UK Guides: Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth
Jake Davies
Warmed by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, and protected from the cold north wind by the spine of Cornwall, Falmouth is a very popular seaside resort and is the jewel in the crown of the Cornish Riviera.
With plenty to see and do for a full vacation, it is also an excellent base to explore the other sights of the area such as St. Ives, St. Michael's Mount, Truro, or the World Heritage tin mining sites.
Falmouth History
Falmouth is a relatively new town, being established by Sir John Killigrew in 1613, much to the chagrin of the residents and merchants of Penryn, a little further upriver which until then was the main town of the area.
In the 1540's Henry VIII built Pendennis Castle on the strategic headland of Pendennis, and its sister fortification, St. Mawes Castle across the narrow channel that leads into Carrick Roads, a huge natural harbor and one of the deepest in the world.
The founding of the Church of King Charles the Martyr was concurrent with the founding of the town of Falmouth. The church is dedicated to King Charles I who was executed in 1649 after the English Civil War.
His son and heir, later Charles II, had stopped briefly in Pendennis Castle on his flight to exile. With his enthronement following the restoration of the monarchy, Charles II was petitioned by John Killigrew in 1660 to found a town and church.
Pendennis Castle
Pendennis Castle is nowadays one of the most visited tourist sites in Falmouth and is worth a visit if only for the great views up and down the coast.
Falmouth developed into a major port and harbour due both to its strategic location at the southwest tip of the country, and its large, safe anchorage.
At the height of the expansion of the British Empire, Falmouth was the base for the Packet Ships, the small, very fast ships that carried communications between the far flung corners of the globe and England.
For example, news of victory and Nelson's death at Trafalgar was brought here from the schooner Pickle and delivered to London by stagecoach.
The town now has a population of around 22,000 boosted by students at Falmouth University. This makes Falmouth Cornwall's most populous town ahead of both Camborne and Newquay. The population also rises appreciably in the summer months as tourists flock to the town.
Beaches
Gyllyngvase is the main beach of the town, but a short distance away and set in their own coves are Swanpool Beach and Maernporth Beach.
Getting out on the water is a main activity for visitors to Falmouth. The Flushing Ferry takes just a couple of minutes to cross the river to a picturesque village, the St. Mawes Ferry crosses to the sister castle to Pendennis.
If you want to drive to St. Mawes the King Harry Ferry crosses the River Fal north of Carrick Roads. There are many boat tours and cruises, one of the most popular being across the bay to the Helford River. Of course there are opportunities to hire or rent your own craft.
Paddle boarding, windsurfing, kayaking, yachting, diving, fishing, and swimming are among the numerous water sports available in Falmouth and its environs.
Gardens & Museums
In recognition of the importance of Falmouth in the maritime history of England, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall was opened on the waterfront here. With 15 different galleries, the many exhibits cover a wide range of topics, but focus heavily on small boats. The museum is the sister museum of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.
Falmouth Art Gallery has a collection of more than 2,000 pieces of art. These include works by Frank Brangwyn, Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Charles Napier Hemy, Laura Knight, Alfred Munnings, Harry Ousey, William Strang, and John Opie.
Later benefactors have enabled the gallery to assemble a remarkable collection of prints of various types by internationally-acclaimed artists.
One of the things that the ships' captains and crews brought back from their journeys to the four corners of the world was exotic plants: flowers, shrubs, and trees, and some of these found their way into the gardens of the wealthy in the area.
Many of these exotic plants thrived well in the sub-tropical climate of the Falmouth area.
The Fox Rosehill Gardens are located in the middle of town and are free to enter and have a great collection of plants from the southern hemisphere including Falmouth's trademark palms.
A little out of town are several large gardens now operated by the National Trust. Near the River Fal towards Truro is the Trellisick Garden, and near the Helford River is Glendurgan Garden, probably the most famous garden in the area. Not far away from Glendurgan is the smaller Trabah Garden.
