Salcombe – First impressions

09/01/2014
by kelewis37
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Devon / UK / West Country

My first impression was the chop, the waves off the headland knocking the boat around and consequently the boom as I was trying to drop the mainsail.  We’d turned North to head for the entrance and the pilot book mentioned that there was a bit of a chop that you have to grit your teeth and just get through.  As we got further inshore the chop began to ease off.

The Bag, Salcombe

The Bag Salcombe

I looked around me and saw the stunning cliffs of Bolt Head towering over us.  As we headed further inland we saw a cove open up to our left, Starehole Bay. There was a fishing boat and a sailing boat anchored.  We followed the transits of a rock against a post in the trees to make our way over the bar.  Then we past South Sands to the West and followed the buoyed channel to Salcombe.

The estuary is a ria, or drowned valley, as there are no substantial rivers running into it.    I’m not sure what that means in terms of geology but from a leisure point of view it’s a large playground; and it was full.  The visitor moorings are in the main channel looking over the town and also around the corner at The Bag which is quieter.  On good Summer weekends boats will be moored alongside 5 deep on the mooring buoys and against the pontoon at the Bag.  We arrived mid-week so were only two deep every night we stayed.  We moored alongside the pontoon at The Bag.

We were glad to have our tender as that gave us flexibility to pop to the shops, explore the upper reaches of the estuary and get to the beaches.  There is also a water taxi available but self-sufficiency is ideal.  The Bag has a water bowser that is available from 10:00-11:00 everyday.  There’s also water at the Town Quay but you can only stop for about an hour.  Showers are available off the Town Quay and the RNLI provide lockers for life-jackets to be stowed whilst ashore.

Once we were settled with mooring fees paid we took our tender through the private moorings of mixed sailing boats, day boats, and power boats.  We found a spot to park our tender so we could explore Salcombe.

My first impression was how busy it was.  Much more busy than other harbour towns we’ve visited on the South Coast.  The high street follows the coast and there seemed to be a good range of shops for food with a number of clothing shops and some restaurants. We supplemented our recent supermarket shop with fresh bread, meat and cheese and then found somewhere for afternoon tea.

Whilst enjoying tea we flicked through the local guide books and tourist information leaflets.  There seems to be plenty to do, see, eat and enjoy both on and off the water.

Once we’d finished our first explore of Salcombe we headed back to the boat.  We’d planned to cook on board but after some tidying and polishing I hadn’t got the energy.  Tom ran out for fish and chips, jumping into the tender to go back into Salcombe.  The fish was fresh caught in the bay and still piping hot despite the five minutes transport in the tender.

Fowey, things to see, do and secrets

08/31/2014
by kelewis37
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Cornwall / UK

There are plenty of seaside related things to do at Fowey with the usual water, beach and walking activities.  Fowey is also a place for artists.  Daphne du Maurier lived here and there’s now an annual literary festival.

Trip up river to Leryn

Upriver at Fowey

Upriver at Fowey by Kathryn Lewis

 

The river is navigable up to Lostwithiel and Leryn at high tide.  Leryn is famous for being the inspiration for Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows.  In my world, it’s also famous for being the village where Tom’s parents live.  Whilst we’ve visited plenty of times we had never arrived by boat.

We set off in the tender, under grey skies and with our dirty washing.  The trip was a very pleasant potter.  We passed numerous moored boats that gradually got smaller in the upper reaches of the river.  There’s also a section of river set aside for salmon fishing.  We turned off the main river up the Leryn river to Leryn and felt our way up the river, only grounding once on the falling tide.  As we crept up the last reach to the mooring the rain started and then it was like a tap was turned on and we were wet through.  I stepped out of the tender and slipped on the mud.  Soaked through and covered in mud!  We looked like a drowned ratty when we arrived at Tom’s mother’s house.

Polruan coastal walk

We traveled down-river to Polruan and left our tender on the visitor’s pontoon.  We walked up the hill through the village to find the coastal path out of town.  The views across St Austell bay and the Fowey harbour are beautiful.  If the weather had been more pleasant we would have followed the coastal path down to the beach at Lantic Bay.

