Falmouth (England)

By train

First Great Western trains run from all over the South of England to Truro, and CrossCountry trains will bring you there from Scotland, the North and Midlands.
At Truro station, make your way to the Falmouth branch line at platform 1 - the journey takes around 20 minutes and the trains run regularly. Falmouth has three stations:

• Penmere station – This station primarily serves the residential areas of Falmouth and is situated on the surprisingly named Penmere Hill.
• – This station is situated on Avenue Road, 5 minutes walk from the town (to the North-East) and 7 minutes walk from Gyllyngvase Beach (to the south).
• Falmouth Docks station – As the name suggests, this station is close to Falmouth's economically important Dock, but is also the closest station to Pendennis Castle.

By bus

First Devon and Cornwall operate most bus services into the town, with half hourly services from Cornwall's capital Truro. Half hourly services also operate from Camborne (Cornwall's traditional mining centre). Other destinations are also served.
While buses in Cornwall are usually reliable, lapses do occur and travellers used to using buses in large cities may be disappointed at the prospect of long waits.
For timetable information, visitors are advised to telephone Traveline on 0871 200 22 33, who will provide details of all buses in operation.

By car

Most travellers into Cornwall will come down the M5 and change onto the A30 at Exeter. To get to Falmouth, travellers must turn off the A30 on to the A39 at Fraddon, signposted as Truro. The A39 should be followed all the way through Truro until Falmouth is reached.

By boat

It is possible to enter Falmouth by boat from Malpas near Truro, St.Mawes across the Fal river and Flushing across the Penryn river. Falmouth has also become the starting Ferry port for some Mediterranean and Baltic Cruises.

Be warned: Falmouth is extremely hilly in places, and some roads (Killigrew Street, Trelawney Road) will have you cursing town surveyors. Fortunately, most of the attractions are between The Moor and Falmouth Docks, which is relatively flat. The town is generally cycle-friendly.
Falmouth is also on the South West Coast Path, which makes for some excellent walks.

• Pendennis Castle

  phone: +44 1326 316594
  address: Castle Close, TR11 4LP
  One of the finest surviving examples of a coast fortress in England. Successive remains chart developments in military engineering and weapons technology and the organisation of coast defence from the Tudor period until the Second World War.

• Falmouth Art Gallery

  phone: +44 1326 313863
  address: Municipal Buildings, The Moor, TR11 2RT

• National Martime Museum (Cornwall)

  phone: +44 1326 313388
  address: Discovery Quay, TR11 3QY
  Home of the National Maritime Museum's small boat collection and other exhibits.

• Glendurgan

  phone: +44 1326 252020
  address: Mawnan Smith, TR11 5JZ
  National Trust garden.

• Boat trips - Regular services take you across the river Fal to surrounding villages and also in the direction of the city of Truro and west towards Helford. Ferries and tourist boat trips depart from the Prince of Wales Pier in the town centre. Ferries run to the Roseland villages of St. Mawes (hourly) and Flushing (half hourly) year round. Be sure to check times at the information office at the bottom of the pier, as during spring low-tides, services can be interrupted. To the north of town, a vehicle and foot passenger ferry (the King Harry Ferry) provides a vehicle shortcut to the Roseland peninsula.

• Ships & Castles

  phone: +44 1326 212129
  address: Castle Drive, Pendennis Headland, TR11 4NG
  A swimming-pool, gym and small café contained within a modern building with a beautiful glass façade facing towards Falmouth town and the Docks.

• Jacob's LadderYou've not properly visited Falmouth until you've gone up (or down) Jacob's Ladder, a stairway that literally takes your breath away. Fortunately, there is a pub near the top, and it's well-lit at night. If you take a left after the pub you get some brilliant views over the estuary.

• Visit a beach - Falmouth has two beaches;

• Gyllyngvase Beachwhich has an excellent cafe (try the hot chocolate)

• Swanpool BeachSwanpool also has a cafe that does very good ice creams, and backs on to a minigolf course.

• There are a good range of shops for surfers in Falmouth: these can be found around Market Street. If it's Cornish merchandise ye be wantin', have a look round Church Street, which also has an excellent bookshop.

• Harbour View

  phone: +44 1326 315315
  address: 24 Arwenack St, TR11 3JB
  Views across the harbour from this small cafe. Most of the seating is outside covered with large umbrellas and heaters. The food is locally sourced, with a large array of seafoods fresh from Cornwall.

• Five Degrees West

  phone: +44 1326 311288
  address: 7 Grove Place, TR11 4AU
  Gargantuan burger meals and a sleek modern interior to boot.

• Quayside Inn

  phone: +44 1326 312113
  address: 41 Arwenack St
  Greene King pub

• The Harbout Lights

  phone: +44 1326 316934
  address: Arwenack St
  Home-style fish & chips.

• Kessell's Kitchen

  phone: +44 1326 316622
  address: 14 Killigrew St
  On "The Moor" great sandwich shop.

• The Packet Station

  phone: +44 1326 310110
  address: 4 The Moor, TR11 3QA
  Wetherspoon's through and through.

• WC Rowe

  phone: +44 1326 316552
  address: 2 Market St
  Serves genuine Cornish pasties and Emmet freshly cut sandwiches.

Falmouth has a special place in every hardy drinkers heart. It's main shopping street runs in a straight line and has a pub every 50 metres on average: with more than 15 bars within a square mile, the town is designed for pub-crawling. Beginning at the Maritime Museum, bars include:

• The Watersports

• Five Degrees West

  phone: +44 1326 311288
  address: 7 Grove Place

• The Front

• The Quayside

• The Chain Locker

• Rumours Wine Bar

• The King's Head

• Mango Tango

• The Grapes

• The Waterman

• Finn M'Couls

Here the road splits. Head up 'The High Street' to find:

• The Prince of Wales

• The Star and Garter

• The Boathouse

Head towards the Moor to find:

• Nancy's

• Remedies

• Wodehouse Arms

• The Seven Stars

• The Mason's Arms

• The Killigrew Arms

• The Packet Station

Outside the main shopping street there are more pubs to be found including:

• The Oddfellows Arms

• The Seaview Inn

• Jacob's Ladder Inn

• The Four Winds Inn

• The Red Lion

• The Ferryboat

• The Trelowarren Arms

As a tourist resort, Falmouth has many hotels and B&Bs. Here are some of the largest:

• The Falmouth Hotel

  phone: +44 1326 312671
  address: Castle Beach

• St. Michael's Hotel

  phone: +44 1326 312707
  address: Gyllyngvase Beach

• The Greenbank Hotel

  phone: +44 1326 312440
  address: Stratton Pl

• Merchants Manor Hotel & Spa

  phone: +44 1326 312734
  address: 1 Western Terrace

• The Grove

  phone: +44 1326 319577
  address: 1 Grove Pl

• Arwenack Hotel

  phone: +44 1326 311185
  address: 27 Arwenack St,

• Westcott Hotel

  phone: +44 1326 311309
  address: Gyllyngvase Hill

• Lerryn Hotel

  phone: +44 1326 312489
  address: De Pass Rd

• Hotel Ancapri

  address: Gyllyngvase Rd

• Tregenna Guest House

  phone: +44 1326 313881
  address: 28 Melvill Road

• Classic Cottages

  phone: +44 1326 555555
  Established in 1977, with over 50 handpicked and personally inspected holiday cottages in the Falmouth area

• Truro is a short train or car journey to the north.
• The Lizard is to the south.
• Redruth
• Porthleven