Barnaby Bear visits Fowey

At last, Barnaby Bear has found the mouth of the River Fowey - where it flows into the sea. This is the end of the River Fowey's journey.

Photograph copyright Fowey Harbour and used with permission.

Fowey is a harbour town. It's main geographical feature is the river and port. Can you see some of Fowey's houses on the right in this photo?

On the drive into Fowey, Barnaby Bear saw that people around Fowey have many different jobs and hobbies - not just to do with the water.
Photograph copyright Fowey Harbour and used with permission.	There are lots of different types of buildings in Fowey. What do you think the tallest building in this photo is?
...?
	...it belongs to a church. There has been a church in this place since the 12th Century. A Norman church was built here in 1150. It was destroyed (possibly by pirates) and rebuilt in 1328. In 1460 and 1876 it was restored. In 1899 Kenneth Grahame was married here!
There are lots of other old buildings in this town. This building is Fowey Town Hall and Museum. Unfortunately Barnaby Bear didn't have time to visit the museum today.
	Fowey is full of places that are old. You can learn a lot about the history of places through their street names. What do you think used to be here? What does this tell you about this place?
These days, Fowey's biggest export is China Clay. Can you see where the clay is handled on the chart? Click the map for a biger version. The china clay comes into Fowey's port by boat, and leaves on the railway that passess through Golant.

Now it is the Harbour Master who is in charge of all the boats that come in and out of the port. This building is the Harbour Master's Office. It's on Albert Quay. Can you find it on the chart?

	The plaque on the wall says: "Queen Victoria and Prince Albert landed on this quay Sept 8th 1846" Why do you think this is important?
Here is the pontoon at Albert Quay. It is here so that people can easily get on and off their boats.

	The other quay is very popular with visitors...
...this ferry takes you across the river to Polruan.
Photograph copyright Fowey Harbour and used with permission.	Which quay do you think this is? Is it Albert Quay, with the pontoon, or Town Quay where the ferry boat sails from?

You can see a long way upriver from Town Quay. The estuary is very busy, because it is the Easter holidays. There are several tourists visiting, and many local people use their boats during the holidays.
Can you see the yellow mooring floats bobbing up and down in the water, just off the quay?

This is where many of the boat owners come to meet. There are many boats moored in the river here.

	Some boat owners are lucky enough to live right on the riverbank. These boats are tied up outside people's houses. An advantage of living right next to the Fowey is that you never have to walk far to find your boat. Can you think of any disadvantages to living here?
The town has many interesting features because of the river. Barnaby Bear has spotted access to the river down a narrow alleyway.

You can see Polruan on the oposite shore of the Fowey Estuary. Further downstream, on the outcrop on the right is St. Catherine's Castle.

The scene in this photograph is a very special place in the River's journey. This is where the River Fowey's journey ends - at the mouth of the river. It can be difficult to tell, sometimes, where the river ends and the sea starts.

Sadly, this is also the end of Barnaby Bear's river adventure. Barnaby Bear has learned a lot on his journey along the River Fowey.

Before Barnaby Bear goes home, he makes one last stop in Fowey. The journey has made him hungry, and he decides to taste the Fowey...

...or at least, to taste one of the Fowey's delicious products! He buys some freshly caught rainbow trout from the local fresh fish shop.

Click here for Barnaby Bear's river memories, and a game to see how much you've remembered!

Dates and information about the church from Friends of Cornwall.