We had a wonderful Christmas in Falmouth this year. The weather was lovely which meant some great walks and our favourite ferry trip across the harbour to St Mawes. The community spirit of Falmouth is in abundance at Christmas and there were many highlights of our holiday. We loved the carol procession though the town on Christmas Eve when over five hundred people, locals mainly, followed the Harmony Choir along the main street as they sang traditional and Cornish Carols at prearranged stopping points. An annual event that has taken place for 100 years.
On Christmas day, we went to Gyllyngvase beach to watch hundreds of people take a dip in the sea and enjoy the beach with family, friends and dogs. Then we had lunch in the Greenbank Hotel at a table overlooking the Penryn River. We enjoyed a festive feast inside and low tide meant we could also watch birds like herons and egrets searching for their food on the muddy river bank below.
On Boxing day, we took our family on an extended drive along the west cost of the Lizard peninsular to visit the wildlife centre plus Kynance and Mullion Coves. We watched the sun set on Gunwalloe Beach and then headed off to Mousehole to see the harbour lights which were magnificent. It all started in 1963 with one string of festive lights and they now have over 9km of cables and 7,000 lights decorating the harbour and surrounding islands and hills. It was a superbly creative and stunning sight.
If Christmas is about community spirit then Falmouth has this in bundles.
We wish everyone a very Happy New Year and an enjoyable 2019.
