Saturday 25 June 2011

At breakfast this morning the people at the next table told us they had been to Falmouth up the river the previous day so we thought that sounded good and decided to do the same! We headed away about 9ish towards Truro where we were able to park right near the ticket box for the ferry. The only thing was that it was a ‘neap’ tide and that meant the boat couldn’t get up the river as far as Truro. Not to worry though as the Ferry people put a double decker bus on that would take us to the next stop down the river Malpas. We had time to twiddle our thumbs for 30 minutes so we nipped across the road – or under it as it happened – to Marks & Spencers where we had a quick look around before heading back and boarding the bus. The road down to Malpas was typical Cornwall with lots of one-way stretches where opposing traffic has to give way – it only took a few minutes and we were there. Hopped on our little boat and headed off down the river towards Falmouth. We started down the Truro River and then into the River Fal which led all the way down towards Falmouth. We were surprised at how big a port Falmouth was with lots of cranes and ships as well as a variety of other boats big and small on the harbour. The Falmouth Harbour is one of the deepest in the world and home to the largest dry dock in Great Britain.

Anyway, we disembarked and headed up into the town – again typical of a Cornwall town with narrow streets, lots of people and lots of little shops sporting a wide range of goods. We wandered right through town stopping only for the usual pint and a spot of lunch – prawns again today. As we made our way along we could see the castle high above us in the distance and decided we would head towards it. It turned out to be quite a hike to get there but the view was terrific and we were able to see up the coast and down. Pendennis castle was build by Henry VIII as part of his preparing the South Coast for possible onslaught from Catholics (due to Henry cutting ties with the Catholic Church). Henry built several forts along the coast and Falmouth was considered a prime position to house one. We wandered all around through the various buildings on the site and even down some tunnels to external ramparts. Interesting but not so much for me as it was very focussed on the military aspects and I prefer the more domestic exhibits where you can see furnishings and paintings of the day. We made the return treck down the hill and by this time I had very sore feet. When we made it back into the village we rewarded ourselves with an ice cream and a sit down to wait for the ferry to take us back up the river. A good day although quite tiring! Out to dinner soon – probably go to the pub a few steps up the road from where we are staying.