Falmouth, Cornwall - A Much Needed Long Weekend with Mr R

I hadn’t been to Cornwall since 1982, a very long time ago! I was invited to review the Falmouth Oyster Festival recently. Although it is quite a long way to go for us, Mr R and I needed a break away and decided to make the 5 hour car journey to Falmouth in Cornwall.  Before I had been to visit my sister, a 5 hour trip was a big deal requiring lots of preparation and planning however after a 12 hour road trip to visit relatives four states away I viewed Cornwall quite differently!

We drove west turning south at Bristol through stop-start hard rain with me thankful that at least I brought my wellies!  The other side of Bodmin Moor the sky was blue and stayed that way all weekend – definitely a gift from the gods!

I had reserved a Bed & Breakfast hotel which stated they were ‘2 minutes from the beach’ but I always take things like that with a pinch of salty sea water.  Our hotel, Chellowdene, was right on a road leading to the beach and yes surprisingly, it was about a 2 minute walk!  On the beach is a café called Glynvase Beach Café serving hot drinks, all major alcoholic drinks and a fresh and vibrant menu of food.  Considering it was out of the main tourist season it was very busy – I’d hate to be hungry when the tourists are in town! As we were visiting out of main tourist season the beach was really empty with people walking their children and dogs and a few even swimming in the icy Atlantic waters!

Falmouth is quite hilly with an easy walk into the town and Events Square where most festivals are held but could be quite steep for me as I suffer from asthma. The alternative to walking was a taxi ride back up the hill with the pleasant surprise that all local rides cost only £3.00! Mr R didn’t take long to work out he could have a few more pints of Betty Stogs from Skinners the local brew!

Falmouth is the third largest natural deep water harbour in the world, beaten by Syndey, Australia and Rio de Janiero in Brazil.  Because of this is it quite popular with cruise ships which can disembark their passengers and wait just off the coast until time to explore the next destination.  There is plenty of space for sailboats of all sizes, from small craft to larger luxury boats and then of course the big guys park there too.

The Argus, a Royal Navy auxillary ship was in harbour being fitted out to go to West Africa and offer aid to Ebola victims!

Falmouth is a foodie’s paradise with rows upon rows of eating places, small pop ins to grand dining, award winning fish and chips restaurants, loads of pubs and coffee houses along with foreign cuisine like Thai, Mexican, Chinese and South African (which I will definitely be trying next year) to name just a few.

We look at the menu boards outside of restaurants before making up our minds and the menu from The Hut looked inviting but the doorway was a small entrance down a short flight of stairs.  We went in to find that the whole restaurant opened out into a lovely, cosy and inviting place to eat.  The waitresses were friendly and knew their menu making suggestions and recommendations.  I ordered the Crab Fish Cakes, Plaice with Scallops and Prawns and the Meringue with fresh fruit for pudding.

Mr R ordered the Fish Cakes, Scallops with Catch of the Day (which was Plaice) and also picked the Meringue with fresh fruit.  We each had a large glass of wine and left feeling full enough without being bloated ready for a stroll around before getting our taxi back to the B&B.

 

Most of the food that we ate came from the Oyster Festival which I will be writing about soon.

We had four days in Cornwall and felt as it we had been away for a fortnight, relaxed and full of good food, wine & beer and beautiful weather.  In fact we are going to go again next year and I am already planning our itinerary!!

 

I didn't receive any payment to write this post and as usual all oopinions and photos are my own.