text: 20th century and beyond With the Victorian fashion for seaside holidays, Looe evolved as a tourist town, with nearby Talland Bay being dubbed "the playground of Plymouth". This trend continued throughout the 20th century; more and more hotels and tourist facilities were built in the town, and Looe grew and prospered, with peaks in fishing and boatbuilding following the First and Second World Wars.
  New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfield stayed in Looe for spring and summer 1918, while recovering from tuberculosis. She joined there her long-time friend the American painter Anne Estelle Rice, who famously painted her in red. The Portrait of Katherine Mansfield made in Looe has been exhibited since 1946 in the Te Papa Tongarewa museum of New Zealand.
  Looe and its surrounds are the filming location of BBC television crime drama Beyond Paradise, which first aired in 2023. It stands in for the fictional Devon town of Shipton Abbott.
  Cornish wrestling
  There have been Cornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, held in Looe (both East Looe and West Looe) for centuries. Venues for tournaments have included:
  the field at Barbican Farm,
  the field adjoining the Old Barbican,
  Looe Beach and
  West Looe Down.
  Looe today
  Looe remains a fishing town, and retained several fish dealers operating from the East Looe quayside until the advent of EU regulations. With its fleet of small fishing boats returning their catches to port daily, Looe has a reputation for procuring excellent fresh fish. The town is also a centre for shark fishing, and is home to the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain.