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Daffodils on the Hill
Daffodils blooming wild on the hillside overlooking Falmouth Harbour are a sure sign that spring has taken hold in Cornwall.
We all know that it is England’s notoriously rainy weather – especially in spring – that keeps the grass so green and the flowers blooming. Nowhere is this truer than in the southwestern regions of the country, where the climate is classed as “oceanic” or “maritime” under the Köppen classification system. Winter is not too cold, summer is not too hot – and rain can be expected all year round.
So, imagine our surprise, when we docked in Falmouth, Cornwall, this April, and were greeted with a gloriously sunny day.
My husband and I were on a small ocean-going boat that was hugging the outside coast of Europe from Barcelona in Spain to Bergen in Norway (Viking: Trade Routes of the Middle Ages). We had been unusually lucky with the weather on all our port stops, and this day was no exception.
To make the most of the amazing conditions, we jumped on a morning bus tour around the central-southern portion of the county, and then walked around the town of Falmouth itself in the afternoon. Of course, taking pictures from buses is always challenging, with the other passengers and curved windows in tinted glass, but I’ve included a few just to round out the picture.
Do come along!
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St Michael’s Mount
As our tour bus winds through the steep and narrow streets of Marazion, we catch glimpses of St Michael’s Mount: a medieval castle on a small tidal island in Mount’s Bay, Cornwall.
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St Michael’s Mount
When the bus finally lets us out for a walk, the sun is on the wrong side of the island; that is the down side of trips that are not planned with photography in mind.
Sign Posting
Walking and bicycle paths criss-cross the rural countryside …
Cornwall Beach
… and families take advantage of the temperate English Channel waters on the rocky beach.
Penzance
Cornwall’s most westerly major town – whose name brings to my mind the comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan – sits across Mount’s Bay.
Godrevy Lighthouse
Back in the bus, we drive across the peninsula to the north coast, and follow the Godrevy Heritage Coast …
Portreath Lighthouses
… past spectacular cliffs and long, sandy beaches, punctuated with lighthouses and rocky coves, sea walls and headlands.
Basset Monument
Carn Brea is like a microcosm of Cornwall: for over 300 years (3700-3400BC), it was the site of a small Neolithic settlement; during the the Iron Age, it was occupied by miners looking for minerals; during the the Middle Ages, a chapel, and later a castle dominated the hillside; and it has a sacred Celtic well nearby and a smugglers’ cave is in the cliffs below.
At the highest point on the hill, a 27 meter (90 ft) Celtic cross was built as a monument to local philanthropist and a mine owner, Francis Basset. Ruins of tin mines still dot the landscape. The ground is still rich with tin deposits, but extraction is too difficult and expensive, so no mines operate today.
Falmouth Underpass
After lunch back on the boat, we set off on foot to explore Falmouth.
Viking Sky in Port
As a deep, sheltered port, Falmouth is a lifeblood to the region. Known as the “first and last port” for ships crossing the Atlantic to the New World, the docks are important for repairs and refuelling. They also house the Pendennis Shipyards, one of the world’s leading builders and re-fitters of luxury super yachts. The 21st century has seen the rise of European cruise industry, with many boats stopping over en route to Ireland, France, or other English ports.
Spring Growth
We continue up the hill overlooking the harbour, with signs of new growth all around us.
Cannon Bunker
Of course, defensive signs are also in evidence: this is the very edge of Great Britain, and old cannons watch out to sea.
St Anthony’s Head Lighthouse, St Mawes
From the path to Pendennis Castle, we have glimpses over the deep waters known as Carrick Roads to St Mawes on the opposite headland.
Daffodils
All manner of spring flowers are at the ground around our feet …
Spring Blossoms
… and in the trees above our heads.
Pendennis Castle
Built as an artillery stronghold by Henry VIII between 1540 and 1542, this castle’s name is Cornish: ‘pen’ is a headland and ‘dynas’ is a fortification.
Pendennis Castle
Today, the castle is managed by English Heritage as a tourist attraction, and when we walked around the perimeter, it was being used as a venue for a wedding.
Flag atop the 16th-Century Keep and Gun Platform
Coast Guard Station
Downhill from the castle, there is a coast guard unit …
Home Guard Tour
… where interactive tours are run by pre-arrangement.
Police Call Box
Does it get any more British? The parking lot at Pendennis Point includes a shiny blue police call box – like the TARDIS in Dr Who.
Couple on a Bench
Benches line Castle Drive as it winds around the castle hill towards town.
The Falmouth Hotel
Opened in 1865, this lovely old building is the oldest hotel in Falmouth.
Storage Sheds
As a reward for our long walk, we stopped at an outdoor table in the sun for a Cornish High Tea. I cannot tell a lie: that was truly the best scones and cream I have ever tasted!
Sunset over the English Channel
Our boat pulls away from dock and sails east through the English Channel. As we are eating dinner, we watch the sun go down over a perfect day.
We were chatting to the couple next to us at dinner and the woman expressed some disappointment: like me, she had read Daphne du Maurier as a girl. So, she expected the Cornwall landscape to be darker, moodier.
I had to laugh. Back in 2012, my husband and I spend a few days in Cornwall and it rained the whole time. The first morning, all the golfers in our hotel were sulking because the fog was so thick, you literally couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, let alone a tee on the green. When we visited Land’s End we could hear the sea crashing, but the fog obscured the paths, the cliff edges and the rocky, boat-shattering rocks below. We stopped at Merry Maidens, where the soft rains and wet grass around the standing stones made it easy to imagine Druids dancing. At the Lost Gardens of Heligen, we huddled under our umbrellas, following the wet pathways all alone, as if it were we who were discovering these strange topiaries. And, at Jamaica Inn, where we stopped for a lunch of Cornish pasties, the wet, stormy skies overhead and the surrounding moors were as dark and moody as you could want.
“It all depends on the weather,” I told her.
It must be one of the few times that having good weather has let someone down.
Until next time, Happy Travels!
Photos: 21April2018
Beautiful pics as usual! My personal favourite: St. Anthony’s Head!!
Many thanks, Tony! It was a lovely walk – and looked like nice sailing out there on Carrick Roads. 😀
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