8/1 (Saturday) - Falmouth Cornwall

After driving all over central Cornwall yesterday we decided to do something that didn’t require a lot of driving.,,so after breakfast we headed for the ferry dock across the street.  There was a little dinky ferry going to someplace called Place.  Phyllis was really not impressed with the size of this ferry...

Ferry to Place

so we caught a larger ferry for Falmouth, just around the point and across the next bay, Carrick Roads, from St. Mawes.  We got some great views of St. Mawes on our way out...

 
including a good view of St. Mawes Castle.

There were lots of interesting sailing boats on the way over...

and a great view of Pendennis Castle above Falmouth.

The tide was out when we got to Falmouth and there were a number of boats sitting high and dry at the docks.

It started raining just as we got to Falmouth so we found a restaurant and had hot chocolate (and a scone for Mary and Phyllis). 

By the time we had finished the rain had stopped so we trekked over to the train station to see about train tickets to London for Phyllis and Jim.  Unfortunately, the Falmouth station is just the platform…no office or staff.  Fortunately, there was a taxi at the station so we took it up to the Pendennis Castle overlooking the harbor and city.

The castle faces St. Mawes Castle across the harbor.  Both were built by Henry VIII and between the two of them they could protect mouth of the deep sea harbor at Falmouth from enemy invaders. 

The castle never saw action during the Tudor times but was updated and garrisoned during World War I and II.  The grounds and fortifications were fairly extensive.

The Keep was closed to the public from 12:00 to 1:00 for a wedding.  We were told there were two brides so we (Mary and Phyllis) were rather excited about the double wedding and hung around to see the brides arrive (guys were so not interested).  However, it turned out not to be a double wedding but a wedding between the two women.  Equality has arrived in Great Britain!!!  Huzzah!!

After the wedding we were eventually allowed into the Keep.  There were great views from the top and an interesting interior.

We decided to eat at the lovely outdoor eating area at the castle but they were basically out of almost everything.  So we called a cab for a ride back into the main part of town.  And immediately found a Cornish Pasty (rhymes with “fast-e”, no long a) shop that had at least 15 different filling types.  Really good

Then we headed back to the ferry docks.  Tide was still out and the waterfront was interesting.

The trip back to St. Mawes was sunnier.  Later in the afternoon, as part of the week-long festival, a brass band set up on the pier directly across from our hotel (and our bedroom windows) and played a concert as part of the festival.  They played a very eclectic mix of music from American western songs to a Puccini aria.  Life doesn’t get much better.