Falmouth Oyster Festival

After an easy overnight journey on the Riviera Sleeper Train I arrived in Falmouth very early Friday morning.  I was staying at the Poltair Guest House and they told me I was welcome to drop my bags off before check in so I didn’t have to lug them around all day.

It was still very early in the morning so nothing had started yet.  I did a walk along the beach to start, where a few hardy souls were swimming in the ocean.  I ventured over to the Event Square where one coffee shop had wisely opened early to cater to all the staff and volunteers showing up to get the day started.  

The Falmouth Oyster Festival celebrates the harvest season of the local Fal oyster, which is harvested from Oct till March.  After not happening last year it was back on and seemed to me to be a wonderful success.  On Friday I watched a couple cooking demonstrations and listened to live music in the square.  I was able to try a few of the local oysters with some Cornish sparkling wine.   The Fal oysters seem a bit more minerally tasting than I have had before.  But they were enjoyable.  Especially with the lovely dry Brut.

In the afternoon I walked back to the guesthouse to check in and settle into my room, before walking over to the second location at the Princess Pavilion.  There was an arts and crafts show as well as more live music before I joined a wine tasting of 5 wines influenced by the ocean.  It was a lot of fun trying the wines and chatting with some locals there.  I finished the evening at the Beach House Restaurant with an absolutely massive plate of delicious mussels.

In the morning I went for a walk to Pendennis Castle to start the day.  Built by Henry VIII it has been protecting the English coast from Europe for 500 years, including as a fortification during WWII.  The large port of Falmouth was the launching point for many actions in the modern wars, as well as ancient sea travel.  

Next up was the Event Square again, with the cooking demos there was also an oyster shucking competition.  It was a fun mix of skilled locals and eager visitors who had never shucked an oyster before.  They all did a good showing and no blood was spilt!

I walked through the town, visiting a few of the shops and made it as far at the Prince of Wales Pier where the local ferries launch from.  I had a Cornish pastie for lunch on my walk and tried some local beer.  Back at the Festival I just enjoyed the atmosphere, some oysters and chatting with various people during the shows.  I stayed for the live music in the evening.  Frustratingly they started a bit late, as I was pretty tired from some long days and more than a little sampling of local spirits.  The first group was the Quarter Masters and they were a lot of fun.  Second was the Flats and Sharps, but I wasn’t really feeling their bluegrass set so I decided it was time to retire.

I had an easy morning today, having breakfast at the guesthouse in the morning.  There is a slight gap between check out and my train so I am settled in the Princess Pavillon again with a cup of tea and enjoying the atmosphere of the festival.  The morning is a little more kid based with the Miracle Theatre - Secret Squirrel Society performing.