READYMONEY: HARD TO FORGET
Backed by fairytale turrets, luscious woodland and pretty cottages, Readymoney Cove captures the imagination of Fowey’s local businesses and visitors alike…
Walking down to Readymoney Cove it unfurls before you as you catch glimpses of the cove and river through gaps between the wildflowers and trees.
“I’m always slightly jealous of anybody who’s doing that [walk] for the first time”, says Victoria, owner of Readymoney Beach Shop.
“It’s so special. People who have brought their children here, who then bring their grandchildren here and they all come back. And its iconic, with its turrets. And I think that sticks in people’s minds. So, once you’ve seen Readymoney, it’s not somewhere that you forget.”
Overlooking the beach at the top of the slipway, Trevone Beach Shop provides a convenient stop-off point for Readymoney’s visitors: whether it’s providing a hot drink for local swimmers, beach toys and ice cream for families, or a quick bite to eat and bathroom break for those enjoying walks along the coastal path. They also sell beautiful souvenirs created by local makers.
“It’s always been a very community-minded endeavour, and we carry that through with lots of things that we do.”
The shop peers over the sand, drinking in views of sheltered waters, with St Catherine’s Castle and Polruan Blockhouse in the distance. Originally converted from a council-operated toilet to keep this community facility open, while serving drinks and food to beach goers, the shop has expanded to become a real community asset and essential stop-off for visitors:
“It’s always been a very community-minded endeavour, and we carry that through with lots of things that we do. We work with the local library service to have books that people can take away. We have baskets of blankets in the winter for people to huddle up in the beach shelter here if they’re cold.
“We have beach games for people to borrow. And we have our abandoned beach toy library. So it’s here for everybody and it serves different needs for different people.”
“My pottery is all about my everyday life and what’s around me, whether that’s fishermen, the sea swimmers…”
Victoria explains just how important a place the beach is for so many people too.
“People hold it really deeply in their hearts. It means so much. People get engaged here; they get married here. They sprinkle their loved ones’ ashes, bring their babies for the first paddle in the sea. It’s somewhere that is so special to people.”
HIDDEN GEMS
A walk from the beach through Fowey brings you to Laura Lane Ceramics opposite the town’s RNLI lifeboat station. Laura draws all of her inspiration from the local environment in her craft: beautiful yet functional pottery, imbued with an essence storytelling.
“My pottery is all about my everyday life and what’s around me, whether that’s fishermen, the sea swimmers… My approach is to use local materials, stories from the local environment or the world around me, sometimes a bit of folklore and quite often my cat Billy Bob.”
Laura’s shop has been selling pottery for thirty years overlooking the Fowey River. It’s on the edge of the town centre but is home to traditional cottages and a fantastic range of independent businesses, well worth an exploration.
“We’re at the other end of town [to Readymoney] but this is the cool end of town: we’ve got some really lovely eateries, and my new neighbour is going to be a microbrewery”, says Laura. “But people do need to venture; they have to walk along [because] it’s a linear town and sometimes people stop halfway.”
Laura’s recommendations include Shrew Books for its quirky decor and fantastic range of books, Olive Branch for delicious Mediterranean food, and Fowey River Traders for its quaint cafe and nautical-inspired clothing and goods.
Victoria at Readymoney Beach Shop describes Fowey has having “an absolute myriad of fantastic independent shops, cafes, businesses.”
She describes this selection as perfectly curated, with amazing places to discover along the winding streets. “My favourite places to eat is to go down to the other end of town to North Street Kitchen. They do an amazing fish soup and there’s a brilliant café in town, Brown Sugar.”
After exploring the beach and town, Laura also suggests the Fowey Hall Walk through the surrounding natural beauty, with views over the harbour, through woodlands and following pretty creeks. A 4-mile circular route from Fowey to Bodinnick and Polruan, the journey also includes two ferry rides.
Find your beach in Fowey
