72 HOURS IN FALMOUTH, CORNWALL

So, I’d only planned to spend three days in Cornwall, mainly due to the fact that I had made other plans back home that I didn’t want to skimp out on (but it turns out I got like two important Cornwall dates wrong and was actually meant to stay another day, but hey), yet I found that this was an adequate amount of time to get introduced to the place. However, this also meant that I had to plan my time very well if I wanted to do some actual sightseeing around my university interview – which was a tad difficult when you consider the sixteen hour coach journey there and back. Still, I got around, saw some cute things, and made some new friends along the way. I also left feeling like I could totally imagine myself here for two years, learning to dive and sail and surf, and then have a part time working on a tiny boat where I eventually fall in love with the owner and we have a wonderful life travelling from island to island. Anyway. Where was I?

It was right next to the beach and like a five minute walk from the harbour and ten minutes from all the quaint little shops, and it was very decently priced also. I know that every time I go back to Falmouth I’m going to at least pop in and say hi, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. My room even had a tiny little balcony, and Tessa gave me a fluffy bath robe to chill in. Honestly, so adorable it’s unreal. They were also stocked with those really cute Viennese biscuits! Adorable.

PLACES TO EAT

THE DOCKSIDE CAFE

There’s literally so much I could say about this place, I fell completely and utterly in love with it  (and it was also recommended by the lady I was staying with). Outside it doesn’t look like much, but then you go inside and it’s little and bustling with people who all know each other and the smell of rich coffee and bacon on the pan. Everything about it screams home. It’s right on the dock, which means that it’s where all the 40 year old dock workers go, making it both affordable and absolutely gorgeous to eat at, and it opens at 6am. And they were so friendly! Especially due to the fact that I was alone and a bit spooked, they were so insanely nice to me that I swear I nearly started tearing up at some point. By the end of it, I felt as if I’d known them forever, and I’d probably decide on this university just for these people alone. They were so passionate about their business also, which is such a nice change to the dreary Englishmen I have to pass on the train everyday on my way into London.

HARBOUR LIGHTS

Again, this place was recommended by the lady I stayed with, which resulted in me falling in love with her tastes as everywhere she told me to go I enjoyed a lot. She also gave me 10% off here, courtesy of the guest house, but I completely forgot and ended up paying the full price, which didn’t bother me at all as it was completely worth it. I’m vegetarian, so a fish and chip restaurant isn’t somewhere you’d usually find me, but here they sold not only chips and salad, but also battered vegetarian sausages! Literally the most incredible things I’ve ever eaten, they were so insanely beautiful, I can’t recommend them enough, even for you non-eaters out there who I’m pretty sure would end up preferring these to the real thing. In-freaking-sane. Also, it overlooked the ocean and had everything outside lit up, and was absolutely stunning.

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

THE HARBOUR

This was the first place I explored when I arrived, mainly due to the fact that I didn’t know where anything was other than this little harbour a five minute walk away. They also have a pizza hut and some cute cafes there, so you could spend hours roaming around the area. I personally adored the fact that it was right by the docks, so you could see the lads working out there, like something in the 1920s. The harbour itself was stunning, with all these pastel coloured boats, a small island that you could vaguely see opposite, and the rolling hills of Falmouth in the background. So pretty.

You can’t really go to Falmouth and not go to the shops. They’re quaint and dainty, and they sell anything you could ever imagine – little book shops and vintage music shops an ones with handmade clothes and ornaments and jewelry and stuffed bears and there’s music bars and tearooms (with the most beautiful decor inside), and it’s literally such an incredible experience to be surrounded by all these indie adorable things. To quote the uni there, they also have “underground poetry slams, factory parties and secret cinemas”. Have you ever heard anything so alternative? Also – there’s a fudge shop!

