England
Fowey
Daphne du Maurier's estuary where wooded creeks swallow the sound of the open sea.
Wooded creeks branch off the estuary into silence, the tide swelling beneath overhanging oaks where herons stand motionless on the mud. Fowey in Cornwall is the town Daphne du Maurier made her own — a harbour sheltered so deeply from the open sea that the Atlantic feels like a rumour.
Fowey's deep-water harbour has been a significant port since the medieval period, when Fowey Gallants — the town's privateering fleet — harassed French shipping across the Channel. Du Maurier lived at Menabilly, the estate that became Manderley in Rebecca, and the town celebrates her connection with an annual literary festival each May. The Hall Walk, a four-mile circular route crossing the estuary by ferry, follows a path created in the 16th century through woodland above Pont Pill creek, offering views that compress the entire harbour into a single frame. The Saints Way, a 28-mile pilgrimage route connecting Fowey to Padstow on the north coast, begins at the church of St Fimbarrus. Polkerris, a sheltered cove a mile south, provides a beach for swimming when the estuary's tidal mud is exposed.
Couple
Fowey wraps around its harbour like a stage around an orchestra pit. Take the Hall Walk ferry, eat above the water at one of the quayside restaurants, and watch the estuary darken as the boats swing on their moorings.
Solo
Du Maurier came here to write, and the creeks and woods still carry that quality of withdrawal. Walk Pont Pill alone, where the tide fills and drains the creek in near-silence.
- Daphne du Maurier wrote Rebecca in a house overlooking this harbour — the creek, the woods, and the rain all made it into the novel.
- The estuary is deep enough for sailing ships but intimate enough to swim across — the Bodinnick ferry takes 90 seconds.
- Waterside restaurants serve lobster and Fowey River oysters with views of boats swinging on their moorings.
- The Hall Walk from Fowey to Polruan loops through oak woodland above the river, returning by passenger ferry at sunset.
Lobster bisque at Sam's on the Beach, a tin shack perched above Polkerris cove.
Cornish cream tea at Pinky Murphy's, a pastel-pink cafe on the harbour front.
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