We had driven by signs for the “historic rail line”:https://greatscenicrailways.co.uk/lines/looe-valley-line/ between Looe and Liskeard the day we arrived in Looe and headed to Liskeard by car to get provisions for our week long “holiday let”:https://www.silvertraveladvisor.com/review/accommodation/188019-review-three-ways-cottage. On our first day in Looe we ended up at the train station after wandering around town. Some relaxation on the train seemed like a good idea to rest our weary bones.
There are no services at the train station so we ladies headed across the road to The Globe Inn pub to use the facilities. To do so we had to get through a number of youngish men dressed as super heroes – a stag party perhaps?? We sat in the sun on the platform waiting for the next train while looking out over the convergence of the East and West Looe Rivers and watching the gulls. When the train entered the station we got on board and bought our tickets from the conductor. There were four of us so he gave us the group discount of £3.05 each for Off-Peak Day Return tickets.
The rail line runs along the eastern side of the East Looe River, to Sandplace and then through forests and some farmland up a 1 in 40 gradient to Liskeard which is 150 feet above the valley. It is definitely a picturesque trip. There are four stops between Looe and Liskeard: Sandplace, Causeland, St. Keyne Wishing Well Halt, and Coombe Junction Halt. People often use the railway line if they are staying in Liskeard and want a day by the sea in Looe or they’re staying in Looe and want to go the market town of Liskeard. It would also be a nice way to spend the day getting on and off the train (with an Off-Peak Day Return ticket for £4.60) and exploring the various stops and walks along the way. From Liskeard you can switch to the main line and get tickets to other destinations such as Plymouth which is half an hour by train (£6.20 for an Off-Peak day return adult ticket) or Truro which is 50 minutes by train (£9.80).
We made the trip in the late afternoon arriving around 5:00 pm so by the time we arrived in Liskeard and walked into town the shops were shutting. We bought some ice cream cones at a Spar then walked back to the train station to catch the 5:58 train back to Looe. It did give us a different perspective on the town of Liskeard than the Morrison’s shop and gas station we had seen the night before.
There was a very noisy hen party that we had run into at lunch time at the Black Swan in Looe. Imagine our surprise when they showed up on the train as well! Thankfully they were getting off in Liskeard as we were getting on for our return trip. Even though it was a Saturday it was mid-May so there weren’t many people on the train and we were able to move around a bit taking photos of the scenery and each other. We may be seniors but we were still having fun!
