No timetable, no ticket and no booking: from Polruan Quay a small boat shuttles across Fowey harbour every ten to fifteen minutes. It is landing at Fowey's Town Quay for the winter, and from 27 September it stops at seven in the evening on weekdays. The operator publishes the hours in one place only, so treat the finishing times below as its minimum.
Winter service 27 September 2026 to 29 April 2027 and summer service 1 May to 26 September, as published by C. Toms & Son on its operating-hours page (last updated 4 September 2026) and read on 25 September 2026. No second official source publishes these hours. C. Toms & Son — Polruan Ferry operating hours · 2026-09-25
Polruan sits on the eastern side of the mouth of the River Fowey, in Cornwall, a village of steep lanes and steps with water on three sides. Fowey faces it across the harbour, larger and busier, with the shops and the main quay. By road the two are a long drive apart; by water they are a few minutes apart.
The boat is the Polruan passenger ferry, operated by Polruan Ferry Company Ltd, part of the C. Toms & Son boatyard in Polruan. It runs every day of the year except Christmas Day, shuttling continuously during its hours with a departure from each side every ten to fifteen minutes. There is no timetable to read and nothing to book: you go down the steps and wait.
Two things change with the season. The first is where it lands in Fowey: at Town Quay in winter and on summer evenings, at Whitehouse Pier on the Esplanade during summer days. The second is when it stops. From 27 September the boat finishes at 19:00 on weekdays and Saturdays, and by November at 17:00 on Sundays. This page is only about the foot ferry to Polruan; the Bodinnick crossing upriver is a different service, for cars, to a different village on the far bank.
There is no return ticket to buy, because there are no tickets at all: you pay the ferryman on board, in cash or by card, each time you cross. An adult going over to Fowey for lunch and coming back pays £3.50 twice, £7.00 in all.
Children count as children from 3 to 12. A dog adds 50p a crossing and a bicycle £2.10; parcels are charged at the child rate.
| Adult | £ 3.50 |
| Child (3–12) | £ 1.60 |
| Dog | £ 0.50 |
| Bicycle | £ 2.10 |
| Parcel | £ 1.60 |
Fares as published by C. Toms & Son and read on 25 September 2026. The page carries no date. C. Toms & Son — Polruan Ferry fares · 2026-09-25
Plot the two landings from the Department for Transport's stop data and Polruan Quay and Fowey Town Quay come out about 610 metres apart; the operator says the crossing takes a few minutes. The boat crosses a short way inside the harbour mouth, which in the fifteenth century was guarded by a pair of chain towers, one on each bank. On summer days the run to Whitehouse Pier is shorter still. The South West Coast Path needs a boat at several river mouths; in Devon, the seasonal ferryman at Bantham is one more, though that one stops for the winter and this one does not.
Town Quay is in the middle of Fowey, and it is where the ferry lands all winter and on summer evenings; the operator says it will use Town Quay continuously until 15 May 2027. There are public toilets on the quay. From the middle of May to the middle of September the daytime boats switch to Whitehouse Pier on the Esplanade, a few minutes' walk from the main street, so a summer visitor may land somewhere different from the one who comes back in October.
Fowey has several car parks within walking distance of both landings, although the operator does not name them. Access to the boat is by steps, as it is on the Polruan side.
The ferry leaves from steps on Polruan Quay, at the bottom of a village that climbs steeply from the water. There is very little parking on the quay itself; in summer the operator asks drivers to use St Saviour's car park at the top of the village and walk down the hill. Public toilets are on the quay.
The first boat of the day always starts from this side. Polruan is also where the South West Coast Path heads east towards Polperro and Looe, from the top of St Saviour's Hill, and where the Hall Walk comes down to the water.
The circular Hall Walk, about 4 miles (6.5 km) with some steep climbs, uses two crossings: this one and a second, separate car ferry further upriver at Bodinnick. You can start from Fowey, Polruan or Bodinnick.
The boat links two stretches of the South West Coast Path: east from Polruan towards Polperro and Looe, and west from Readymoney Cove in Fowey towards Gribbin Head. The operator suggests catching a bus out to Polperro or Looe and walking back, because public transport on that side is thin.
Both landings are reached by steps or slipways, and a wheelchair cannot be wheeled straight on. Staff assess each case and help where the weather allows; call 01726 870232 before travelling.
Dogs are welcome at 50p a crossing, but must stay on a lead aboard. Pushchairs and bicycles are carried too, with help from the crew on the steps.
The crossing is short and the boats have none, but there are public toilets on Polruan Quay and on Fowey Town Quay.
Late ferries outside the published hours can be arranged with the ferrymen, weather permitting, and private trips booked by email with the company.
The harbour mouth the ferry crosses was once closed with a chain. Historic England's list entry for Polruan Blockhouse, a scheduled monument, describes it as one of only five chain towers known to survive in England and, with its twin on the Fowey bank, one of the earliest built, probably in response to a French raid on Fowey in 1457. A chain laid between the two towers could be raised to stop ships reaching the town; the tower lost its purpose once St Catherine's Castle went up in the 1520s, though it saw brief use again in the Civil War.
The ferry company is younger but not young: Companies House records Polruan Ferry Company Limited as incorporated on 17 October 1924. C. Toms & Son, founded by the blacksmith Charlie Toms in 1922 and still run by the family, took it over in 1993. Its four boats are regularly inspected by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and the two twelve-seaters do the everyday work while the larger pair join in when the harbour is busy. The rest of the West Country's crossings on this site are gathered with the ferries we list in England.
No. The Polruan boat is for people on foot, with their bikes and dogs, between Polruan and Fowey. The car ferry is a separate crossing further upriver, between Fowey and Bodinnick, with its own hours and fares.
At Town Quay, in the centre of Fowey. The operator says the ferry runs between Polruan Quay and Town Quay until 15 May 2027; Whitehouse Pier on the Esplanade is used only on summer days.
The service finishes at 17:00, so the last crossing leaves Fowey at 17:00 and the last from Polruan at 16:55. That 17:00 Sunday finish applies from the weekend the clocks go back at the end of October until late March.
Yes. Cash and card are both accepted on board, and there are no tickets: you pay for each crossing as you make it. An adult single is £3.50.
No. All fares are singles, so a round trip for an adult costs £7.00 and for a child aged 3 to 12 £3.20.
Yes: a bicycle is £2.10 and a dog 50p per crossing. Both are welcome, but remember that the boat is boarded from steps at each landing.
Occasionally. The operator says it stops only when landing or crossing is unsafe, usually in winter gales, and posts updates and early finishes on its Polruan Ferry Facebook page.
Sometimes. Late ferries can be booked directly with the ferrymen, depending on the weather, and private trips outside normal hours can be requested by email.