-national-cycle-network/camel-trail Sustrans[↩]
  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. Eden Project (no date). Home page [online]. Available at: https://www.edenproject.com Eden Project[↩]
  10. English Heritage (no date). St Catherine’s Castle [online]. Available at: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/st-catherines-castle English Heritage[↩]
  11. Project OSRM (no date). Open Source Routing Machine: route shape and detour calculations [online]. Available at: https://project-osrm.org Project OSRM
  12. 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
  13. Google (no date). Google Maps: live traffic and turn-by-turn directions [online]. Available at: https://www.google.com/maps Google Maps