Secrets

There’s a railway line running into Fowey.  Between the 1860s and 1960s it was used for freight and then freight and passengers.  These days it’s only use for freight.  It transports china clay onto the ships moored at Carne Point.  If you moor beyond the Boddinick Ferry you can see the loading and unloading and the clanking of trains moving about.

Other activities

If we’d had the time we would have gone:

 

 

 

Fowey shopping

08/22/2014
by kelewis37
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Cornwall / UK

I think I’ve already said Fowey is well supplied with shops.  There isn’t the variety that Falmouth offers but what it lacks in quantity it makes up in quality.

Fowey to go shopping

On the way to Fowey to go shopping by Kathryn Lewis

Alongside the typical high street stores are a range of boutiques, galleries and food shops that makes for an enjoyable experience.  The shopping street runs the length of the shore side road.  There are no pavements.  It’s one lane wide and cars and vans do drive along it too.  You spend your time ducking out of the way either by finding a convenient door step to stand in or flatten yourself against a building, close your eyes and hope the driver will not trample your toes.   Most of the time there’s give and take but you’d forgive the locals for a bit of impatience during the Summer months when tourists double (or more) the population of this small town.  If it all gets too much then take a water taxi to Polruan on the east side of the harbour for a quieter experience.

Shops we visited

Upper Deck Marine – Chandlery

This is a comprehensive chandlery with fantastic service.  We went in looking for a Cornish courtesy flag, forgot all about that whilst we looked at fuel cans and shackles.  Once we left we remembered what we’d actually gone to the shop for and they were more than happy to help.  They were open at 19:00 when nearly all the other shops had long shut.  I’m sure this is just their summer opening hours but a good decision as sailors are bound to be glad of a shop that’s open in the early evening.

Sail Shape – Sailmakers and Riggers

Trouper’s name is on the mainsail cover but it was coming unstiched.   We stopped Sail Shape to see whether they could help us lash something together.  They sold us the tape that we wanted but also offered to stitch the lettering back on.  All we had to do was be around when they re-opened on Monday morning, drop the sail cover off and it would be ready a few hours later.  With the prospect of such excellent service how could we refuse?  So we stayed another day in Fowey.  The sailmakers were as good as their word and we had the cover back by lunchtime.

Bookends

This is one of my favourite second-hand bookshops.  I’m happy to browse for hours but this time I only had a cursory glance around.  I like how they stock second-hand books but also some newly published.  The musty smell of this type of bookshop is an acquired taste for some.

Seasalt – clothes

The purveyors of bamboo stripy socks.  They’re unbelievably light and warm.  They also stock many, many other clothes.  This is one of many shops they now have but is special as it’s the first that I ever visited.

Shops to visit next time

Fowey River Gallery – there are many galleries and gift shops in Fowey.  This one looked interesting because of a stunning glass dish that was displayed in the window.  Sadly they weren’t open when we were wandering past.  They also look to have Amanda Hoskins paintings which I covet but don’t own.

Webb Street Company – a place to go if you’re present shopping.

Fowey food

08/21/2014
by kelewis37
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Cornwall / Food / UK / West Country

Fowey is a good place for food as there is a wide range of restaurants and food shops.  We tried a few during our stay, some old favourites and discovered some new.

Sam’s

We started at Sam’s a seafood brasserie and bar on the high street.  Back in the good old days, in the late 1990s, you used to be able to get Lobster and Chips for less than £20.  This time they were sold out and the price had gone up.

Sam’s is fun.  It’s got a rock n roll vibe with music posters and records decorating the walls and a fun playlist playing in the background.  The food is mainly fish and seafood but there are also burgers and steaks for those less inclined to our fishy friends.  I’ve never been able to book.  You arrive and either you’re seated straight away or you put your name on the list and wait in the bar for a table to come free.  The turn around is fairly quick and we were at our table within 20 minutes of arrival. I had the Sam’s platter which was grilled sardines, squid, prawns and mussels.  It was  a huge plate of food.  Tom had Hake with chips and salad, fresh cooked with a spritz of lemon.  He said it was excellent.  The sardines were the highlight of my dish for the same reasons.  The prawns, mussels and squid good but not the stand out item.  We had a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc that went well with the food.  All in all an excellent night out.

