I plan on spending around 6/7 days on my Falmouth Hostel holiday (closed Nov 2023). My intention is to explore this area of the Cornish Riviera by walking, assisted by various train journeys where and whenever required. My base is Falmouth Backpackers Hostel five minutes stroll from the town’s rail station.
I’ve been through the stage when switching on my slumbering central heating system, becomes an acceptance summer is well and truly over. I’ve languished over yuletide, cold mornings, dark nights in January begin to feel like it’s two months joined together. The month just goes on and on is it time for a for a Falmouth hostel holiday?…
Positive thinking required. Warm days are just around the calendars corner, although. I’m looking for a quicker route. I’m allowing myself to drift. Taking me back, reminiscing when the sun was shining, tee shirts and shorts were standard dress code, and 2016 still had an aura of optimism. I’m drifting off to those halcyon days of summer. I have Cornwall on my mind, the sea the sun and miles of coastal paths to be explored. I’m back in Falmouth……
My journey is somewhat melancholic as I haven’t been back to Falmouth for a couple of decades my train journey from Reading feels as though I’m about to reunite with home. A train on time, a guaranteed seat, backpack and boots re-united, Cornwall, you little beauty, here I come.
I plan on spending around 6/7 days in and around Falmouth. My intention is to explore this area of the Cornish Riviera by walking, assisted by various train journeys where and whenever required. My base is Falmouth Lodge Backpackers (now closed – nov 23) the perfect base for a holiday, five minutes stroll from the town’s rail station. By the way that’s a real five minutes stroll, not a tourist brochure five minutes, which usually means a bus and taxi to get there!
On arrival I’m met by the hostels owner Judi who settles me in with a cup of tea. Quicker than you say no sugar and skimmed milk, we are huddled over a map with fingers pointing to walks, ferries and bike rides, chatting about the hostel, Falmouth and numerous places of interest along the coast.
Like a giddy child I’m saying “Here, here this is where I’m going tomorrow (Sunday) and the day after here, after that…jabbing and tapping at place names which sound inviting along the South West Coastal Path (SWCP). Judi has obviously been through this many times before. “If you go there we won’t see you until Monday” she tells me.
“How come?” I ask confused at the comment.
“It’s Sunday, limited bus service and you would be miles away from the nearest station, how are you going to get back?”
Instead of waiting for answer she suggests places to go. How to get there and how to get back! This aura of calmness at the hostel conveyed by the owner will be an ongoing theme throughout the week I’m about to discover.
When I last visited Falmouth the port was a small active fishing town about to undergo development and expansion due to the financing and management of Peter De Savary.
The town has grown, expanded and developed into a vibrant spread of retail shops, restaurants, pubs, bookstores and accommodation blending into a nice mix of old and new, capturing it’s historic and nautical heritage.
My first excursion is a ferry from Falmouth harbour to St. Mawes, then onto St. Anthony’s Head where I intend to start introducing my boots to the SWCP.
I was told, walk up to St. Anthony’s Head to capture the exhilarating and spectacular views (correct on both accounts). It’s 10.15 and the sun is giving every indication to cream up and wear a hat, it’s going to be a warm one.
Although I have a tendency to keep on walking rather than taking in the views, a morning or afternoon at St. Anthony’s Head would be time well spent for both body and soul. A peaceful and relaxing area.
The coastal path is busy. Some folks are in search of the nearest beach, others walking towards a pub lunch and others on a mission to circumnavigate the coastal path in it’s entirety as part of their summer vacation.
As the clock ticks over to early afternoon I’ve become more or less a solo walker. By the time I get to Narn Head overlooking 
Gerrans Bay I’m ready for break. A little further along is a picturesque inlet/beach which is only accessible by boat. Three or four mariners and their crew are soaking up the privacy and isolation of the beach accompanied by cold beers and fizzy stuff. Looks idyllic.
I walk for most of the cloud free afternoon along what is mostly a comfortable, easily accessible stretch of the SWCP. Eventually I leave the shimmering waters behind heading in land for my last bus of the day, then a train from Truro to Falmouth.
By the time I arrive back at the hostel it is dark, I’m pleasant tired and ready for bed. However there is a small barbecue underway. The sweet smell of burning wood, the offer of a glass of wine plus a few smiling faces with stories to tell entice me to stay around for a hour or so.
Some people say they can’t sleep properly unless they are in their own bed. No such problems for this particular walker.
Find out more about how you can have a Falmouth hostel holiday and other hostels in Cornwall in our Cornwall Map
Falmouth Lodge is now closed but there are over 150 independent hostels and bunkhouses all around our beautiful British coastline. All 150 are within walking distance of the sea or the coastal path. You’ll be surprised at all the wonderful places you will find low cost self-catering hostel or bunkhouse accommodation