A little while back Scottie and I popped down to Flushing for a walk along the coastpath, a little area of Cornwall we’d never explored before. This picturesque village sits in the parish of Mylor, smuggled across the river from Falmouth and Penryn.
Flushing was originally named Nankersey, meaning valley of the reed swamp, however its name was changed by Dutch engineers after they built three quays around the coastline, naming it after their home city Vlissingen (which happens to translate to Flushing).
We managed to get a parking space along one of the road in the centre of the village, although these can be sparse. From here we walked along Trefusis road, admiring the views across the Penryn river of Falmouth. Many of the larger houses, particularly on Trefusis road used to belong to the Captains of Packet Ships, which were used to deliver mail all around the country.
At the end of the road, the path enters private property with a permissive path. On the left is the Flushing & Mylor Gig Rowing house and to the right is a path leading down to Kiln Quay, a small sandy beach that is dog friendly all year around. Another pathway straight on takes you around the coastpath, with views of Falmouth Harbour, Carrick Roads and St Mawes.
Henry VIII had planned to build another castle on Trefusis Point, the highest area on this patch of coastline, to match those at Pendennis and St Mawes. However, increased war expenses meant that he couldn’t afford to built a third. This patch of land is still used by the farmer to graze cattle, so be wary of curious locals.
Further up the path towards Mylor you can spot the Kuzma Minin, a Russian cargo ship that ran aground on Gyllyngvase beach at the end of 2018. It has since been seized from its owners and will go up for auction at some point.
Keep following the coastpath and you’ll eventually reach Mylor harbour, a famous spot for sailing and yacht restoration. At this point, we walked up the Penarrow Road until we reach a footpath on the left hand side opposite four large houses. This took up across two fields back down into the top of Flushing.
While this walk was lovely, the section up the road wasn’t brilliant as there are no footpaths and it’s a busy stretch with people coming and going to the harbour. A better, although longer, alternative may be to go down Wayfield and then Church road from the harbour, then using the footpath there up to Pillar’s road, where you can then join the same footpath across the fields.
The whole walk follows public footpaths, permissive paths and the road.
There is limited parking in Flushing.