Going Home to (the Original) Falmouth

This past weekend we drove almost two hours through the pelting Cornish rain to the little seaside city of Falmouth. We arrived just as the clouds were emptied, to the smell of fresh-roasted coffee, and the smiles of friends I hadn’t seen for a while.
I’ve been wanting to visit Falmouth for ages. It held a special place in my heart, even before our weekend visit, because I used to live in a little city called Falmouth  on Cape Cod.


When I was ten years old we packed up our car and drove across the country to our new home in Falmouth, Massachusetts, where we lived while my dad was on sabbatical. It was the first big move which I was old enough for it to affect me – I whined and cried and complained at first. I was leaving my best friends behind in the Midwest, to move into a tiny, un-air conditioned, ranch house with no internet, no dishwasher, and a wasp infestation in the overgrown garden. I was used to the spacious and over-friendly Midwest, not cramped and touristy New England.

However, my dislike of change quickly melted into one of the best years of my life. My memories of Falmouth include mornings eating pancakes at the Betsy’s diner, countless bike paths leading to beaches, the seal I named Lucy outside the aquarium, Ben & Bill’s ice cream emporium (they even sold lobster flavored ice cream), cracker jacks at Red Sox baseball games, catching crabs at the beach, afternoons swimming in the Holiday Inn pool because there was no swim team, learning to play flute for the first time, chasing the traveling ice cream truck, weekend trips to New York City, clam bakes, cranberry bogs, crisp fall leaves, and a best friend who I still keep in touch with over a decade later.

Can you tell I’m getting nostalgic? To this day, Falmouth is one of the dearest places in the world to me. So naturally I had to check out how the nearby English version compared!

We went for the day to meet up with uni friends who we hadn’t seen for a while and actually had a class project we needed to collaborate on. One of them lives in Falmouth so we made it into a day trip, beginning at Espressini (a quirky cafe hosting tons of gluten free options).

It is such an adorable coffee shop – I would definitely return (/return to Falmouth just so I could eat here again what).


The coffee beans are roasted in house, and super strong. I asked the barista what he recommended, and he asked me a few questions about my coffee preferences, and then made me a flat white with a Jamaican roast…it was so good. I may have been jittery the rest of the day, but worth it?? Yes.

I also ordered the breakfast tacos, which came with basically an entire avocado sliced up inside, and an eggy kind of tortilla replacement. Once again it was incredible!

Okay, now that I’ve got you drooling…

After brunch (and working on our project of course) we headed out of Espressini and toward the high street.

A very nautical city indeed!



The day of our visit also randomly happened to be the Falmouth Oyster Festival (#cornwall) so we explored that, plus some city centre shopping. Falmouth has a great high street with lots of my favorite shops (Sea Salt, Joules) and lots of locally owned boutiques and craft stores, too. We did a bit of early Christmas perusing…

I loved all the bunting flapping in the wind. To be honest, Falmouth seems to have gone a bit bunting wild.


We enjoyed the cobbled streets, nautical tiles, and just the general colorful atmosphere of this small cornish city. I was expecting Falmouth to be a lot smaller and more touristy (think Looe, if you’ve been there), but it was much more city-like…I could imagine living there, not just vacationing!

^^ Hoping this was a joke??

After getting our fill of window shopping (and actual shopping), and checking out Events Square, we headed back into the neighborhoods.

The streets were lovely with the changing leaves, and the stone houses.

^^ Look at that nautical detail! Falmouth, I love you!

^^I even got to meet my Falmouth friend’s pup, so my day was basically made then and there!

In the evening we took a drive out to Pendennis Point, which is a gorgeous point in Falmouth overlooking the sea and the bay. There is a castle you can visit, or just stand on the outcropping with the wind whipping your hair and the salty sea smell. We drove to Pendennis but there is also a long and lovely walk through a park to get there!

After Pendennis Point, we took our last detour to Gyllyngvase Beach. There are lovely beaches and harbors in Falmouth, but this is the one my friend recommended.

It was too chilly to take a dip (although we saw some people who clearly disagreed splashing about in the subthermal temperatures…lunatics), but I enjoyed smelling the salty-sea air and watching all the dogs run free along the sand.

We also took a little break at the Gylly cafe, which I recommend, for some hot chocolates as we overlooked the ocean.

 

I loved my day in Falmouth, Cornwall. It’s different from my old home, to be sure, but I love it all the same, just in a different way! It’s less touristy than my old home, and a little less built up, but more sprawling. They both have that wonderful, nautical feel, though.

Maybe it was just the name, but visiting Falmouth felt a bit like going home for the weekend.
Sarah xx

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8 Comments

  1. I love all that bunting! I’ve never been to either Falmouth, but you’ve made me want to see both! And mmmm – those breakfast tacos sound delish!

  2. Falmouth is such an adorable place! I have to check out how your hometown looks. I am happy the “original” did not disappoint. I have a thing for visiting places with the same name (even if they are in different continents). It is nice to looks at the similarities and differences.

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