It’s an odd one, isn’t it? Looe. Apart from the obvious – and clearly incorrect! -connections, bound to raise a chuckle here and there, have you ever wondered how our lovely little town got its unusual name?
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It’s actually way more obvious than you might think at first glance. Cornwall is fiercely proud of its Celtic roots and traditions and it’s in the Cornish language – part of the Celtic language family along with Scottish and Irish Gaelic and others – where the name originates.
If you think of the river carving its way to the sea between steeply-sided hills, you’ll pretty soon see the connection with the Scottish ‘loch’ – as in Loch Ness. Just stretch the vowel a little, soften down the ‘ch’ to a whisper and it’s an easy transition to ‘Looe’. On older maps, it’s written as ‘Loo’ – the ‘e’ may have been added by oh-so-genteel Victorians in an effort to disconnect their town from its lavatorial connotations!
We may not have our own Nessie to bring the tourists in but each year at Christmas our resident sea monster Muirin appears as part of the exceptional display of festive lights festooned around the harbour.