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Falmouth: What To Do When You Visit Falmouth

By RomanticHeart | October 27, 2008

The port and town of Falmouth is located on the River Fal and is on England’s south coast in the County of Cornwall. It boasts the third deepest natural harbor in the world and because of this, it has been the start and end point for many voyages across the world’s oceans. Sir Francis Chichester and Dame Ellen MacArthur both carried out record breaking attemps starting from Falmouth. There are plenty of things to see and do when you stay in Falmouth.

The National Seal Sanctuary was opened in 1958 after a baby seal that was only a few hours old washed up on the beach in St Agnes. The sanctuary stayed at St Agnes until 1975, when it outgrew the facilities there. It was at this time the sanctuary then moved to Gweek and its owner Ken increased the number of pools and their sizes so that they could care for more seals which were being rescued of the Cornish coast.

The seals are cared for with a view to returning them to the wild as soon as possible. However, you will also find a number of these wonderful sea creatures have remained because they are simply too badly injured or will not be able to cope with being returned to the wild.

Just south east of Falmouth is Pendennis Castle which is situated across the harbor from its castle St Mawes. Both castles were built in the time of the Tudors and were built to form a defensive chain along the south coast during the reign of Henry VIII. Their main aim was to deter invaders from Spain and France.

Pendennis castle has been used regularly over the years and this means that it is still in excellent shape. During the reign of Elizabeth the First the castle was further strengthened and it had the honor of being the last Royalist stronghold to fall in the English Civil War. Plus the castle then was utilized during both the First and Second World Wars and today the guardhouse and the underground tunnels and magazines from these wars remain. Plus you have a chance to visit the Tudor Keep which has been well maintained and which has seen the recreation of a gun deck.

Close to Falmouth is the Lizard Peninsula, the most southern point in England and even though Land’s End is often thought to hold this position. Lizard Point has plenty of things for you to do and you’ll want to explore the satellite dishes featured at Goonhilly Earth Station. If you’re in luck, you may be able to see seals, dolphins or even a shark basking in the water.

In Falmouth itself there are plenty of attractions that visitors to this coastal town can enjoy. One of these is Trebah Gardens, which can be found on the outskirts of Falmouth, close to Mawnan Smith village. The gardens are spread over 25 acres and throughout the year there are wide variety of plants to enjoy. They also have a private beach, a large pond and a waterfall for you to enjoy.

You can spend quite some considerable time exploring all that these gardens have to offer and there is a cafe where light refreshments are provided. Plus if you find the children are getting a little bored just exploring the gardens then take them to the playground to let off some steam. The gardens are open through the year although the times of opening and closing do differ.

Check out the wide variety of Falmouth hotels and other accommodation here.