Sam’s also has a restaurant on the beach at Polkerris  There’s a good walk to it around the Gribbin Head to work up an appetite.

Bistro

This classy restaurant is next door to Sam’s.  It’s quieter and aims at a french style dining experience.  I hesitate to say it’s fine dining of the Michelin variety.  It isn’t that.  From the photos on the wall it’s popular with the great and the good that pass through Fowey including Tony Blair and Bill Nighy.  The menu was, as you’d expect, fish and seafood based.  There’s even a Cornish take on Boullaibaise on the menu along with standards such as Mussels cooked a number of ways.

I liked that a number of dishes could be ordered as a starter or main size course it meant  the menu had more options.  I  ordered a goat’s cheese dish for starters then the crab linguine but couldn’t fit in a pudding.  All was nicely presented and cooked well.   Altogether a pleasant experience and a good restaurant.

Kittows of Fowey – Butchers

If you like sausages and good meat then this is the place to come.  They also have a fantastic delicatessan with a great selection of cheeses and cooked meats.  The sausages are outstanding.   The meat is so fresh that, even on the boat, the bacon and sausages were safe after 5 days.

Quay Bakery – Bread

This is a new, to us, bakery.  I noticed it as I was lamenting the closure of Cry of the Gulls an art gallery next door.  We popped in just to see.  They make excellent bread and cakes.  It’s the tiniest of shops and there were a lot of people crammed in together.  Everything seems to sell out so go early.

Places that I would like to have tried:

 

Fowey – First Impressions

08/18/2014
by kelewis37
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Cornwall / UK / West Country
Cornish courtesy flag

Cornish courtesy flag by Kathryn Lewis

Fowey, pronounced Foy, is named after the river.  We’d motor-sailed from Salcombe partly to charge the batteries but partly to avoid the beat into the South Westerly.  We’ve sailed to Fowey a few times to race in Regatta Week.  We visit more regularly by land as we have family living nearby.   We like it a lot.

It’s a first for me to sail from the East to gain the harbour entrance.  It’s not an easy entrance to spot.  You have to keep an eye out for the tower on the Gribbin Head and then trust as you get closer you’ll see the stumpy lighthouse that marks the entrance.  Luckily we were entering in daylight and in good visibility.   There were also two ships anchored in the harbour we later learned they were waiting for high water to get up to the china clay dock.

The Victorian and Edwardian houses of Fowey decorate the hills to the West; the more traditional Cornish cottages of Polruan the East.  We motored through the entrance and upriver deciding to head into the relatively quiet waters near the china clay dock.  The harbour was busy but we found an empty and quiet mooring at Wiseman’s Creek where we could watch the world go by.

There are water taxis but we used our tender to get ashore and it was a pleasant potter down the river.  You can leave your tender at one of two pontoons as long as you leave it on the inside.  We used the lifeboat pontoon as it was slightly upriver.  The RNLI even have lockers so you can stow your lifejacket before going into town.

Most facilities are here but because Fowey doesn’t have a marina you have to search for them.  There are showers at Fowey Gallants and the Royal Fowey Yacht club.  There’s other showers and a laundrette at the Chandlers at Polruan.  Water is available from pontoon’s in Fowey.  There is also water and fuel at Polruan.  Rubbish bins are available on a pontoon in the harbour.  There are plenty of shops to provision.

It was early evening by the time we arrived in Fowey town so most of the shops were shut but there were plenty of restaurants and pubs open, a chandlery and a newsagent.  We bought a Cornish courtesy flag and some milk and yoghurt from the newsagent.  We then walked along the narrow main street along the entire length.  We had to stand back into doorways to allow cars to pass before ambling on.

Having checked to see that Fowey was still as we remember we caved in and decided to have supper in town at one of our favourite restaurants – Sam’s.  After a fishy supper we puttered back to our quiet mooring.

