July 24th, 2024

The weather remains cool and typical England lots of rain in forecast. We had a ships tour to take us to a small seaside fishing village on the east coast called Polperro. We anchored off Falmouth harbor and had to tender into shore. They got several ferries from the city to help get us off and they were nice and comfortable with lots of room up top to sit. The Falmouth harbor is a beautiful harbor and just riding in on the tender you could see all the houses on the hills looking over the harbor and boats of all sizes. I think to live in Falmouth you have to have a boat.

I loved all the different color row houses lining the street overlooking the harbor

We did not spend anytime in Falmouth so the only pictures we got are from the tender ride in.

Hundreds of sailboats.

Falmouth is also a deep water harbor. All the other harbors on the east coast are affected by the tides which can be up to 12 feet difference.

Not sure of the significance of the lighthouse in the middle of town.

We loaded on a bus for a drive through the countryside and it was very scenic. Lots of green meadows, sheep grazing and tons of flowers. We did a brief 20 minute stop to Charlestown, Harbor which is a tiny village that appears frozen in time since it’s heyday as a shipping and shipbuilding port in the late 18th century.

The Charleston harbor. Not much there but it is a Unesco world heritage site and also known for its tin mining.

It was another hour to get to Polperro but our guide did a great job of talking to us about the culture and the towns. Once in Polperro we had a small walk to get from the car park to the village and we were given about 2.5 hours of free time to explore.

Kathy liked the sign and the town was very dog friendly. They planted flowers everywhere.

The tide was out so all the boats in the harbor were sitting on mud until the tide came back in.

Polperro at low tide.

The harbor is lined with shops and cafes

The town had a walk up to the cliffs and apparently you can walk the entire coast of the UK.

Looking back on the town

Cornwall is known for its pasties which are like meat pies. They fill them with cheese, vegetables, all different kids of meats including beef, pork, sausage and chicken. The wives used to make the pasties to send down into the mines with their husbands.

On the other side of the harbor wall you could get out to the water and there was also a cave that you can only go into at low tide.

More boats in the harbor

Just need some water

After walking around for a bit we each got a pasty. Kathy got a cheese and onion one and I got a chicken, mushroom and leek one. They cost about 6 dollars each and are quite filling.

Kathy eating her pastie and the seagull is looking on. We were warned that the seagulls could be quite aggressive. They also have the shell house which the outside is decorated with shells.

In town there were lots of apartments for rent and hotels. According to our guide this is a big vacation place for the Brits. It is the most temperate place in England. The weather only changes by 2 to 4 degrees between summer and winter. They also say the water stays warmer so easier for swimming.

Flowers were everywhere and very vibrant.

One of the homes for rent

After walking around a bit we headed back to meet the bus for the ride back to Falmouth. It did start raining at the very end of the visit so our timing was good. It rained the whole way back.

On our ride back to the boat on the tender we opted to sit up top to get a few more pictures. Everyone else went inside the cabin. The crew dried off a couple of seats for us and we wore our rain jackets. The town in the rain.

Our boat anchored out in the bay with lots of rain and mist.

Next stop is Portland, England. We only have a few more cold days and then on to Spain and Portugal where we know it is going to be hot.