coast TRAVEL
Standing watch over one of the UK’s most impressive natural harbours, Falmouth might be predicated on the water, but it is so much more than a marine town, discovers ANDY COOPER
It’s hard NOT to feel matters maritime all around you in Falmouth…the Fal estuary and Carrick Roads are, after all, the mainstays of its history and its existence. Life in this picturesque, busy Cornish town does, in many senses, revolve around the water.
It means many businesses and shops have a maritime feel to them, or that matters nautical are at the forefront of their messaging. But delve a little deeper on a visit and one soon discovers there is more than just a welcome from the water.
The growth of Falmouth University in recent years has added a vibrant, busy feel to the town’s streets and eateries, whilst an associated growing arts community is putting the town on the map for matters creative.
weekend in Falmouth and you feel energised and refreshed and you come away smiling. It’s the hugely Spend an hour, a day or a historic town with a modern outlook and that makes it a very special place to stay indeed.
Having said the town isn’t 100 per cent focused on the water, I am going to immediately contradict myself and say a visit to the National Maritime Museum is a must, especially to climb the steps of its iconic lookout tower and admire the amazing 360-degree views. Inside the museum itself, exhibits mix the traditional history of sailing, marine exploration, adventure and boatbuilding with a rolling programme of modern displays which make every visit different.
Pendennis Castle has acted as a lookout over the town since Tudor times and when you walk along its boundaries and see the spectacular views it enjoys over the river’s entrance and the open seas it’s not hard to see why. English Heritage has done a fabulous job in fashioning a visit as an interactive experience and it makes the history of the place a living, breathing entity.
From the top of the castle one can look west and see the Helford River Passage and just before it, Falmouth’s Gyllyngvase Beach, worth strolling to not only to take in the sands and the fabulous coastal walks, but also to drop in to the legendary Gylly Beach Café – an institution and rightly so – for a snifter or a bite to eat.
Falmouth is known around the world for its superb coastal waters, ideal
