Tag Falmouth

Cornwall – Trip to Truro, shouty lady and music in pubs?

Mishmash Media Blog 2 Comments

Truro

On Thursday, I decided to go to Truro by boat and strolled into Falmouth town and was promptly told the boats are not running due to the weather. Didn’t think about the weather when I decided to walk into town.  Without my car, a train into Truro was the best option even if it did mean another 20 minute walk!

The train journey was quick and efficient and I managed a quick doze. Upon arrival the clouds opened and it poured with rain so stopped for a quick coffee.

As I was slurping my delicious coffee, a woman came bustling into the cafe, obviously to have a rant about another woman, to the long suffering owner/server and I sat there rather hoping the shouty woman wasn’t going to sit near me. She did. The poor lady did seem anxious and continued shouting her woes to the embarrassed and busy server. As the server gave her the ‘relaxing’ (poncy) tea, she cleverly soothed her by being efficient, sympathetic and telling her it will all be fine.

Not sure if a public cafe is the time or the place for airing your dirty laundry, do you? However, think the customer found it liberating as her complaint was obviously on her mind and sometimes having a rant releases the turmoil. Don’t think she was being narcissistic just a little over dramatic. Felt sorry for her, as it sounded like she was being bullied which is a dreadful thing.

After the drama, I braved the incessant rain and wandered around Truro purchasing a new jacket (for hubby) and admiring the architecture. When it did stop raining, I enjoyed a meaty pasty in the fresh air. Also, enjoyed an obligatory ice cream too. Dieting will definitely be back on the agenda next week.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed my amble around Truro and eventually found the cathedral, which is impressive and surprisingly, not particularly old. It was built in the Victorian era and has three iconic spires. The cathedral is situated in the heart of Truro and has over 200,000 visitors per year! It was designed by John Loughborough Pearson, and has the most exquisite stained glass windows. After the cathedral, I stopped at the cafe for a quick cuppa then headed back to the railway station.

The ‘Front Pub

During the evening, I found a tapas restaurant with dishes from around the world and then went to the pub and enjoyed some music and beer. The pub is called The ‘Front and I think you are supposed to guess what goes in front of the ‘Front. How very arty and very Cornish.

It is a lively establishment serving a full range of real ales, ciders and spirits. A folk group was playing on this particular day and the place seems constantly busy. It has been awarded best pub in Cornwall by CAMRA, which is well deserved. If you sit outside you enjoy a superb view of Falmouth Harbour too (top black and white photo).

What are your views about music in pubs? Personally, I think it is not only a good thing, but almost necessary. It makes the atmosphere lively and more interesting. Anyway, it is a great place as you can see from the photos.

St. Mawes

Well, as I had such a splendid evening in The ‘Front pub, I was in no rush to leave my Airbnb during Friday morning. By the way, the flat was ok, reasonably priced and meant that I could still enjoy the occasional meal cooked by myself. Sometimes, get a bit bored with eating out.

Upon filling myself with breakfast, I decided to catch a ferry over to St. Mawes. So glad I did manage to make the effort, because it is a lovely place to saunter around. Great for photography too.

It is a town opposite Falmouth, on the Roseland Peninsula. Apparently, the harbour is one of the largest harbours in the world and beautiful in the sunlight. Really enjoyed the ferry across from Falmouth even if a little chilly. The ferry runs all year round and costs about £10 return.

The town’s name derives from the Celtic saint Sain Maudez (Mawe) and is a fishing village with a gorgeous winding road and plenty of shops, cafes, pubs, etc to peruse. Can recommend for a day out.

Back home now watching the rain come down. Thanks for reading and any comments are welcome.

Bye for now.

Cornwall – Castles, beaches, art, pubs, walking and opinions…

Mishmash Media Blog 5 Comments

Before this blog dissipates completely, I thought I’d better write a post. This week I am holidaying in Falmouth, Cornwall and have been very busy.

On Sunday, I visited the magnificent Pendennis Castle, one of Henry VIII’s coastal forts. Really enjoyed wandering around the castle and surrounding area. The castle itself transports you back to 16th century invasions and the tensions of World War 2 defences. The grounds are equally impressive with beautiful coastline views and various exhibitions of canons and artillery.

