falmouth Archives - Explore Cornwall

Flushing to Mylor Walk

Caitlin — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 18:23:50 +0000

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.

Across Carrick Roads you might be able to spot Trelissick gardens (which I’ve written about here, here and here).

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.

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Enys Gardens

Caitlin — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 14:01:54 +0000

Enys house and gardens near the village of Enys, Penryn has been home to the Enys family since at least 1272. The estate currently includes over 1,000 acres of farm and woodland, although at one point the family also owned land in Camborne, St Agnes and Portscatho. It’s name originated from the Enys village, with enys or ennis coming from the Cornish meaning ‘island’.

Parc Lye is probably the most famous part of the estate and encompasses the 6 acres of bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta). These bloom through early spring and create a sea of blue-purple across the grounds.

The family history is extensive and features numerous members of armed forces and links with other Cornish families such as the Pendarvis’, Basset’s and Penrose’s. The most recent owners are Enys Henry Enys, nee Rogers (1861-1939), Charles Reginald Saltren Enys, nee Rogers (1897-1980), Gordon Leonard Rogers (1916-2006) and current owners Wendy Fowler and Christoper Rogers.

Enys house has an eclectic history, with its current version being the third instalment. No records exist of the first house which was built on another unknown part of the estate, but the second would have been an Elizabethan or Jacobean E-shaped mansion build just before the civil war. In the 1820’s, the house suffered major damage from a fire. The parts of the building that survived were incorporated into the present day structure.

The final house was built by John Samuel Enys (1796-1872), who inherited the estate in 1821. Much of the more detailed architecture was done by Henry Harrison, a London architect who also produced designs for the gardens. Some of the building was made with granite from St Stephen and Aberthaw lime stone. At the end of the 19th century and into the 20th, few changes were made to the house. As the current proprietors were away in New Zealand, they frequently sent back plants and seeds, creating the New Zealand garden that exists today.

In 1940, the Dutch Navy acquisition the property for training purposes, particularly as they could no longer return to the Netherlands. This was an ideal location for them due to its proximity with the Carrick Roads, known for its deep waters. Following the departure of the Navy in 1946, the family lived in the house for a short while, but struggled to fully staff the place. In 1950 the house was used as a Preparatory school for boys aged 7-13. This venture however was short lived, and the house has remained empty since.

It is currently in a state of disrepair, although extensive work has been done to try and rectify this. At one point, the house was home to 8 species of bats, which took a great deal of time and money to remove from the main areas of the property. Efforts have also been made to get rid of the rot and woodworm.

There is a new orchard has been designed to grown different varieties of Cornish apples. Some that are already in place are the dessert apples ‘Cornish Aromatic’ and ‘Cornish Honey Pin’ as well as cider apples ‘Captain Broad’ and ‘Tan Harvey’. At the bottom of the gardens are a set of ponds which were originally designed for practical purposes, supply water for both the house and fish stocks. They now provide a calm and tranquil environment in which to walk and enjoy the eclectic mix of plants.

Near the ponds is still visible one of the two waterwheels that were built in 1821. This one would have pumped water up to the main house, while another hidden in the valley near Carvinack supplied a now overgrown reservoir and fire hydrants. Enys is home to a granite Cornish cross, which originated from West Penwith where it was sent in return for a “cartload of things”. It’s been in place since at least 1848.

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Spring at Trelissick

Caitlin — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 10:40:50 +0000

This post features some photographs from a trip to Trelissick in the Spring of 2019.

The flowers and shrubs planted around the garden are unique and eclectic, and during the spring they don’t disappoint.

We got to see rhododendrons, bird of paradise and lots of bluebells.

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Trebah Gardens

Caitlin — Sat, 13 Oct 2018 15:19:35 +0000

Trebah Gardens is by far one of my favourite spots in the county. It’s a beautiful secluded garden perched on the Helford, with the most amazing views.

