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The River Fowey ( ; ) Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel . Cornish Language Partnership. is a river in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Its source is at Fowey Well (originally , meaning spring of the river Fowey) about north-west of Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor, not far from one of its tributaries rising at Dozmary Pool and Colliford Lake, passes Lanhydrock House, Restormel Castle and Lostwithiel, then broadens below Milltown before joining the English Channel at Fowey. The estuary is called Uzell (, meaning howling place). It is only navigable by larger craft for the last . From Fowey, there is a passenger ferry to Polruan and a car ferry to Bodinnick. The first road crossing going upstream is in Lostwithiel. The river has seven tributaries, the largest being the Lerryn. The section of the Fowey Valley between Doublebois and Bodmin Parkway railway station is known as the Glynn Valley (, meaning deep wooded valley). The valley is the route of both the A38 trunk road and the railway line (built by the Cornwall Railway in 1859). The railway line is carried on eight stone viaducts along this stretch.
The Polbrock Canal, approved by Parliament in the 1790s but never built, would have provided a link between the north and south coasts of Cornwall by joining the River Camel with the Fowey at Bodmin.
The catchment area of the River Fowey covers a total of consisting of granite (in part kaolinised) on Bodmin Moor, Devonian slates and grits, and peat and valley gravels. Data collected by the National River Flow Archive shows that average flow at the Restormel monitoring station is and is affected by the reservoirs at Colliford and Sibleyback and by abstraction of water for public supply.
The River Fowey is famous for its sailing because of its natural harbour. In the past it has been visited by up to 7,000 yachts in one season. Almost all sections of the river have been paddled by kayakers and canoeists: from the whitewater sections high up on the moor, all the way down to the estuary. Fowey has an excellent local chandlery.
Many fish can be caught in the River Fowey so many fishermen come to enjoy the excellent fishing conditions.
Fowey to Bodinnick Ferry – there has been a ferry crossing the narrows between Fowey and Bodinnick since at least the 14th century. Today there is a vehicle ferry that runs year round between Bodinnick slipway and Caffa Mill slipway in Fowey.
The Fowey to Mevagissey Passenger Ferry – a timetabled summer service leaving Whitehouse Slip. Journey time is around 40 minutes. It provides an alternative route to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, finishing the journey on foot or by taxi.
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