Falmouth and the Helford River The second in our series about the favourite places of our guides
By Karen Colam
Falmouth is one of Cornwall’s underrated towns in my opinion. As a University town
it caters to its year round population of locals and students with a beautiful and
eclectic mix of useful shops and great eateries. This is a welcome change from
stores that offer little to those searching for the modern and authentic Cornwall.
Iconic hotels on both sides of Falmouth bay and North Helford, as well as a huge
variety of other accommodation make it great place to stay for families and couples
alike and touring much of Cornwall from here is easy and convenient. Falmouth is
so much more than the site of one of Henry VIII’a famous garrison castles at
Pendennis and in all fairness its attraction is really in the view it affords of Falmouth
Bay and not the castle itself, which although historically important is rather more
interesting on one of their special jousting days with lots of theatre. Looking from
Pendennis Point, south east is St Anthony Head lighthouse which is better known for
its appearance as Fraggle Rock lighthouse in the children’s show of the same name
in the early 1990’s. To its left is the up-scale and somewhat exclusive village of St
Mawes. Easily visited by the Enterprise Boats of the Fal River company.
One of my favourite drives is south west down through the hidden villages along
Helford Passage to take in the most impressive of Cornwall’s great gardens at
Glendurgan and Trebah. Which are neighbouring estates with valleys of sub tropical
plantings that thrive in their south west facing locations. Both are unique and
different. Glendurgan belongs to the National Trust for those wishing to get the most
from their membership and Trebah is still in private ownership. WW II buffs will be
fascinated by the history attached to Trebah where thousands of US forces boarded
their landing craft to join the flotilla of ships for the DDay landings at Normandy.
The villages of Constantine and Greek have hidden gems of their own too.
Constantine Stores is the finest and most diverse stocked liquor store in Cornwall
(and probably in most other places to be honest). It features a lot of local wines and
spirits and also the most curious and exotic selections from all over the globe. To
accompany anything you may purchase here, Gweek Stores is a local emporium of
epic deli type foods and gifts. The famous brand Cornish Sea Salt is harvested dried
close by here and they carry the full range of flavours. Make sure to get some cake
from the chiller too! At Gweek there is also the Seal Sanctuary where rescued seal
pups are taken to be raised for released.
Every new creek is a lovely surprise around the Helford! On the south side of the
estuary are Frenchman’s Creek of Daphne Du Maurier fame. A must for literary
fans.
The Shipwrights Arms pub, owned by The Darkness’s drummer Rufus Taylor, son of
Roger Taylor of Queen is a great stop for those wanting to share space with music
legends and the quaint and rather wonderful Holy Mackerel café (in an old church) is
also worth a stop.
Following the road around this little corner of leafy secret Cornwall will eventually
take you to the fishing cove of Coverack where the new Harry Potter TV series was
partly filmed and from there you can explore the Lizard peninsula and its more
famous locations such as the U.K.’s most southerly point with its wildlife and
frequently dramatic weather and the azure waters of the much photographed
Kynance Cove. The main road back up through the peninsula takes you to Helston,
one of the four ancient stannary towns of Cornwall where the purity of locally mined
minerals was graded for purity and value.
But that’s for another day of exploring further south west…….
