When I read Falmouth in the cruise itinerary, my first thought went to Royal Caribbean's port of that same name in Jamaica, built to accommodate their mega-ships that have grown too large for Ocho Rios.
However, we would not be zigzagging across the ocean before we kissed the Blarney Stone.
Our stop would be the original Falmouth, a port town in the County of Cornwall, England.
Julie has read many historic and romantic novels set in lovely Cornwall. We were both excited to have a chance to explore this lovely part of the world.
A long tender boat ride took us to a free town bus for the short ride to Falmouth.
We had an afternoon Viator Tour scheduled for 11 AM, where the instructions said to meet behind the public toilets --- a questionable place to meet that would be explained later --- so we were happy to see the loos close to our stop that was also near a park and wharf-themed restaurant district.
Before that tour, we had time to explore the area on our own by virtue of being on the first tender boat.
Julie had printed a map, and we picked up another at the port, so we knew how to reach the scenic cove she envisioned.
We walked off up a hill through a neighborhood and then down another side to the beach.
As it turned out, our excursion guide went the exact opposite way, so this proved to be the perfect place to stroll.
When we came down to the cove, it proved to be lovely as advertised, a lovely setting for a romance novel...and a kettle bell class by some local women.
Julie and I walked through the sand to the lapping waves of the shore. The water was warmer than we expected, about like California beaches at that time of year, or maybe a degree warmer.
We talked about getting bathing suits on the ship to return after our tour and lunch as we sat on a bench, taking in the views.
We sauntered through a lovely flower garden, and then meandered in search of Swanpool Lake Nature Park.
Signs didn't prove helpful, but some locals tried to point us in the right direction, and we found it by and by.
All was tranquil on our little hike, but with an appointment at 11 AM to meet our guide, we decided to head back to town.
Our scheduled Falmouth Uncovered Walking Tour only cost about $20 each, so had we opted to blow it off to spend the day at the beach, we could have absorbed the loss, but we had been looking forward to it.
We arrived early enough to order a cappuccino at Java, one of the wharf restaurants.
I had only one cappuccino that morning in anticipation of such a treat on shore.
After a pleasant break, we found our tour guide dressed in a tri-corner hat and clothes essentially suitable for the 1700's behind the bathrooms.
As we signed in, our guide Will told us to gather by the pyramid in the park.
Will said that he used to have his tours meet at the Killigrew Monument, but it wasn't on Google Maps and many locals didn't know what it was. Everyone quickly learns where the public toilets are, hence the odd meeting place. He added that he was proud to say that perhaps because of the success of his tour, the monument is now on Google Maps.
Will told us stories about the royal Killigrew Family, whose last surviving heirs, Martin Lister and Anne Killigrew (he adopted the family surname upon marriage to Anne), built the Killigrew Monument in 1738 to honor the legacy of Falmouth's founding family.
Will told the story of the family's history in Falmouth according to local lore.
Pirates were welcome in Falmouth in its early years to fence goods and drink in the town that began as four pubs (possibly brothels) on the quay. I envisioned the animatronic debauchery of the pirate town on Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
Some of the Killigrew clan themselves became involved in privateering.
Of course, sanctioned privateering in times of war is outright theft during peacetime. A story is told of a Spanish ship laden with treasure that stopped in Falmouth.
While the ship's officers were dined and entertained in style by the Killigrews at their Pendennis Castle, the mistress of the estate led a raiding party to loot their ship, which was just too tempting a target, despite the government peace treaty.
Like Will's other stories, the tales of the Killigrew Family unfolded in an entertaining fashion, punctuated by him playing a ditty on what I think is his antique concertina or perhaps toy accordion at the end.
He said he had bought the little instrument on a whim shortly before the government proclaimed Covid-19 restrictions. With nothing to do indoors, he began learning the instrument, which might have otherwise just been a conversation piece.
At that time, Will also designed this tour, based on a book by a local author about local legends. He said the writer joined his tour a couple of years ago, making Will very nervous, but the write was a fan.
I won't retell more of his stories, because I don't think they have world-scale significance. Besides, you can take his delightful tour yourself for $20, if you want to learn about Falmouth.
However, if you absolutely must know more about the Killigrew Family, here is a link to a blog that takes on the task of retelling some of Will's legend from a slightly different perspective. To be clear, I have not verified these stories:
Will called Falmouth Harbor the second largest natural harbor in the world, which elicited chuckles from Brits who heard the claim about many other harbors, including where we had been the prior day. Acknowledging the inside joke, he said he'd heard similar claims on his own cruise vacation and added it is "maybe the third largest."
What is certain is that in 1688, Falmouth Harbor's size and strategic location made it the perfect location for facilitating mail distribution across the expansive and expanding British Empire.
Small light ships known as Falmouth Packets manned by heroic captains like John Bull and his gallant crew played an important part in the world until the mid-19th Century.
Being the most prominent Package Center brought great wealth to Falmouth.
Will's tales included some about World War II.
He said by the next time any of us visited, he should have a tour based about that era's fascinating tales. Perhaps he is tiring of doing his current award-winning tour, but bookings are strong enough that he hired a second guide to take a group of less fortunate tourists with him.
If nothing else, having the occasional ditties made us happy we had Will as our guide.
I have to say that the views we found in the morning were better than the ones on his quirky tour, but we enjoyed it thoroughly and highly recommend it if you find yourself docked in Falmouth, England.
Julie and I decided to head back to the ship for lunch.
This involved riding the bus, then taking the tender boat back to the ship, which with most of the ship awake by now, took longer than would be ideal. Tender rides can actually be quite nice, but we focus on where we want to go more than the experience of getting there. The time element is why ports without required tenders are preferable.
That is part of the appeal of river cruises and small ship cruises that can fit in smaller ports.
Back aboard around 2 PM, we changed into bathing suits for the sunny afternoon and went to grab meals at the buffet. There are full entrees among the many choices, but we went with casual lunch foods. Julie had a salad and tortilla chips with guacamole, while I had skewered Chicken Satay with peanut sauce, plus grilled veggies.
We headed out to the swimming pool on the fantail of the ship to dine.
After lunch, we settled into lounge chairs, and enjoying the lovely afternoon with a view of the blue ocean and green shore of Cornwall, we talked ourselves out of returning to that beach that looked so lovely. Had we brought bathing suits with us in the morning, we probably would have eaten lunch in town and gone to the beach.
A movie I watched recently, Fisherman's Friends, is set in Cornwall. That flick prominently features Cornish Sea Shanties, so I was elated to learn The Trawlermen would be performing in the Princess Theater while we were in Southern England. They are masters of that genre among other British folk songs.
Their show was ripe with humor and humanity as well as outstanding musically. As their facebook post read the next morning, "We left it all out there last night for the fantastic audience onboard Caribbean Princess."
Julie's Other Photos
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| Church Dedicated to King Charles the Martyr, the king who was executed in 1649 during the English Revolution. Our guide Will talked about dramas in the overcrowded graveyard instead. |
Wes's Other Photos
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