St Mawes & The the Roseland

St Mawes sits on the tip of the Roseland, looking across the Carrick Roads to Falmouth. It’s one of the most attractive small towns in Cornwall — colour-washed houses tumbling down the hillside to a harbour that catches the sun from morning to evening. The pace here is gentler than Falmouth across the water, with a village feel and a quietly prosperous character that comes from its popularity with sailors, retirees and visitors who appreciate good food and beautiful surroundings.

St Mawes Castle, built by Henry VIII as a companion to Pendennis Castle on the opposite headland, is the most complete of the Henrician coastal forts and sits right on the waterfront. The harbour is a working one, with a year-round ferry to Falmouth — a lovely way to visit the bigger town without driving. The restaurants here punch well above the weight of a village this size: the Hotel Tresanton and the Idle Rocks are both excellent, and there are several good cafes and pubs along the waterfront.

The the Roseland itself is one of Cornwall’s most unspoilt areas — a patchwork of lanes, farms, hidden creeks and subtropical gardens. St Anthony Head lighthouse, the gardens at Lamorran and the church of St Just in Roseland (set in what John Betjeman called “the most beautiful churchyard on earth”) are all within a few minutes’ drive. The coast path around the peninsula is relatively gentle compared to the north coast, with sheltered coves, wooded estuaries and views across the Fal.