About Portloe

Portloe village is a tiny, untouched, fishing village located on the Roseland Peninsula in the county of Cornwall. Portloe village is seen by most as a gem on the peninsula and definitely one of the most beautiful villages in the county. Portloe is nestled into a steep valley and this location is similar to that of other older Cornish harbours all over the peninsula. Portloe village is found near the western part of Veryan bay and has a small shingle beach.

Portloe is not well developed and most of its buildings are almost the same as they were when they were built and this adds to its charm. There are not many houses to be found in Portloe. It was once said that Portloe is among the least spoilt and impressive Cornish fishing village.

Portloe Cornwall. The name Portloe comes from the Cornish ‘Porth Logh’ which means, “cove pool”. Because of its naturally sheltered location the village flourished during the 17th and 18th centuries as a pilchard fishing port. A lot of smuggling took place at Portloe during the 19th century. The item of choice for the smugglers was French brandy, which was brought ashore to Portloe hidden in cellars by fishermen and local farms. The problem was so far out of hand that in 1824 the country’s Customs ordered the building of a watch, boathouse and slip in order to curb the illicit trade.

Portloe was once home to a small drift fleet and a seine fishery, but these days not too many fishing boats operate out of Portloe, and those that do catch lobster and crabs. In more recent times Portoe has been the location of choice for a number of films and television series.