On Monday, I drove to the Eden Project which has certainly grown up since I last visited it with rather unimpressed children 👶. Nestled in a crater are Biomes housing a rainforest, Mediterranean gardens, art installations and other events such as an over loud story teller for the bored children. Entrance fees, which are extortionate, support environmental projects. You can also enjoy or endure a zip wire which is England’s longest and fastest zip wire experience if you wish too. I was quite keen, but put off when I saw some chap get stuck half way. He just stopped. The zip wire chaps left him dangling embarrassingly for several minutes before they arrived and dragged him back with rope and poles. No to that zip wire fun then!

On Tuesday, I drove to St Ives for a day of wandering around galleries, craft shops and stuffing myself with ice cream with clotted cream on top. Some contemporary art, which I love, is very inspirational and ingenious but some pieces are ridiculous and vastly overpriced. However, this is part of the experience to formulate an overinflated opinion and be judgemental whilst looking for that piece of art you just have to have. The beach views, as a backdrop to the aimless wandering, are quite glorious too.

Today, I went on a 6 mile walk around Falmouth through farmland and ending up walking along the coast. Beautiful Cornish views helped keep up my energy as did the humongous crab sandwich and just when I thought I was full, I stuffed myself stupid with another clotted cream ice cream 🍦in the wonderful beach cafe.

So that is how the week has gone so far. Of course I have frequented a few pubs too. Beerwolf Books is my idea of heaven. A pub with a book shop. Browse the books and have a pint. Pennycomequick is a great place too for both food and drink. The staff are ‘millennials’ and extremely helpful, cheerful, efficient and enthusiastic. Having encountered many experienced but curmudgeonly  landlords during my time, can’t help thinking this is the approach to stop so many pubs closing. Be pleasant and sell a good variety of what people want in a clean and inviting ambience.

The pubs, cafes and restaurants in Falmouth are splendid and everyone seems friendly too which helps the beer go down.

Ok, I’ve walked a long way so just out for a quick drink. Thanks for reading.

Falmouth

Mishmash Media Blog 2 Comments

I recently went on a trip to Falmouth (Cornwall), Tobermory (Isle of Mull, Scotland), Stornoway (Isle of Lewis, Scotland), Torshavn (Faroe Islands), Akureyri (Iceland), Isafjordur (Iceland), Reykjavik (Iceland), and finally Dublin (Ireland). It was a fabulous and fun trip interspersed with funny and exciting events which I plan to share here (rather than just boring facts about the places) through a series of blog posts. So here goes…

Falmouth

The beautiful Cornish coastline welcomed us as we cruised towards the River Fal. I had forgotten what a beautiful, lovely area Cornwall is. Falmouth is the gateway to the River Fal and is known for art galleries and maritime heritage. The area also has some fantastic beaches, shops, pubs, restaurants and known for natural beauty and ideal for walks and family activities. As well as all of the above, it has the world’s largest natural deep-water harbour and is the country’s first and last port.

We spent a wonderful day exploring the harbour, independent galleries, shops and of course, pubs. Of course, we spotted a world famous pasty shop and had to have one. It was delicious!

View of Falmouth (the arty pic. lol)

BEERWOLF BOOKS

This pub had been recommended to us and I can see why. It is a pub with a book shop inside, which is my idea of bliss. People were reading, playing chess, and drinking some amazing beer and perusing the books.

After visiting the above, we had a quick look around the local art gallery, some more interesting shops and galleries and then into another cool pub with copious amounts of beer. By this time I was feeling jaded so settled for a coffee. We gleefully spotted an empty table outside and plonked ourselves down. It was then, I spotted a tiny canvas bag by our table. I was just starting to have thoughts about it being a bomb, when a bloke appeared grumbling under his breath and so we quickly made noises about how we didn’t realise it was his table. We truly didn’t. He then gave us permission to sit there anyway. Jolly nice of him. Looking back, I think he left his bag there to reserve the table and then went and got a drink because he wasn’t in the bar when we were getting our drinks. Flipping hipsters.

I turned away to watch the even happier people in the cool cafe opposite only to see two aging hippies proudly showing off their hairy armpits. Oh joy.

We finished our drinks and walked back through the town towards the beaches and took some great photos of the pretty coastline. An enjoyable start to the holiday and here is a picturesque view of Falmouth during the evening back on the ship. The next stop was Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland.

Falmouth

Thanks for reading the #mishmashblog and don’t forget to follow!