Tregony to St. Mawes

The village of Tregony is known as the ‘gateway to the Roseland’. The exceptionally wide Fore Street is a relic from the days when this was a busy port with traffic to match. Tregony was once considered a town and in the 14th Century it was surrounded by busy woollen mills producing rough serge aptly named ‘Tregony cloth’. A long time before that, it is thought that the Phoenician and Roman traders sailed here to trade tin. The river was navigable all the way to Tregony bridge, some fifteen miles from the sea, long before the ports of Truro, Penryn and Falmouth grew in importance.

Despite its decline as a port the village retains its charm. Things worth looking out for are the unusual clock tower on Fore Street, the seventeenth century almshouses which boast an unusual wooden gallery and close by, The King’s Arms, the only remaining public house in this ancient township.

A former coaching inn dating back to the mid 1600s, the King’s Arms has recently undergone a refurbishment, which has retained many of its original features - open fires, low beamed ceilings and even a well! You can enjoy Real ‘St Austell’ Ales, fine wine and good home cooked food using the finest local produce and is a very worthy refreshment stop.

Not infrequently beautiful places have ugly names, whereas the most delightful sounding villages or streets can turn out to be reminiscent of the worst parts of the industrial revolution. However, we are pleased to say that the Roseland peninsula on the edge of the Fal Estuary has both a beautiful name and is in itself beautiful.

St Mawes Castle

At the tip of the peninsula is St Mawes, a delightful harbour village. The castle was built by Henry VIII as part of the coastal defences of the area and has an unusual defence system of three concentric circles. St Mawes has always been more of a fishing port than its larger neighbour, Falmouth, and is now very much the home of small boat sailors and yachtsmen. There is a passenger ferry to Falmouth and to approach St Mawes by sea is certainly to find it at its best.

In the Square of the village you will find The Old Watch House Restaurant and Takeaway. The 300 year old building was originally the Customs and Excise House scanning the approaches of Falmouth Bay. Catering for those who arrive both by land and sea, there is a nautical motif throughout, with the main seating area being in the “boat house” which has a small cosy dining area off to one side, featuring their famous ‘barrel’ bar.

You are assured of a warm welcome with hot and cold meals served during the day, from a light lunch or snack to a cream tea. The atmosphere is informal and friendly - they are used to hikers and sailors so you don’t have to change if you arrive by boat or on foot. This is very much a family restaurant so children are both welcome and specially catered for.

You don’t have to eat on the premises - the Jolly Sailor takeaway can provide you with a picnic for boat or beach or do away with the chore of cooking if you are in self-catering.

Probably the best known building and grounds in Roseland are the little church and graveyard at St. Just. Many thousands of visitors go there every year to see the beautifully laid out grounds and to walk around the paths and lawns of the churchyard. Some people may incline to the view that it is slightly over the top and certainly John Betjeman was of this opinion since it was he who described St. Just churchyard as ‘‘the ideal resting place for lovers of Forest Lawn in America and Woking in Surrey’’.