Falmouth Cornwall UK

Falmouth ahead

We left St Mawes at 0945hrs on Thursday 26 August to make the very short passage across Carrick Roads to Falmouth Harbour.  We wanted to pick up one of the harbour mooring buoys so that we were in a good position for the OCC West Country Dinner at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club on Saturday but had no idea if one would be available.  By moving on Thursday we reasoned that we’d have time to bag one and also to explore Falmouth and Pendennis Castle before the OCC West Country Meet activities began.

St Mawes Castle

Behind us we left St Mawes Castle with its arcs of fire covering the eastern side of the entrance to the harbour.

Pendennis Castle dominating the other side of the entrance to Falmouth Harbour.  On the
left of the ridgeline is the original Tudor keep, on the right is the Artillery Barracks (built
at the end of the 19^th or the beginning of the 20^th century).  Between them are some of the many buildings constructed over the castle’s 400 year active life

Higher up, on the western side of the entrance, we could see Pendennis Castle; our next sight-seeing destination.

Zephyr owned by Colin and Becks Campbell who organised the OCC West Country Meet. 
 The Royal Cornwall Yacht Club is just visible on the shore above Zephyr with 2 marquees up in the grounds

But first we needed to find a suitable mooring.  We scoped a couple of anchoring locations further out but when we got to the visitors’ mooring buoys, which are very close to the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club, we were pleasantly surprised to find that there were 2 available.  We picked up a convenient one and later found out that we were moored right next to Zephyr, an Ovni 395 owned by Colin and Becks Campbell who were organising the OCC West Country Meet.

Having bagged our mooring it was time to explore ashore with a view to stocking up the fridge and wine cellar as well as paying for the mooring etc.

Falmouth quartered and some shopping done (with more left until the weekend) on Friday we decided to walk up to Pendennis Castle (run by English Heritage, obviously!) to have a good look around.  There’s a pedestrian sign for Pendennis Castle close to the Maritime Museum but after that the signs run out and the only ones available are aimed at car drivers.  Should you plan to walk to the castle the most direct route by far is to follow the signs for disabled access car parking, rather than those for the ‘scenic route and car park’.

Pendennis Castle covers a large area and has buildings dating from all eras of its history.  
Left: the Tudor keep is the oldest part of the castle. Right: The Artillery Barracks dates from the late 19^th or early 20^th century and was in use as a barracks until as late as 1956

Pendennis Castle covers a lot of real estate though when it was first built in Tudor times, like St Mawes Castle, it comprised just the stone keep and the immediately surrounding battlements.

View across to Pendennis’ sister castle in St Mawes.  The castles were originally built in
the 1540s, at the behest of King Henry VIII, to guard Cornwall and specifically the
anchorage in Carrick Roads, against attack by the French and Spanish ships

These gun emplacements were installed in Elizabethan times, when Henry VIII’s fort was expanded to include the whole headland

Unlike St Mawes Castle, Pendennis Castle remained fully active as a military establishment through WWII and up until 1956.  In WWI it was a training establishment, with many new volunteers and conscripts having their first taste of military life the barrack building or in the huge tented camp in the castle’s grounds.

Top: a display of the castle’s guns from throughout its history, highlighting the development
of artillery.  Bottom:  Pendennis Castle was actively used in both World Wars.  This ‘disappearing’ WWI gun lifted up out of its emplacement for ranging and firing and was
lowered down for reloading and when not in use

But it was also an active military establishment in its own right with operational guns and crews tasked with providing area defence.

Top: The ‘disappearing’ gun.  Bottom: This large WWII gun was one of a pair
located in Half Moon Battery on the most seaward side of the headland

In WWII Half Moon Battery was installed almost at the most seaward end of the headland with 2 enormous guns to provide coastal defence for several miles out.  Higher up and closer to the keep is the Battery Observation Post bunker, from where a lookout for enemy shipping was kept and ranging orders were sent by field telephone/telegraph to the gun crews.

The original Tudor keep of Pendennis Castle

Seen this before?  A display of cannon inside the Tudor keep, very similar to the display
we had seen in St Mawes Castle a couple of days earlier

Top left:  looking back from the keep towards the gatehouses (from 2 eras) and the large
barrack building (mostly hidden behind the stonework of the keep).  Bottom: the
‘disappearing’ gun from the keep

Spellbinder on the mooring buoy next to us

Back on board BV we spotted Spellbinder arrive to pick up the mooring buoy next to us after a trip away to the Helford River.  I leapt into our dinghy to lend a hand if necessary and later on, when passing on their way to the shops, Nick Nottingham and his son, Jonty, invited us aboard for sundowners.  That turned into a very convivial evening with Nick and Jonty coming back to BV for dinner.  As we compared notes we realised that we know a lot of the same sailing OCC friends; it’s a small world in the cruising community!

Saturday brought boat chores (laundry, shopping, generator love) before an excellent OCC dinner organised by Colin and Becks Campbell and hosted at the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club.

We began with canapes on the terrace before sitting down in the Club’s ‘Upper Deck’ where we ate a delicious meal and met all number of interesting fellow sailors.

We ended up sitting next to a couple Alan and Claire Foster (Moonstone of Aberdour) to whom we had waved in passing in Nova Scotia and with whom we had spoken on one of the OCC’s daily radio nets.  We also met Anne Hammick, editor of the Club’s twice yearly publication, Flying Fish, for whom Nicky proof-reads.  Colin and Becks talked to us about the Azores and Back Race, held every 4 years, the next one in 2023, and we were introduced to the Commodore of the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club who is very busy working to move the club forward from the combined ravages of a lack of income due to Covid and the difficulties arising from owning and running a listed building as a clubhouse.  It was a fascinating evening and, as ever, there was insufficient time to even meet all the people present, let alone have full conversations with them all.  But the advantage of the West Country Meet was that there were 2 more events over the weekend at which we hoped to have the opportunity to meet more of the group.

Falmouth, Cornwall, UK