CALL OF THE SEA

Grace Earl dives in to explore everything Falmouth has to offer – and finds the Cornish town has plenty to float her boat

Picture the scene: a slightly chubby pair of travellers with an aversion to seafood and a hatred of boats embark upon an activity-packed weekend in Falmouth, home of the uk’s maritime history and some of the country’s freshest fish and choppiest waves. it doesn’t sound like a match made in heaven, does it? At first glance, i expected Falmouth to be a sleepy place full of posh London types, given its position as a holiday hotspot on cornwall’s south coast. But this charming town is bustling with creative types, thanks to the impressive arts offering at Falmouth university. if anything, it’s like Bristol by the sea. And it makes for an incredible weekend away. things got off to a great start with our arrival at the chelsea House Hotel, a stylish, art-deco-inspired B&B with the most stunning view overlooking the sea. the hotel was originally built as the home of a Dutch sea captain in 1908, but has changed dramatically since then. each of the hotel’s rooms are now named after musicians and we were fortunate enough to spend a night with rod Stewart. rod’s room was luxurious enough, boasting an enormous bed and spacious sitting area, but it was that sea view which truly captured us and made us want to get out and explore this little seaside town a bit more. And explore we did; our weekend was packed with history, culture and excellent food, all of which left us wanting to come back again. the first stop on our itinerary was the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth’s swish harbourside area. Fascinating as the museum is, it’s not the biggest place and so i wouldn’t devote an entire afternoon to exploring its treasures. it’s packed with impressive boats of different shapes and sizes (including some used by Olympic gold medallist Ben Ainslie) and its exhibitions offer a through-the-keyhole look into Falmouth’s past as the uk’s main port city, but it’s not big enough to warrant spending an entire day there. Do yourself a favour; explore the museum before lunchtime one day or use it as a bolthole to hide away from the rain instead. Having had our fill of history, we wandered along the charming Arwenack Street to espressini Dulce, a hipster coffee shop which wouldn’t have looked out of place in Bristol’s most trendy neighbourhoods. the cafe is tiny, the smaller sibling of the main espressini site a short distance away. However, it packs an almighty punch with some invigoratingly good coffees and even better cake – the pistachio slice was a particular favourite of ours. it might be difficult trying to nab a seat inside, but this place is well worth persevering with and i only hope they set up a branch further north in Bristol in the not-so-distant future. Part of Falmouth’s beauty is the exquisite countryside surrounding it, and no trip to this part of the South West would be complete without exploring some of its stunning rivers and coastline. We’d thought our particular weekend in April would be a washout, but wrong we were; Falmouth was bathed in sunshine and it made our kayaking trip a

wonderful way to spend an afternoon. We set off from the incredible Frenchman’s Creek, situated just outside Falmouth, which is said to be the inspiration behind Daphne du Maurier’s famous novel of the same name. Any worries I had about not being fit enough to keep up were quickly demolished; this is a leisurely expedition, not a sprint, and I loved every minute of my trip with Koru Kayaking. It’s all about taking in the scenery and enjoying being out on the open water, which you’re able to do at a wonderful pace with the help of excellent trip leaders Tom and Hetty. Had the day been drizzly and cold I might have told a different story, but in the warm April sunshine with a gentle breeze, it was magical. However leisurely our kayak might have been, exercise is still exercise and I had been left with a plentiful appetite after our adventure. After making the short drive out to Falmouth and rinsing off the river water it was time to head to Harbourside gastropub The Chain Locker. This 16th-century inn is a piece of prime real estate; it offers stunning views over the water and you might be forgiven for thinking you might have to sacrifice quality in lieu of your surroundings. But there’s no sense of “paying for the view” here; it’s a simple yet well-executed menu, specialising in fish and seafood as you’d expect in this part of the world. Wanting to stretch my culinary legs a little, I opted for the lobster burger, which consisted of a 6oz beef burger, shredded lobster in a lime and tarragon mayo, mustard mayo dip on the side and skinny fries. The lobster was delicate in flavour yet succulent in texture and it won’t be the last time I sample this delicious creature at dinner time. It’ll be a while before you catch me face-deep in a mountain of mussels, but perhaps my hatred of seafood isn’t quite as serious as I remember. Feeling brave and buoyant after trying something new, the next morning saw me tackle another bugbear of mine: boats. Whether they be ferries, sail boats or anything in between, those pesky sea vessels which everyone but me seems to love are no friends of mine. Cursed with the devil that is motion sickness, I feared I’d be seeing last night’s lobster (and my excellent full English at Chelsea House that morning) again, but thanks to our boat’s kind captain Keith and his excellent nausea wristbands, I survived – just about. You only need to take a look on Tripadvisor at AK Wildlife Cruises to see just how spectacular these trips can be on a good day. If the conditions are right and luck is on your side, your four-hour cruise along the south Cornish coast can reward you with sightings of dolphins, porpoises and even basking sharks. And if there’s ever a man who’ll spot a creature and point it out to you, it’s Captain Keith, whose knowledge of the high seas seems to know no bounds. The important thing to note here, of course, is that no sighting is guaranteed. We saw plenty of birds and a few adorable seals (which was marvellous), but sadly the dolphins and sharks evaded us on our particular trip and we left feeling a tad hard done by. I can only imagine how spectacular seeing such stunning creatures in their natural environments would be – but I’ll be sticking to dry land and making my legs wobbly through local beers and wines instead next time around. Boats or no boats and seafood or no seafood, Falmouth is an exquisite destination for even the most fussy clientele. It’s small enough to make you feel right at home, yet big enough to keep you busy for a long weekend – and you’ll leave with heavy hearts, already planning your next trip back.