PRINCE CHARLES PIER

This is the sort of place you could easily spend an hour wandering up and down, maybe with an ice-cream (or some daffodils – there’s literally a guy in a little tent who sells them here, just sits there for hours surrounded by all these daffodils), just chilling. You can look out to the ocean and the harbour, and see a funny little island opposite that you can take boat rides to, and there’s also a tourist office should you ever want advice on the coolest things to see. It’s also just down from a super cute church that even if you’re not religious you may want to check out.

THE WATERFRONT MUSEUM

This place was literally so cute! The entrance fee is a bit dear though, priced at £15 per person, so it’s the sort of place you’d spend a few hours rather than just a small bit of time so you can say you’ve been. It’s full of really interesting things, with boats hanging from the ceiling and the nicest people at reception, and is the sort of place that means you can’t really say you’ve been to Falmouth unless you’ve been here.

What confused me about this was that you had three or so beaches literally right next to each other, resulting in a massive strip that would take maybe an hour to walk from top to bottom, which is pretty impressive. You find that each one varied slightly also, with my favourite being Gllynvase Beach with it’s rocky shore and accessibility and view of the castle (which, sadly wasn’t open during my stay). It definitely reminded me of the Mumbles in Swansea, which, if you’ve been, you’ll realise it’s a fairly large compliment. Maybe I loved Cornwall so much because it reminded me of my home town? Who knows, but it definitely tripped me out when I was on the bus and everyone recognised each other as Shaun from down the Haaaaaafod.

THE PRINCESS PAVILLION

Whilst the actual Pavilion wasn’t open at 8pm or whatever time I discovered it, it has some beautiful grounds surrounding it. It was wonderful, and outside it also has this arch made in the same style as the famous Stonehenge, that they put up hundreds of years ago to frame the natural beauty. I think that the best time to come here in order to see it at its prettiest is when the sky is bright blue or when it’s evening and all lit up (think Summer – warm breezes, a pavilion that makes you feel as if you’re on a movie set, soft overhead lighting..). Definitely no wonder this is one place people love to simply pass by.

GALLERY 18 ACRES OF FIRE

Nearing the end of my time in Falmouth, I wanted to suck every last drop out of the place, so I’m going from place to place with like two hours left, making sure I haven’t missed anything important. I pop into galleries and art museums and the like, and come across this little place. So I find myself inside, looking at all these cute little paintings but not really thinking it’s my sort of thing, on my way out, when the owner comes around and starts telling me about his shop. So I’m like this is really cute and all, but I’m a travel writer doing a piece on Falmouth and reaaaally don’t have the time, to which he’s like woah?????? And he tells me about his family and how his nine year old daughter will go to uni to study creative writing like me, and I think he was really hoping I would mention his lil place. So alas, here I am, still confused as to why a nine year old is so set on doing my subject.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SOLO TRAVEL

I’ve written about solo travel and my opinion of it before, and this was a trip that I had to do on my own. I mean, I didn’t mind because I am rather great company, but relying on myself is something I do far too little these days, so you can imagine I was a bit edgy before I went. I travel to and from places a lot when I’m alone during the travel bit, but I often know at least one person who I could stay with or at least spend time with whilst I’m there, but this was a whole other ball game. To be frank, I was crapping myself a little bit – considering I made so many mistakes on my way down alone, losing my purse and missing my train and the like.

However, during the eight hour journey down I had such a cute time sitting next to this lady (but she was having an affair which was a bit awks) that I realised I’d be fine, and then I met Tessa and all these other lovely people that I maybe wouldn’t have been able to bond with as much had I been with other people, and everyone looked after me and told me their stories and it was wonderful. And so, more often that not, solo travel is refreshing and not at all lonely or scary and it gives you this whole other sense of achievement for figuring everything out by yourself. It was fabulous – who knew it could be so empowering?

And so, I had the most incredible time you could imagine in Falmouth, surrounded by ocean and palm trees and lovely people with accents I couldn’t quite place. I hope that this little guide about the best things I saw during a 72 hour stay stay comes in handy for some of y’all, or was at least partly interesting for the rest of you. If so, let me know below!