Truro River – First Impressions

08/17/2014
by kelewis37
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Cornwall / UK / West Country

The last full day of our holiday.  We avoided this by sneaking in one last trip.  Turning our back on Falmouth Bay we went upriver.  We knew that you could, in a smaller boat than ours, get all the way to Truro.  We’d settle for less than that.

I’d wanted to climbi the trees at Trelissick so the first plan was to sail and anchor in the bay off Trelissick.  As usual plans change.  We had a great downwind sail across the bay and into Carrick Roads.  This was full sail, goose winged with the genoa poled out.  Our course was helped by the wind as it gradually backed during the day and the tide giving us an extra knot.  Yet it was slow progress we were only doing about 2.5 NM/hour.  As the wind died off completely we reluctantly turned on the engine and motored up river.

We passed the Trelissick anchorage.  With three boats already in the bay we decided to carry on and explore the river.  Just passed this anchorage is a visitor mooring.  Instead of anchoring we carried on up river.  Turning a corner we saw 5 large ships in cold layup.  Passing these we came across The King Harry Ferry.  This is the eighth since the 1880s but there’s been some sort of floating bridge across this stretch over river for over 500 years.  It joins Falmouth and the Roseland peninsula and avoids the 27 mile diversion to Truro.  Then the river forked to the right is the Falmouth River and the left is the Truro.

We took the left hand turning into the Truro River and passed more large ships.  Still in deep water another 3 ships were laid up. Juxtaposed against the woodland banks and a thatched cottage they looked really out of place;  in these surroundings they dominate the landscape.

Big ships, small river

Big ships, small river by Kathryn Lewis

We motored further still and passed an empty visitors pontoon to see what else was on offer.  The one further upriver was busier so we elected to turn around and use the empty one.

We eventually moored up but had made it a challenge for ourselves as we’d thought the tide had turned but it hadn’t.  Just as we had sorted out all the lines the rain started.  The pontoon is run by the council and the harbour master came to collect the £12 mooring fee in the late afternoon.  The pontoon is even supplied with rubbish bins including recycling but that’s the extent of the facilities.

Instead of climbing trees in a National Trust garden we snugged up inside, read our books and drank tea.  It was a very quiet mooring and felt as though it was in the middle of nowhere.

Truro River

Truro River by Kathryn Lewis

Things we’d have done:

Helford River – First Impressions

08/15/2014
by kelewis37
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Cornwall / Food / UK / West Country
Helford River

Helford River by Kathryn Lewis

We woke to bright sunshine and a gentle breeze.  The perfect day for a sail.

We’d wanted to sail from Falmouth to the Scilly Islands but the timings and longer term weather forecast didn’t work out for us.  Instead we sailed the 8 nautical miles to the Helford River that is West of Falmouth.

We’d rounded Black Rock and set sail.  Then I saw breaking waves to port.  It seemed strange on such a perfect sailing day to see breaking waves.  I watched them.  Was it a rock?  But the waves were moving.  No boat was close by so it wasn’t wash.  The waves had moved again, closer to us than before.  Finally, I worked it out.  A small pod of dolphins swimming across the bay.  Sadly there’s no photographic evidence but dolphins, basking shark and seals are frequently seen in the bay so it wasn’t an aberration.

We arrived at the entrance of the river.  It’s busy.  That’s what we’d been warned, and it was.  There were French, Dutch, German and British flagged boats.  Large and small.  Power and Sail.  There’s a section of the river saved for visitor moorings amongst the permanent ones.  If it’s really busy you could be sharing.  There’s also places to anchor and, if you have a shallow drafted boat you can work your way up the creeks.  From a distance though it looked as though you could use the armada of boats as a floating bridge to walk from Helford Passage on the north shore to Helford Village on the south.   As you get closer the river opens out and there is plenty of space.

We picked up an empty mooring buoy off Helford Village and ate a late lunch.  The Mooring Officer promptly collected payment and supplied us with the River’s information pack.  There’s a water taxi running from 9:00am to 5:00pm.  Visiting yachtsman are are welcomed at the Helford Sailing Club on the south side.  There’s also a boatyard upriver at Gweeks and a shops for provisions.

Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling well so chose to sit in the cockpit alternately watching the world go by and reading.  We watched the kayakers paddling up and down, boats coming on and off moorings and later a racing gig.  We looked for prettiest boat, oldest boat and took in the stunning view and decided which of the riverside houses we’d like to live in.

photo of pretty sailing boat

Pretty boat by Kathryn Lewis

Frenchman’s Creek, famous from the Daphne du Maurier book of the same name, is round the corner and other creeks and inlets feed into the main river basin from the north and south sides.  The riverbanks are relatively steep and mainly covered in oak trees.  The area is designated as a site of special interest.

Several boats arrived after us and by 5:00pm the mooring buoys were full.  Further visitors rafted up.  A solo sailor rafted to us.  I think she found it helpful to have someone take lines.  Besides, it gave Tom someone to talk to whilst I continued to feel grim and went to bed early.

The next morning we’re woken by the sound of helicopters.  There was a Search and Rescue helicopter doing a shoreline search 50′ from the water.  Other boats were helping and a Moorings Officer was going around asking the visitors whether we’d seen any swimmers.  It was impressive coordinated search and I only hope that they were successful.

We left later in the morning but would like to come back as there’s unfinished business.

Wish List

These are some of the things I wish we could have tried or seen:

  • Cruise up river and up the creeks either by tender, kayak or swim (depending on depth restrictions)
  • Eat at The Ferryboat Inn Helford Passage
  • Explore the gardens at Trebah Gardens
  • Walk part of the coastal path which takes you down to the Lizard
  • Get lost in the Maze at Glendurgan Gardens
  • Anchor at St Anthony in Meneage
Photo of search and rescue helicopter

Search and Rescue helicopter by Kathryn Lewis

 

Falmouth Shopping

08/13/2014
by kelewis37
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UK / West Country

Falmouth shopping; the last post on Falmouth promise.  There is a whole High Street of shops.  Most familiar to high streets the length and breadth of the UK.  I won’t cover these.  I won’t cover the food or drink shops that I’ve already mentioned.  I’ll just mention the few that were interesting or best in breed.

Chandlers – The Bosun’s Locker Chandlery is a traditional chandlers with everything from striped shirts and smocks to shackles, flags and widgets.  The Chandlery is packed to the rafters and great for browsing.  The staff will helpfully find what you’re looking for if you’re pressed for time.  They seemed equally happy to let you mooch around.  Tom thought the pricing wasn’t too competitive but changed his view when he cross-checked afterwards.

Bookshop – The Falmouth Bookseller is an independent bookshop.  I’ve discovered on this sailing trip that books and boats go quite well together.  Reading whilst on passage just makes me seasick.  Sitting on deck in the sunshine or in the saloon when it’s raining is a great way to pass the time.  By the time we’d got to Falmouth I’d already worked my way through four books.  I had plenty still to go but a trip to a good bookshop is always fun.

It wasn’t packed to the gunnels like the chandlers but there was a surprisingly wide selection of books available.   They are laid out on shelves and tables as they are in many bookshops.  Customers were left to browse or helped depending on their wishes.  The customer was left to call the shots.  There was a rich selection of books on Cornwall, as you’d expect, and also maritime.

I was seduced by two maritime books.

The Levelling Sea by Philip Marsden a biography of Falmouth.  Philip takes the reader on a journey from the establishment of Falmouth up to the present day.  He manages to do this in about 280 pages.  There are stories of key figures from the Killigrews who set up the town to immigrants washed up in Falmouth making a living in the UK.  Threaded through the book is an expression of his relationship with both the sea and Falmouth.

The Sailor’s Word Book by W H Smyth published by Conway.
This is a reference book of sailing terms collated in the 1800s.  If you know your jib and mainsheet but not winding and wearing then this is the book for you.  Close study of this, if I had the time, and I could probably fit right in with the conversation in any English port of the 1800s.

