East of Par Beach, the landform rises steeply marking the boundary of the AONB section. This elevated location, of the western headland of the Fowey Estuary offers extensive panoramic views inland along the Fowey Ria, across the adjacent Par Sands, across the St Austell and Mevagissey Bays and across to the distant coastline of the Roseland.

Stream valleys incise the coast east of Par, the first of these being home to the little village of Polkerris, with its intimate sandy beach and harbour. The Menabilly Valley, penetrating deep inland, forms its own small network of tributary stream valleys and the high ground in between, forms the promontory of Gribbin Head, with its beacon and distinctive red and white daymark.

The AONB landscape on the western slopes of the Fowey bordered by the B3269 offers glimpsed views of the estuary. Castle Dore on the ridge top above Golant is a wellpreserved example of Iron Age defensive earthworks reputedly linked with the early kings of Cornwall. It was occupied between the 4th centuries BC until the 1st century BC and rebuilt around 50AD after the Roman Invasion of Britain. Fowey has long been a strategic post with the fortification of St Catherine’s Castle situated on the top of St Catherine’s Point at the entrance to the River Fowey estuary.

St Catherine’s Chapel and St Saviour’s Chapel dominate the views on the east of the estuary. The castle was built by Henry VIII as an artillery fort to protect the estuary from the threat of a French invasion and the site also contains the remains of a prehistoric cliff fortification. The relics of 15th century blockhouses can also be found at both Fowey and Polruan. The larger settlements of the main town of Fowey and the villages of Polruan and Bodinnick cluster on the steep slopes on both sides of the ria and are connected by both a vehicle ferry from Bodinnick to Fowey and a passenger ferry from Polruan to Fowey. The main building material here is killas, reflecting the local geology, but a wide range of finishes and materials are used.

Slate is the main roofing material. Lower down the creeks, summer sailors moor a wide range of yachts and boats along the river course, whilst closer to the coast, larger sea-going vessels navigate upstream to Fowey to load their cargo at the China clay rail terminus, an important activity within the locality. Around half a million tonnes of China clay is exported from Fowey annually. The product serves the paper industry in Norway, Sweden and Finland. It also supplies the ceramics industry in Egypt, Italy, Portugal and many other countries. As of 2021 , aggregate is also now being exported from Fowey. This is a secondary material, produced as a byproduct from the china clay mining process which is being reprocessed and marketed as a building material. It is being shipped to the southeast of England for building and infrastructure projects.

Away from the river valley much of the settlement tends to be scattered with rural farms and occasional small hamlets such as St Veep and Lanteglos high on the ridgeway. Access to much of the AONB, away from the main settlements, is restricted to a few small lanes and tracks and is best explored on foot.

The steep slopes surrounding the Fowey Ria give a strong sense of enclosure that is strengthened by the surrounding expanses of Sessile Oak woodland, much of it ancient, that embrace the estuary, clothing the shoreline and extending up the valley sides. Higher up the slopes and over the exposed rolling ridges are medium sized mixed arable and pasture fields with irregular boundaries indicating medieval origins. However, the dramatically varying gradients make the overall field pattern difficult to discern from most vantage points. In exposed higher ground and away from the creeks there are few trees although lower down some Cornish hedges support belts of trees that extend like fingers up the slopes from the main woodlands.

On some slopes vineyards have been established adding a new texture amongst the more traditional agricultural uses. Designed ornamental landscapes occur for example the remains of Hall Walk at Bodinnick and Tivoli Gardens at Lerryn and exotic ornamental planting is a feature of some water’s edges and settlements. Fowey is Cornish for ‘river of beech trees’, however these are more characteristic further upstream in the Bodmin Moor section of the AONB and it is on the heart of the moor that the river Fowey rises. Indeed, Bodmin Moor was formerly known as Fowey Moor.

The area around the Fowey River has steep enclosed slopes ending abruptly at the water’s edge with gradients of 1:3 plummeting some 120 metres. Similar to the Fal and Helford, the creeks extend inland dissecting the landform with rounded exposed areas intermixed with a large expanse of oak woodland. These woodlands are part of a medieval working landscape when the wood was used for fuel, charcoal, coppice wood and timber and the undergrowth would have been utilised for grazing with the oak bark providing an important component for the tanning industry. Much of this woodland has now fallen out of management.

The three largest creeks namely the Lerryn, Penpoll and Pont Pill all join the eastern side of the River Fowey. The upper sections of these creeks are, in the main, un-navigable due to the build-up of silt and mud and now provide important wildlife habitats. The Fowey area and particularly Menabilly, has deep cultural associations, not least because of its link to the famous writer, Daphne du Maurier, who lived at Point Neptune, near Readymoney Cove and at Menabilly (in Menabilly House). However, the area also inspired the works of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, Kenneth Grahame and Leo Walmsley. Each year Fowey hosts the Fowey Festival of Words and Music, which is a significant cultural event in Cornwall’s calendar.

There are few villages along this section of the coast other than the small settlement of Lansallos Churchtown clustered around the head of a small valley leading down to Lantivet Bay and further east the much larger settlement of Polperro, a picturesque fishing village of slate cottages perched on steep sided slopes huddled around the sheltered historic harbour with its museum of fishing and smuggling, housed in an old fish processing house.

Due to the sparsely populated landscape and limited accessibility, much of this section of the AONB remains relatively free from development pressures, attracting mainly visitors who walk the South West Coastal Path.

Heading east, the coastline is characterised by its strong rolling landform with rounded convex slopes falling into incised valleys. Much of the open land on the ridges is generally in excess of 100 metres and is dissected by short coastal streams emerging at West Coombe, East Coombe, Polperro, Porthallow and Port Nadler.

The cliffs are distinctive for their chamfered profile, covered in scrub, and a wide range of rough vegetation intermixed with wildflowers and grasses, providing important habitats for a range of wildlife.

Due to the exposed nature of this coastal landscape there are few trees other than the larger valley running inland from Polperro to Crumplehorn, here there are areas of mixed and deciduous woodland, benefiting from the sheltered environment. Much of the land along this section of the AONB is in agricultural use with a mix of arable and pastoral farming in a medieval field enclosure system with medium sized fields.

The narrow lane network connecting the farms with small hamlets are enclosed by high Cornish hedges of slate which are well vegetated and give the appearance of grassy banks.

Partnerships and Neighbourhood Plans

• Fowey Neighbourhood Development Plan
• Fowey Estuary Management Plan is a non-statutory document containing guidelines to inform and guide current and future management of the estuary.
• Lanteglos Neighbourhood Development Plan is at referendum
• Polperro and Lansallos Neighbourhood Development Plan
• The Fowey Estuary Partnership provides holistic management of the estuary, balancing tourism, commerce and leisure interests. It is run by the Fowey Harbour Commissioners bringing together a number of regulatory bodies, NGO’s and interested parties on the basis of voluntary co-operation.
• Friends of Fowey Estuary provide a focus for voluntary activities for the conservation of the estuary.