Entertainment & Accommodation
The main street of Falmouth runs along the waterfront to the quay and harbour. From there a walk up and around Pendennis Headland gives you an overview of the docks and ship repair-yard and then the castle and the panoramic views down to the Lizard Peninsula.
Falmouth is an obvious stop along the Cornwall Coast Path, part of the Southwest Coast Path.
There are ample pubs, restaurants, bistros, cafes and other types of eateries serving not just traditional fare like cream teas, fish & chips and pasties, but a complete range of cuisines to suit all diets and budgets.
There is also plenty of night-time entertainment with live music and theatre throughout the year.
The Falmouth area has a full range of accommodation choices including deluxe hotels, campsites, farm-stay camping, caravan parks, hostels, self-catering cottages, as well as guest houses and hotels that range from budget to luxury.
Some recommendations include the 5-star Bed & Breakfast OYO Anacapri, with incredible sea views, the four-star Greenbank Hotel, also on the sea front, The Royal Duchy Hotel, also four stars and the popular Falmouth Hotel with garden and terrace. The Falmouth Hotel was built in 1865 following the completion of the railway branch line from Truro and the beginning of Falmouth as a seaside resort.
See here for a listing of hotels in Falmouth.
A great place for information about what's on and where to stay is the small tourist information office located on the Prince of Wales Pier.
Falmouth Access - Getting To Falmouth
For a town its size, Falmouth surprisingly has three railway stations: Falmouth Docks, close to Pendennis Castle and Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth Town convenient for the town centre and the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, and Penmere Station. All are on the Maritime Line to Truro.
Truro is about 4 hours, 40 minutes by train direct from London Paddington or via Plymouth on the First Great Western.
A good option is to take the overnight Night Riviera Sleeper Service (www.gwr.com/plan-journey/journey-information/on-board/night-riviera-sleeper) which connects Paddington and Penzance. It makes stops at Reading, Exeter St. David's, Newton Abbot, Plymouth, Liskeard, Bodmin Parkway, St Austell, Truro, Redruth, Camborne, St Erth and Penzance.
Exeter in Devon, located at the end of the M5 motorway, coming south from Bristol makes for a good starting point if you are driving into Cornwall. Exeter is also a good place to hire a car.
From Exeter follow the A30 dual carriageway, north of Dartmoor through Okehampton, Launceston, Bodmin and Truro.
The journey takes about two hours by car. Alternatively take the A38 south of Dartmoor and join the A30 at Bodmin, which is usually slightly quicker depending on the traffic.
Hire a car in St Ives to explore the south west of England.
Exeter International Airport, just 5 miles to the east of Exeter city near Clyst Honiton off the A30 has regular domestic flights to Aberdeen, Alicante, Belfast, Edinburgh, Guernsey/Jersey, the Isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle. International destinations include Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Dublin, Faro, Funchal, Geneva, Hannover, Larnaca, Nice, Palma, Paris, Malaga and Salzburg.
National Express coaches take about 8-10 hours to Falmouth from either Birmingham or London Victoria Bus Station.
Local buses from Falmouth include two loop buses, the #366 and #367 operated by OTS, which connect the town and coast in a 20-minute circuit.
First Bus operates buses from Falmouth to Truro which take about an hour, Falmouth to Penzance (2 hours) and Falmouth to Redruth (50 minutes).
Newquay Cornwall Airport (NQY) is the nearest airport to Falmouth. It has connecting flights to Bristol Airport, Cardiff, Glasgow, St Mary's Isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, London Gatwick, Manchester Airport, Newcastle and international flights to Cork and Dublin in Ireland as well as seasonal flights to Alicante in Spain with Ryanair and Dusseldorf in Germany with Lufthansa.
Most UK flights are operated by Air Southwest. The airport offers airport parking for over 500 cars.
There is a passenger ferry from Penzance to the Scilly Isles. The Scillonian III passenger ferry takes between 2 hours 40 minutes and 3 hours. (Timetable & Information)
There are Skybus flights to the Scilly Isles from Exeter, Newquay and Land's End airports.
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