St Mawes

St Mawes occupies the sheltered tip of the Roseland Peninsula, its pastel and whitewashed cottages rising in tiers above a snug south-facing harbour that looks across the broad waters of Carrick Roads to Falmouth and Pendennis Castle. The village takes its name from the Celtic saint Maudez, and its mild, almost subtropical microclimate has long made it one of the gentlest spots on the Cornish coast, reflected in the lush gardens that climb the slopes around the village.

The great landmark is St Mawes Castle, a beautifully preserved artillery fort built for Henry VIII between 1540 and 1542. Laid out to a distinctive clover-leaf plan with a central tower and three round bastions, it was designed to guard the entrance to the Fal alongside its sister fortress at Pendennis across the water, and it remains one of the finest surviving examples of his coastal defences. It is now cared for as a visitor attraction, with wide views back over the estuary.

Life in St Mawes still revolves around the harbour and quayside, where independent galleries, cafes and small shops gather along the waterfront. Visitors come to potter by the boats, go crabbing or hire a kayak, and to catch the passenger foot ferry that crosses to Falmouth in around twenty minutes, with other boats running to Place across the harbour and up to Truro. It is an elegant, easygoing waterside village, as well suited to a quiet day by the water as to a sailing trip out into the Roads.