Falmouth is a town and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall. Falmouth is famous for its harbour and along with Carrick Roads (the estuary of the River Fal), it forms the third deepest natural harbour in the world, and the deepest in Western Europe.
Pendennis castle is a major landmark and was built in 1540 by Henry VIII to protect Carrick Roads and then in the late 16th century was strengthened to protect from the threat of the Spanish Armada.
The town has two beach options, the large sandy beach of Gyllyngvase and the rockier Castle Beach. Falmouth has easy access to both sheltered and unsheltered waters making it popular location for boating and water sports.
Carrick Roads and the Fal Estuary are favoured by ornithologists for birdwatching, especially the waders and waterbirds that visit in autumn and winter.
Why not check beaches nearby as we have 5 beaches around Falmouth, 215 beaches in Cornwall, or have a look at our list of Cornwall dog friendly beaches, or even our United Kingdom Blue Flag beach list.
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Every favourite location must be visited for the first time. Want some ideas, why not check out the below small selection of coastal locations, including beaches, activities, things to see and do, places to stay and eat:
- 7th August 2020-16th August 2020Falmouth Week is eight days of match racing for keelboats, traditional craft and dinghies in the waters off Falmouth Bay, the Carrick Roads and the harbour, along with a lively programme of shoreside events.
- 8th October 2020-11th October 2020Falmouth’s Events Square hosts the Oyster Festival, from Thursday, October 8 to Sunday, October 11. This annual festival celebrates the start of the oyster season, the native Fal Oyster and the diversity of Cornish seafood. Daily demonstrations are held by top chefs and food experts, inspiring visitors to try the tastes of native oysters, wines, ales and local produce. The festival programme includes live music, local Cornish food and produce, arts and crafts, Working Boat race, Grand Oyster Parade.
- Swanpool beach is a small east facing sand and pebble cove on the outskirts of Falmouth. There is level access to the beach and excellent facilities are close by. There is a footpath around Swanpool Lake (good for birds) to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Nature reserve beyond, and a coastal path leading to Gyllingvase beach. The beach is popular for surfing, suitable for novice to intermediates. Facilities include car park, toilets, shop, cafe, restaurants, seasonal hire beach huts, crazy golf and changing rooms.
- Flushing has several small areas of sand all with scenic views across the Penryn river to Falmouth. To get to the beach you need to drive through the village and park by the roadside (limited spots available).
- Gyllyngvase beach, locally known as Gylly beach, is a very popular gently shelving sandy beach with rock pools to explore. This is the largest of the Falmouth beaches overlooked by Pendennis Castle and is a great location, just a 10-15 minute walk away from Falmouth centre. The beach has gentle rollers making it a popular swimming, surfing and stand up paddle boarding (SUP) beach. Facilities include toilets, shop, Gylly beach cafe, lifeguards in the summer, car park and road parking, disabled access (beach chair for hire). Gyllyngvase in Cornish means ‘the shallow inlet’.
- Pendennis Castle was built by King Henry VIII to defend against possible attack by Spain and France and was in use right up to the Second World War. It guarded the important anchorage of Carrick Roads, sharing the task with St Mawes castle on the other side of the Fal estuary. The castle has an interactive exhibition or spend time exploring the cells of the WWI guard house, and relive the drama of an enemy attack on the WWII observation post. The castle has some great views looking out over Castle Beach and on towards Gylly Beach.
- Falmouth lifeboat station was established in 1867 and now operates inshore and all weather lifeboats. Station has restricted opening times.
- Small outside cafe located in between Swanpool Beach and the Nature Reserve. The cafe offers homemade cakes, soups, toasted ciabattas and a selection of ice-creams. Also, perfect for a family visit a fun bouncer, crazy golf course, water-sports and kayak hire.
- The Packet Station is a Wetherspoon pub in Falmouth, Cornwall. Our pub offers a range of real ales, craft beers and freshly ground Lavazza coffee. Breakfast is served until noon, with our full food menu available until 11 pm.
- Castle Beach is a rocky/sandy beach to the west of Pendennis Point, Falmouth. Pendennis Castle can be visited and there is lots to see in Falmouth. There are plenty of rock pools on the beach and Falmouth beaches are also a popular surfing location. The beach sits within the town centre with road car parking along Cliff Road, also a car park by Gyllyngvase beach and there are 2 small car parks on Pendennis Point. Facilities include beach shop, Castle Beach Cafe, beach hut hire and toilets.
- Maenporth beach is a sandy beach with shallow waters and rock pools at low tide. Popular for sailing, surfing, SUP, diving and coastal walks. Facilities include parking, cafe, toilets, slipway and surf rescue at weekends although no RNLI lifeguards. We have no dog information for Maenporth beach.
- The National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwal overlooks the marina. The Museum houses galleries, interactve displays, workshops as well as the expected 100’s of boats.
- Glendurgan Garden, superb subtropical garden, with special interest for families. The garden has many fine trees, rare and exotic plants from the four corners of the globe, outstanding spring displays of magnolias and camellias, plus carpets of wild flowers. Glendurgan has always been a magical place for children, with the baffling laurel maze, the Giant’s Stride (rope swing), the beach and the recreated school house.
- Castle Beach Café is located on Falmouth’s Castle Beach with great views out over Falmouth Bay. The café has free wifi, serves hot and cold food, drinks and ice-cream, the shop sells a wide range of beach and watersports related items and you can hire beach huts on a seasonal basis. Safe beach with rock pools to explore at low tide. The café is open from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm or later depending on the weather and the tides
Some more locations in Cornwall
- Bodmin
- Boscastle
- Bude
- Callington
- Camborne and Redruth
- Camelford
- Falmouth
- Fowey
- Isles of Scilly
- Launceston
- Liskeard
- Looe
- Lostwithiel
- Newquay
- Padstow
- Penwith Peninsula
- Perranporth
- Polzeath
- Port Isaac
- Portreath
- Praa Sands
- Rame Peninsula
- Roseland Peninsula
- Saltash
- St Agnes
- St Austell
- St Cleer
- St Tudy
- The Lizard
- Tintagel
- Truro
- Wadebridge