Spring Holiday Part Five - Falmouth & St Mawes

Falmouth is a bustling town, either in summer or in the relative cold of spring, and with a wide variety of things to do. There's plenty of little shops, in particular a good choice of book shops, as well as a selection of cafe's, deli's, artisan tat shops and much more. We had decided to do St Mawes first, so we found a parking spot, and walked down to the ferries, past this chimney, so called The Kings Pipe. It was used to burn tobacco that had been smuggled in but seized by the authorities as it meant they avoided paying taxes, and it was burnt as a warning to anyone else thinking of trying to smuggle goods into the country.

Falmouth is a pretty place, with a very waterside living kind of vibe. It's somewhere I could imagine myself moving to one day. Maybe when I'm a bit older though. I still appreciate city living despite being "old" as I was told the other day. That was a dagger to my 30 something year old heart (and lower back, but with all the back pain I get, it's probably double my age).

The ferry to St Mawes was only about 20 minutes long, and was £14.85 for a day return (although there's a small discount if you book in advance via their website @falriver.co.uk/st-mawes-ferry). It was a nice little ferry, not too small that you felt like it wasn't going to make it!

Our first view of St Mawes castle, a Tudor built fortification we were planning to visit. The overcast sky was beginning to clear up and the sun was starting to shine!

Never mind, the clouds have returned again!

A tranquil view over the waters of the Percuil River, with this 

interesting rock formation gently rising out of the water.

A view from the front & side of the main entrance. It's got quite a charming look about it, with it's curved walls, ornate details & dramatic vibes. Construction began in 1540, on both St Mawes castle & the sister castle Pendennis in Falmouth to protect against French invasion. I mean was there ever a time when the French weren't threatening to invade?

A view over the battlements, you can just see Pendennis Castle on the hill in the right side background. They would have provided a frightening wall of defence, cannon balls coming in from both directions at any ship that dared to head up the river towards Falmouth.

Inside, the castle has been lovingly restored, with information panels & guns dotted about this place. The castle was built to help bolster defences along the coasts, which seeing as we are island, we have quite a bit of coastline. But also there was a new threat on the horizon. Henry was also fearful, not just of a French invasion, but a Holy Roman Empire invasion too. His break with the pope in Rome and the creation of the Church of England had more than just ruffled a few feathers. His attempts to dissolve the monasteries only added fuel to the flames, and it had also become personal. Once Henry had realised his desire for Anne Boleyn, he had cast Catherine of Aragon aside and divorced her. She was the aunt of Charles the Fifth, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and suddenly it meant that one of Europe's most powerful kingdoms had become hostile. If they had joined forces with the French, England could have been overrun quickly.

I took part in some cannon practice, and luckily did not sink the ferry!

Surprisingly, there wasn't an awful lot of defences, and the ones that we did have, like Pevensey Castle were run down Roman, Saxon or Norman buildings, and were unfit for defense against the well equipped French. England through the medieval period had been unstable at times, you can see how many castles in England's interior had been built to stave off rivals & civil war. Now the threat was coming from outside, and seeing as though Henry had suddenly become all the more richer thanks to the dissolution of the monasteries, he set about building new & refurbishing existing defences.

With tensions with France easing, the threat of Spanish invasion became apparent. Further guns were added and the garrison numbers increased due to the Spanish Armada in 1597. Action almost occurred again during the English Civil War, but the Royalist fortress surrender to the Parliamentarians before any damage could occur.

The fort continued to be occupied, although by less and less of a garrison, until 1806 when the visiting Lord Byron came, and discovered there was just one old man left to defend the castle. By now though, it's importance had decreased as other defences had been completed elsewhere.

The castle began to be used more in the later Victorian years, when a minefield was developed in the river to protect against (yes, you guessed it) the French. In later years, the castle became a tourist attraction in the interwar years, before being used again in the Second World War. But since then, it has been an tourist attraction once more, and the castle enjoys a quieter life welcoming visitors and watching over the boats that go between St Mawes & Falmouth.

I really enjoyed our visit, it was an interesting place to be, and I love this angle of view, with the different levels of stone, rock & greenery looking upwards. The castle is looked after by English Heritage, tickets start at £10.90 for adults, although there's a discount for booking in advance & EH members can visit for free. If you want to know more, check out their website english-heritage.org.uk/st-mawes-castle.

Here's James looking out over the water, like a detective in a Nordic Noir surveying a crime scene!

A view of the harbour wall in St Mawes.

And here was me trying to experiment by trying to get the sky & the water which was similar colours to contrast with the yellow moss that was growing on the wall. It didn't work, but here was my effort! 

There's a few nice little shops and things to see in St Mawes, and we shared some fish & chips sat on the waterfront, while we waited for the ferry back to Falmouth. Definity worth spending a couple of hours visiting if you're in the area. 

We caught the ferry back, and had a lovely wander up and down the high street, where we brought some interesting looking cooking sauces from one shop, and some books from another, before heading over to Pendennis Castle, which is the sister castle to St Mawes

It's a much larger fortification, and here you can see more of the Victorian & WW2 features that have been lost at St Mawes. I loved the fact that as you walked out of the car park and entered the fort, you had to pass through this impressive entranceway. Made me feel very important!

All across the site you can see many more layers of history, from the original medieval castle, to the Georgian & Victorian era buildings which housed the barracks, hospital & offices, to the WW1 & 2 gun defences and concrete placements. Here you can see one if the guns looking out over the waters round Falmouth.

Here's James inspecting one of the WW2 guns, making sure it's in working order for the next French Invasion!

There's rows of different guns & cannons all over the site, with this row of Tudor cannon looking beautifully in line and ready to go.

The castle itself was built at the same time as St Mawes, and to a similar design. Originally, the first built fortification was "Little Dennis" which we visited after. The castle saw major action in the English Civil war, with a siege lasting several months in 1646, before eventually surrendering to the Parliamentarians. Interestingly though, the castle was the second to last Royalist stronghold to surrender.

After that, the castle & fort went through numerous periods of re-fortification & decline as tensions came and went with France & others in Europe, before a final construction plan began in 1939 and war loomed in Europe once more. Numerous additional defences were built, like this half moon battery a little walk further along the headland

I'm checking out the line of sight of the gun. We might be able to hit the shore of France with it!

And here's James, keeping an eye out for enemy shipping coming towards Falmouth.

The beautiful entrance way to the castle itself, with its beautiful carving above the main doorway.

Inside the castle has been renovated to appear as it would have done in its heyday, complete with guns & even a Tudor style wet floor sign.

You can also climb to the very top of the castle, which gives you some fantastic views across out to sea, over Falmouth & the fort complex itself. Here you can see the buildings that still remain, like the hospital, barracks & office building.

Inside, you can see one of the rooms that's been set up to show you what it may have looked like when it was in use as a hospital, as well as a small museum upstairs, and a little cafe to. It had gotten cold outside, so we warmed up with a nice cup of tea! 

Entry to the castle is £16.30, with a 15% discount for pre-booking via the website english-heritage.org.uk/pendennis-castle. I thought that was quite reasonable, considering how much there was to see and do there.

In true Henry the Eighth style, we were outstaying our welcome and the castle was about to close! But we wanted to see one more thing, so we left, drove a few minutes to the end of the headland to see "Little Dennis" the first Tudor defence that was built here.

Not much remains, just the walls and a brilliant view, but it gives you an idea of how much our defences have grown through the years, from this little battery tower to the full scale castle we'd just visited. 

I guess it means that we are still ready for the French, or the Spanish if they ever try to invade again. But saying that, I need to start practicing my cannon firing skills, so I'll finish the post here, before I head to the garden to do some target practice!