Looe Harbour Heritage Centre at The Old Sardine Factory

The Old Sardine Factory down by Looe Harbour is exactly the sort of place you stumble into thinking you'll spend twenty minutes and end up staying an hour. It's a proper working museum - not some sanitised visitor attraction, but the real deal, housed in an actual sardine factory where people once canned fish for a living.

You'll see the original machinery, the production line intact, and displays that explain how this small Cornish fishing town once exported millions of tins across the world. There's something quite moving about standing in the space where workers spent their days, understanding the graft that went into feeding Britain. The guides know their stuff and actually seem to care about the place, which makes a difference.

Historically minded adults and older kids will find it genuinely engaging. Young children might find the industrial side a bit dry unless they're already interested in how things work. Allow 45 minutes to an hour to do it properly.

Looe itself is a lovely spot - proper seaside town with working fishing boats still operating from the harbour. If you're staying at Tencreek, Waterside Tregoad, or one of the other nearby parks, this is a rainy afternoon job done well, or a morning visit before heading to the beach. It's free entry, which doesn't hurt, and it gives you a real sense of what built this place beyond just the postcard views.