Trebah is famous for the ridiculous number of hydrangea plants, as well as palms, magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons.

The land was first mentioned as part of the Doomsday book in 1085 and passed through several hands between then and 1709 when it was bought by Richard Williams. It stayed in his family until the 1760’s, when John Nicholls who was responsible for the building the main house bought it. In 1803 the house fell to Peter Harris who mortgaged it sometime between 1813-34 selling some of the land to Alfred Fox next door at Glendurgan. The rest of the land was sold to Charles Fox in 1838 who in 1856-7 built a new red brick house next to the original.

Mr Fox died in 1878 and the house went to Julia Backhouse, Charles’ daughter, and her family who spent a great deal of time developing the gardens; rare trees, conifers, tree ferns and rhododendrons were planted. In 1906, Julia’s husband died and the house soon went to the Hext family who put in two ponds in 1914.

From 1939, the property was bought by Misses MacCraw and Preston. In 1944, the US army requisitioned the land, using it to store ammunition’s and the beach was used by 7,500 men of the 29th Infantry Division on their way to Omaha beach. The land was sold again in 1946 to Hedley Williams, then again in 1947 to Mr and Mrs Martyn; during their ownership the red brick house caught fire and was demolished. Freddie Ford bought the place in 1952. In 1961, the land was sold to Donald Healey, who developed the first Rolls Royce engine prototypes in his shed in the gardens as well as developments for the Jenson-Healey.

Between 1971 and 1981 the house changed hands another two times before finally being sold to Major Hibbert. His family opened the gardens to the public in 1987 to help raise funds for its upkeep and in 1990 the house, garden and cottages were placed under the Trebah Garden Trust.

During WWII, the US army concreted most of Polgwidden beach; Mr Healey had the majority of it dug up again, although some still remains.

The garden has 9 UK Champion trees, 10 Country Champions and 19 County Champions. There are 2 acres of Hydrangea macrophylla which bloom during the summer. March and April are the perfect time to come and see all of the rhododendrons in flower.

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Swanpool to Gyllyngvase Walk

Caitlin — Sat, 22 Sep 2018 18:25:17 +0000

The walk from Swanpool beach to Gylly is a lovely little short one.

Starting off from Swanpool, make sure to check out all the lovely birds on the nature reserve on the other side of the road. The coast path starts on the left hand side of the beach.

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The walk between the beaches is just a short one, but still offers plenty of views. There are always bunches of ships out on the horizon and as you get closer to Gylly you’ll be able to see Pendennis Castle across the waves.

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Maenporth Walk

Caitlin — Sun, 16 Sep 2018 11:55:39 +0000

Today, in view of the ‘heatwave’ I abandoned my school work and drove to Maenporth, a quaint little beach just down the line from Falmouth.

This is a really stunning stretch of Cornwall’s south coast, complete with views across to Falmouth and The Roseland, down the Helford and of tiny beaches. The coast path towards the Helford river is on the right side of the beach, just above the Life Guard building, crossing the bottom of some private fields.

All around the path was littered with spring flowers, with whole sways of snowdrops under the trees.

Path down to Bream Cove. This is a small sheltered beach just off the footpath; while privately owned there are no visiting restrictions and the waters are typically flat and calm.

Soon the path reached Rosemullion Head which gives fabulous views of the whole coastline and across Falmouth Bay.

Eventually the path winds its way to the mouth of the Helford river. This has over 47kms of coastline, seven creeks and several houses/estates along its edges, Trevose house being the closest at this point.

Across the river are the beaches at the bottom of Trebah and Glendurgan gardens, with the hamlet of Durgan hidden amongst the trees.

At the first beach you’ll reach a boathouse, take the path right just before this and follow the path across the field towards St Mawnan church.

St Mawnan and St Stephen’s church was built in 1231 and has undergone several renovations since then.

From here, take the path running alongside the graveyard which joins back up with the main coastpath back towards Maenporth.

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