If you want a traditional Cornish fishing village, you can’t get much better than Portloe. Located on the pretty Roseland peninsular, its cottages are squeezed onto steep slopes, and its winding paths lead down to a hidden harbour. So hidden, in fact, that it proved just perfect for smuggling.

Portloe had a thriving pilchard trade for most of the 17/18th centuries with a 50-strong fleet. The heavy taxes on salt and the temptation of smuggling proved too much though. Many local fishermen and farmers, as well as the innkeeper of The Lugger Inn (known as Black Dunstan) turned to smuggling French brandy instead. Customs built a watch house and slipway in an attempt to stop it, but it was many years before they were able to. Black Dunstan was hanged in the 1890s following another Customs crackdown. Now there are just two fishing boats operating out the little harbour catching lobster and crab.

Portloe is a beautiful swim spot with clear waters and an excellent rock to swim round if the tide is high and there’s no swell.

Similar spots: for more Cornish stories ~ Polperro Tide Pool