south east cornwall tourism association

Welcome to SECTA

The Home of South East Cornwall Tourism Association

Do you have a tourism or hospitality business in Cornwall? did you know that Cornwall has its own.

• Accommodation Inspection Scheme called Quality in Cornwall recognised by Visit Cornwall?
• Green Tourism Scheme called Green Acorn ?

Two affordable quality schemes to promote your business.

See how SECTA can work with YOU

SECTA is the voice of ALL Tourism businesses across South East Cornwall, run by members and for members. We lobby for change, offer advice, mutual support and respond to the ever changing business environment. Be a part of our dynamic group, receive monthly newsletters, come to meetings, join our training courses and work with us to put Tourism at the top of the business agenda. Join us NOW. It’s FREE .

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Discover South East Cornwall

Discover all there is to see and do in South East Cornwall during your holiday to the region.

Visit the Rame Peninsula

This often forgotten corner of Cornwall is a hidden gem that shouldn’t be missed. It encompasses a number of villages including Cawsand, Kingsand, St German’s, Millbrook and more. Much of it is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with magnificent scenery and spectacular walks, both coastal and along wide estuaries.  Kingsand and Cawsand are twinned villages with outstanding views of Plymouth Sound and a rich smuggling history. As you wander the narrow streets, passing colour washed charming cottages, you will understand how it was easy to hide illicit goods here in the past.

Much of the Rame Peninsula is part of the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park . Here you will find not only open parkland and ancient woodland, but also formal gardens awash with colour from spring to autumn. Another fine house and garden can be found at Port Eliot in St Germans. Once one of the main religious centres in Cornwall, the estate now plays host to the Port Eliot festiva l in July each year.

See the seaside town of Looe

The historical port and coastal town of Looe keeps visitors entertained with a great selection of shops and eating places in the town plus a main beach just right for kids of all ages to relax on. Looe is still a working fishing port and visitors can take fishing trips out themselves, either in search of mackerel or into deeper waters for conger eels or sharks! Children will be just as happy catching crabs from the long harbour wall, a great way to keep the little ones entertained!

There are great attractions nearby, with the  Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary  just four miles along the coast and the Adrenalin Quarry just inland..

Discover the unspoilt fishing village of Polperro

A few miles along the coast from Looe you can step back in time when you visit the untouched fishing village of  Polperro . It is an artist’s paradise with breathtaking views of both land and sea as you wander around the little harbour, tucked away beneath steep sided hills. A hotbed of smuggling in the 1700’s, there’s now a museum telling you all about the village’s dodgy past. Visit during June and enjoy the Polperro Music and Arts Festival  that takes place each year.

Walking in South East Cornwall

The best way to explore South East Cornwall is to put your boots on and go for a walk. Over 25 miles of the  South West Coast Path run through the area with popular stretches linking Looe and Polperro and out around Rame Head and Whitsand Bay. To the west, the small village of Polruan, opposite Fowey, offers walks along the coast to Lantic Bay, one of Cornwalls finest, but also inaccessible beaches.

To the north of the area, Bodmin Moor offers wilderness like terrain, with historical sites dating back 6000 years and remains of Cornwall industrial heritage, now given World Heritage status.

You can discover more of the region each year by taking part in the  South East Cornwall Walking Festival  in September. Here you can join local guides who know the area inside out and will take you to places even the local don’t know!

The Great Gardens of Cornwall

Choose from a number of stately homes and landscaped parks that you can see in the area, including the aforementioned Mount Edgcumbe and Port Eliot. There’s also Antony House and Garden   an 18th century mansion with a fine collection of paintings. The fantastic grounds including the formal gardens and the woodland garden can also be seen during your visit. You may recognise parts of the gardens as they were previously used as a location in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland film. Also in the area you can find  Cotehele House and Gardens upriver from Saltash. The classic Medieval house and the formally planted terraces sit high above the river with the Vallley Garden leading down to paths that take you to the historical quayside and mill. The other National Trust house in the area is Lanhydrock , to the west of the region. Here wooded grounds slope down to the Fowey River at Respryn Bridge, offering wonderful walks, especially in the spring when the bluebells carpet the ground.

Away from the crowds

Above are the main places to visit in the area, but there are also historic market towns such as Liskeard and Callington, Saltash where IK Brunels railway bridge crosses the Tamar river. Pretty creekside villages, like St German’s and Lerryn. Medieval churches and country pubs on the edge of Bodmin Moor.

