Two miles in a southerly direction is Duloe, where some upright stones have been conjectured to be portions of a druidical circle some twenty-eight feet in diameter. A little to the west of the twin villages of East and West Looe is Trelawne, an ancient seat of the Trelawny family; but the house is not shown to visitors, although a request to view the fine collection of pictures, which includes a portrait by Kneller, is generally granted. Kneller's portrait is of the famous bishop, Sir Jonathan Trelawny, whose counterfeit presentment recalls the stirring times when every Cornish village echoed with the defiant strain:
"And shall Trelawny die? and shall Trelawny die?
There's thirty thousand underground shall know the reason why.
And shall they scorn Tre, Pol, and Pen? and shall Trelawny die?
There's thirty thousand Cornish boys will know the reason why.
Trelawny he's in keep, and hold; Trelawny he may die,
But thirty thousand Cornish men will know the reason why?"
The villages of East and West Looe are among the most picturesque on the southern seaboard. The estuary on the sides of which they are situated, is confined between lofty hills whose slopes are covered with allotment gardens and orchards. The bridge that crosses the creek a quarter of a mile from the haven mouth, was erected in 1855, when it displaced a remarkable old bridge of fifteen arches. In the days of the third Edward the combined Looes furnished twenty ships and a contingent of 315 men for the siege of Calais.
Some delightful boating excursions may be made from Looe, the one most in favour being that to Watergate up the West Looe river, which unites with the main stream half a mile above the town. The stream winds among lofty hills, covered with rich and abundant verdure.