The St Mawes ferry runs from Prince of Wales Pier in the middle of Falmouth across the Carrick Roads to St Mawes on the Roseland Peninsula, and it takes about twenty minutes.
It is a passenger ferry, not a pleasure cruise — no commentary, no bar, no timetable built around sightseeing — and that is precisely why it is the best boat trip in the area. It runs frequently, year round, for a modest fare, and it crosses one of the finest natural harbours in the world.
Out of the pier, past the docks with whatever is in for repair — Falmouth has one of the largest ship-repair yards in northern Europe and there is usually something substantial alongside — then across the deep water of the Carrick Roads with Pendennis Castle on the headland behind you and St Mawes Castle ahead.
On the water you pass working boats, the Falmouth oyster fleet under sail in season (the last commercial fishery in Europe to dredge under sail alone), and, in the upper reaches on a clear day, the laid-up merchant ships that sometimes moor in the estuary.
The whole crossing is worth doing in either weather. On a bright day it is as good as any boat trip in England; in rain it still gets you somewhere.
A village of stone cottages round a small harbour, with a waterfront of cafés, pubs and a hotel or two, and steep narrow lanes behind.
It is prosperous, quiet and small — you can walk the whole of it in half an hour — and its pleasures are limited and good: lunch on the harbour wall, a swim off the beach, the castle ten minutes along the shore, and the view back over the water to Falmouth.
From St Mawes the Place Ferry (seasonal, small) crosses the Percuil River to the start of the coast path round St Anthony Head, which is one of the finest and least walked stretches of the South West Coast Path.
St Just in Roseland, with its extraordinary creekside churchyard, is a short bus ride or a longer walk north.
Departures from Prince of Wales Pier, frequently through the day; the timetable thins in winter and in bad weather.
Fares are modest, singles and returns; buy on the pier or on board.
Weather: the crossing is exposed in a strong south-easterly and services can be suspended. Check on the day if the wind is up.
Dogs are carried.
Bikes are generally carried — check at the pier in season.
Access: boarding is from steps at the pier and depends on the state of the tide; it is not step-free. Ask the crew.
The classic Falmouth day is: ferry to St Mawes, walk to St Mawes Castle, lunch on the harbour, ferry back, then Pendennis Castle on the Falmouth side in the afternoon — the two Henrician forts as they were designed, in sight of each other across the water.
The same operator runs other routes from Falmouth, including the seasonal service up the river to Truro and boats into the Helford, which are worth knowing about if the weather is good.
About twenty minutes.
Yes, year round, on a reduced timetable, subject to weather.
Prince of Wales Pier in the centre of Falmouth.
Yes.
The harbour front, cafés and pubs, the castle ten minutes along the shore, a beach, and the Place Ferry on to the St Anthony Head coast path.