Clothes – Finnisterre is a Cornish surf clothing company.  The specialise primarily in merino based clothing for men and women.  They sell to cold water surfers.  I think this is some of the best quality merino you can get.  Mainly they are an online retailer so no need really to visit.  Except.  The shop in Falmouth is their sale shop.  Yes, I picked up some bargains.  Including a merino/cotton hoody that goes down to my knees.

Dressed in my new hoody, furnished with new books and the evening rain I had a delightful evening on board Trouper.

 

 

 

Falmouth things to do, sights and secrets

08/12/2014
by kelewis37
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UK / West Country

What with the eating, drinking, reading and fettling we only managed to get to the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.  £11 gets you an adult ticket which is valid for a year so if you’re intending to go back represents good value for money and supports the charity.  For a day trip it’s about what I’d expect to pay to get to any museum or gallery so, for me, it didn’t seem unreasonable.

The museum is set out over four main floors with a separate section on the history of Cornwall.  The ground floor hall is impressive display of boats suspended from the ceiling and on the ground floor.  You’re able to look at the boats from different levels as there’s a ramp that takes you around the exhibition up to the third floor.  All sorts of boats are on display:  there’s a small lifeboat, an early international 14 dingy, the earliest Firefly dingy, rowing boats and power boats along with newer boats such as Ben Ainslie’s Olympic winning Laser and Finn.

Also on the ground floor is the temporary exhibition space and this was given over to Search and Rescue including a Seaking Helicopter and RNLI inshore lifeboat.  Stories brought the exhibits to life but, unusually, where possible you were able to climb into and onto the exhibits.

We spent hours poking around the galleries and fatigue got to us before boredom set in.  I liked that it was set up to enable more hands on experiences than I’ve come to expect from some of the traditional large galleries.  There was even a boating lake where, for 50p you could sail your own boat across the lake.

One of my favourite sections was the ‘lighthouse’ tower.  Integrated into this new building it’s not such a climb.   Once reached it has excellent views over Falmouth town, the docks and the harbour.  There are binoculars provided so you can take a closer look at the ships coming in and out and the freight being loaded onto the commercial vessels.

The story that’s stayed with me was of the Robertson Family who managed to stay alive in their dingy Edna Mair for 38 days in the Pacific after their yacht was holed.  They did this by catching turtle and any fish they could, drinking rain water or turtle blood.  Three days in a ship passed about 4 miles from them but didn’t see their flares.  Lesser people would probably have given up but they didn’t.  Remarkable.

Other Sights and things to do – if we had the chance

Pendennis Castle – it was originally built in the Tudor period and fell in and out of repair and different uses.  I think it was one of the last Royal refuges before Charles I escaped to France.

Stand Up Paddleboarding at Swanpool Beach – one day…

Secret

Falmouth was a new town – of it’s period.  It was founded by the Killigrew family in the 1600s when they bought some land, moved from the interior of Cornwall and started to trade, and some say pirate, from the area.  The town of Penryn, further up the Fal, was the main town at the time.  The Killigrew’s dominated the town and it’s development for some four generations before they died out.  The last of the Killigrews was actually married-in as he married a Killigrew daughter.  However he felt loyalty with the family and in his later years he designed a monument to remember the Killigrews – a pyramid.  It was plain save the mortar to hold the masonry together standing about 6′ tall.  This monument was originally located at the Killigrew’s house Arwenack an area near what is now the docks.  Later, long after the house had fallen into disrepair, the locals found that the monument got in the way of what had turned from a lime tree avenue to a rope walk.  They moved it down the hill.  It then got in the way of the train line when that was created in the 1800s so the monument was moved again.  It’s now just on the edge of the car park that’s in front of the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.  Each time the monument was moved and rebuilt the masons hid momentos inside the monument.

Falmouth for foodies

08/11/2014
by kelewis37
comment 1
Food / UK / West Country
Falmouth Harbour

Falmouth Harbour

We tried a number of places to eat in the short time we were in Falmouth for re-provisioning but also immediate consumption.  In the sunshine Falmouth had the feeling of a mediterranean country with plenty of al fresco dining opportunities which surprised and delighted.

Around the Port Pendennis Marina there are numerous options including Pizza, Steak, Fish and a cocktail lounge.  We also went into Town to sample the cafes and what follows are brief reviews of the places we tried.