So, check out South East Cornwall, you won’t be disappointed.

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Discover South East Cornwall

Discover all there is to see and do in South East Cornwall during your holiday to the region.

Visit the Rame Peninsula

This often forgotten corner of Cornwall is a hidden gem that shouldn't be missed. It encompasses a number of villages including Cawsand, Kingsand, St German's, Millbrook and more. Much of it is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with magnificent scenery and spectacular walks, both coastal and along wide estuaries. Kingsand and Cawsand are twinned villages with outstanding views of Plymouth Sound and a rich smuggling history. As you wander the narrow streets, passing colour washed charming cottages, you will understand how it was easy to hide illicit goods here in the past.

Much of the Rame Peninsula is part of the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park. Here you will find not only open parkland and ancient woodland, but also formal gardens awash with colour from spring to autumn. Another fine house and garden can be found at Port Eliot in St Germans. Once one of the main religious centres in Cornwall, the estate now plays host to the Port Eliot festival in July each year.

See the seaside town of Looe

The historical port and coastal town of Looe keeps visitors entertained with a great selection of shops and eating places in the town plus a main beach just right for kids of all ages to relax on. Looe is still a working fishing port and visitors can take fishing trips out themselves, either in search of mackerel or into deeper waters for conger eels or sharks! Children will be just as happy catching crabs from the long harbour wall, a great way to keep the little ones entertained!

There are great attractions nearby, with the Wild Futures Monkey Sanctuary just four miles along the coast and the Adrenalin Quarry just inland..

Discover the unspoilt fishing village of Polperro

A few miles along the coast from Looe you can step back in time when you visit the untouched fishing village of Polperro. It is an artist’s paradise with breathtaking views of both land and sea as you wander around the little harbour, tucked away beneath steep sided hills. A hotbed of smuggling in the 1700's, there's now a museum telling you all about the village's dodgy past. Visit during June and enjoy the Polperro Music and Arts Festival that takes place each year.

Walking in South East Cornwall

The best way to explore South East Cornwall is to put your boots on and go for a walk. Over 25 miles of the South West Coast Path run through the area with popular stretches linking Looe and Polperro and out around Rame Head and Whitsand Bay. To the west, the small village of Polruan, opposite Fowey, offers walks along the coast to Lantic Bay, one of Cornwalls finest, but also inaccessible beaches.

To the north of the area, Bodmin Moor offers wilderness like terrain, with historical sites dating back 6000 years and remains of Cornwall industrial heritage, now given World Heritage status.

You can discover more of the region each year by taking part in the South East Cornwall Walking Festival in September. Here you can join local guides who know the area inside out and will take you to places even the local don't know!

The Great Gardens of Cornwall

Choose from a number of stately homes and landscaped parks that you can see in the area, including the aforementioned Mount Edgcumbe and Port Eliot. There's also Antony House and Garden an 18th century mansion with a fine collection of paintings. The fantastic grounds including the formal gardens and the woodland garden can also be seen during your visit. You may recognise parts of the gardens as they were previously used as a location in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland film. Also in the area you can find Cotehele House and Gardens upriver from Saltash. The classic Medieval house and the formally planted terraces sit high above the river with the Vallley Garden leading down to paths that take you to the historical quayside and mill. The other National Trust house in the area is Lanhydrock, to the west of the region. Here wooded grounds slope down to the Fowey River at Respryn Bridge, offering wonderful walks, especially in the spring when the bluebells carpet the ground.

Away from the crowds

Above are the main places to visit in the area, but there are also historic market towns such as Liskeard and Callington, Saltash where IK Brunels railway bridge crosses the Tamar river. Pretty creekside villages, like St German's and Lerryn. Medieval churches and country pubs on the edge of Bodmin Moor.

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Discover the Rame Peninsula

Located in South East Cornwall, bounded by the sea to the south and Plymouth Sound to the east. Historical villages, ancestral homes, woodland and coastal walks, overlooking some of Cornwall's best beaches.

