St Keyne

St Keyne is a village in the Looe valley, about 3 miles south of Liskeard. It is known for St Keyne’s Well, which according to legend grants marital dominance to whichever spouse first drinks from it after the wedding - a story recorded by Robert Southey in his 1798 ballad. The well is about half a mile south of the station.

The village is served by St Keyne Wishing Well Halt on the Looe Valley Line, a scenic branch railway running from Liskeard to Looe. It is a request stop, so you tell the guard that you want to get off, and the station has little beyond bicycle stands and Wi-Fi. A walking route of about 1.5 miles leads from the halt to the next station at Causeland, passing St Keyne Well Hotel, and the lanes are steep and hilly.

The Magnificent Music Machines museum, Paul Corin’s collection of mechanical musical instruments beside the station, was formerly based here. Liskeard is the nearest market town, and Looe, at the end of the line, is the nearest place on the coast.