The Shack
This fish and seafood restaurant is in the new development around the Maritime Museum. It sells fresh fish and shellfish.  If you would particularly like lobster or crab then they recommend contacting them 24 hours in advance so they can buy what you’d like.  We walked in on spec for an early evening dinner and had a table straight away.  We ordered the two fish specials which were Hake with potato and salad and Mackerel.  We followed that with ice-cream and lemon tart washed down with a bottle of their house white.  Other menu options included the Shack Platter which was a take on french Fruits de Mer and suitable for sharing and fresh Crab, fresh Lobster and mussels.

We were delighted with the service and the food it was excellent.   The timing of the service was good and friendly.  The food cooked and presented well.  This wasn’t intended to be fine dining and they didn’t pretend to be.   The restaurant was popular and had a nice vibe with large and small groups including families.  They have an external space too if the weather is nice.

Picnic
This is a delicatessen and cafe on Church Street part of the main thoroughfare.  On the walls are shelves full of gorgeous looking food from Cornish salt and tea to Cornish Gin, crisps and snacks and herbs and spices.  It’s a small place so the tables are close together.  We sat at a table for two where I was tucked into the wall amongst the shelves – Tom thought I looked like I was one of the goods for sale.

They offer a short menu one for breakfast of staples from full english through to eggs benedict and croissants and a lunch menu.  They will also prepare Picnics to take away so handy for a trip to the beach.

I had a crab roll which was delightful as it was made from soft bread and Tom had a chicken roll.  Feeling gluttonous we segued straight into afternoon tea. Tom had carrot cake – good and I a millionaire’s shortbread.  All enjoyable, if I were to nit-pick I’d say that the shortbread on my cake was a bit soft.

The cafe seemed popular – full when we arrived so not a place to linger if you want to relax over a leisurely meal.  Overall an interesting place to visit and a good if cramped experience.

Good Vibes Cafe
I was actually in search of another cafe on Killigrew Street and mistook it for Good Vibes. I was glad I did.  Off the main street to the north of the harbour area this is a gem.  Good service – you place the order at the bar and then find a seat.  A limited menu but good quality options.  We only went for a coffee/tea stop but ended up sharing a slab of chocolate and raisin brownie.

They have a good range of magazines to browse – surfing, fashion, skiing.  There are a smattering of tables and a bar that runs the length of one wall.  Whilst I wasn’t looking Tom managed to eat most of the brownie – after saying he’d only have a bit to taste so it must have been good as he doesn’t usually choose the chocolate options.

The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed.  I felt that I could have stayed all afternoon if I’d wanted.  An excellent cafe.

Bottle Bank Wine
A splendid wine merchants close to the marina.  We’d popped in as I’d seen some Cornish Gin for sale at Picnic but it was late and I didn’t want to walk back.  We were given a Cornish Gin tasting at the Bottle Bank instead and came away with a different Cornish Gin distilled by Southwestern Distillery who take an artisan approach and make in small batches.  We sampled the Gin the following night and with Gin this good – why would you drink the mass market alternatives.

The Shed
By night a cocktail bar but by day a cafe.  Not the most impressive lunch stop.  We stopped there because it was close by and it was our first day.  The food was a mixture of burger type options and small plates that they called tapas.  I had a feta salad and some prawns and Tom had the pork burger.   Sadly my chips were a bit under-done and true to British form I ate them rather than send them back.  I don’t think we saw the place in it’s best light.

Other places

These are the places that I’d have liked to have tried but sadly didn’t get to this time:

  • Espressini – this coffee shop is also on Killigrew and looked enticing
  • Harbour Lights – award winning Fish and Chip restaurant
  • Stones Bakery – sold out of bread when we went
  • Baker Tom’s – an artisan bakery and cafe with a branch also in Truro
  • Arwenack Fisheries a fishmonger at 29 Arwenack Street – looked to have lovely fresh fish on sale
  • Myatts of Falmouth a butcher at 11 Market Street – looked to have locally sourced meat on sale

Useful listing for food listings
Falmouth