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A digital postcard from the Rame Peninsula

Known as Cornwall's forgotten south east corner, the Rame Peninsula is a beautiful landscape of tidal creeks, sandy beaches, lush farmland and country parks. Small villages hide at the heads of creeks, waiting to be discovered, whilst the stretch of coast fronting onto Whitsand Bay offers fantastic views and great walking along the South West Coast Path. Rame Head, at the eastern end of Whitsand Bay, guards Plymouth Sound from the prevailing winds. It is crowned by the remains of a 14th century chapel, dedicated to St Michael and is a popular spot for birdwatchers. The nearby Penlee Battery, a disused Napoleonic fort, is now a nature reserve. Sheltered by the headland are the twin villages of Kingsand and Cawsand. Once a popular haunt of smugglers, they are now well geared up for the tourist trade with waterfront pubs and restaurants. A seasonal passenger ferry runs from Cawsand to Plymouth.

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South East Cornwall

Clear water at pentewan beach, river tamar at saltash, polperro fish market memorial, inner harbour, polperro - 1900s, lansallos street - polperro, helman tor sunnrise.

South-East Cornwall includes the two districts of Caradon and Restormel . The region is the historic gateway into the county with the tiny town of Torpoint , nestling on the banks of the River Tamar , now entering its third century as host to a ferry connecting Cornwall with the rest of the UK. Compared to the exposed north coast this is an area of relative calm. Family-friendly beaches, picturesque fishing villages, rolling green hills and lush river valleys characterise a landscape steeped in history, from the Tristan stone , a sixth century engraved monolith thought to be the burial stone of Tristan, son of King Mark of Cornwall , to the 14th century blockhouses that guard the entrance to the harbour at Fowey.

Not far from Torpoint, and a beautiful train ride up the Tamar Valley from Plymouth is Cothele , Cornwall’s best-preserved and most important Tudor house, dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, now owned and run by the National Trust.

The base of Caradon district council is in Liskeard , an ancient market town at the head of the River Looe valley and one of the few remaining Cornish towns to have a traditional weekly market. A former stannary (tin coinage collection) town, Mining remains an important part of Liskeard’s heritage. In 1828 a canal was built to transport stone from Liskeard to Looe and today the rail link between the two towns, also a remnant of the mining industry, is one of Cornwall’s scenic treats.

Looe , home to a monkey sanctuary and a marine nature reserve, is a busy fishing port and plays host to scores of beautiful old fishing boats each summer during the famous Looe Lugger Festival . The countryside around the Looe estuary is some of the most sheltered in Cornwall, and the steep wooded sides of the river valley provide an environment rich with wildlife.

From Polperro , a picture-perfect fishing village renowned for its former smuggling activities, the coast wends it way south to the village of Polruan , on the banks of the Fowey River, which leads inland to the charming town of Lostwithiel , thought by some to be Cornwall’s hidden treasure. Once the Duchy capital this small, bustling town has a character all of its own. Indeed John Betjeman is reputed to have said 'There is history in every stone in Lostwithiel'.

Come back down the other side of the river and you will reach the town of Fowey , pronounced 'Foy', which, due to its deep water and easily defendable harbour, has been an important port since pre-Roman times. Exceptionally busy throughout the year Fowey, with its spectacular hillside setting, lush surrounding countryside and calm moorings for leisure craft, easily justifies its popularity with tourists. The town is also famous for its association with Daphne Du Maurier whose former home, Menabilly , just a few miles from the town, is thought to have been the setting for Manderley in her famous novel, 'Rebecca'.

The administrative capital of the borough of Restormel is St Austell , home to the famous St Austell brewery , which celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2001. The oldest structure in the town is an ancient granite bridge, straddling what is known locally as the 'White River', a reference to the china clay industry that has had a profound impact on the town and its neighbouring countryside. St Austell is currently undergoing large-scale regeneration thanks in part to the world famous Eden Project whose iconic biomes are situated just a few miles away in a former clay pit.

The largest settlement on the coast between St Austell and Falmouth is Mevagissey . Situated on the eastern edge of the Roseland Peninsula , Mevagissey is yet another picturesque fishing port, with a working harbour built on the site of a medieval quay. The old centre is a jumble of narrow alleyways filled with gift shops and galleries, restaurants and guesthouses. Fishing trips are available from the harbour and the town makes a good base from which to explore the Eden Project, just six miles away.

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Charlestown

Lostwithiel

Towns & villages in South East Cornwall

Top attractions in south east cornwall.