Boot Up for the Fal River Autumn Walking Festival

The crunch of crisp Cornish leaves under foot is just one reason the Fal River Autumn Walking Festival is proving so popular; the unrivalled West Country scenery adds an unforgettable element for all who take part.

It’s back for its third year from October 18 and promises to be bigger and better than ever, so if you are heading to the West Country, choose your walk from the Fal River website and don’t forget to pack your walking boots.

We are sponsoring a walk again this year – the stretch from St Mawes around the headland is a relatively short one and rewards our visitors and other walkers with views of St Mawes Castle and across the Carrick Roads to Falmouth.

The festival runs until November 3 so if you are visiting for a week, you may have time to try several. Portscatho for Lunch is an all day loop with – as the name suggests – a beautiful spot to refuel. The Sloe Berry Stroll is a great choice for budding foragers, the route along the banks of the Helford giving a chance to see some wildlife before the weather turns too cold. Some good advice from organisers – take bags or buckets so you have something to take your berries home in.

The walks take in historical points of interest, picturesque coastal scenes and pass through areas of outstanding natural beauty as well as world heritage sites. As well as the self guided walks, special events are planned to celebrate these routes at their autumnal best. All the walks are graded and the descriptions on the website include a printable PDF.

Running now for three years, the festival has grown into one of the biggest walking festivals in the country.

To plan your stay within easy reach of these walks, go to http://www.helpfulholidays.com.

Postcards a thing of the past? Not when you go somewhere as pretty as Flushing…

Flushing, a pristine Cornish village beside the Penryn River estuary, is a picture-perfect location you’ll want to write home about.

This is the ideal place for settling down in front of the view and penning some postcards as you watch boats sail past. The local events scene will give you plenty of inspiration too, not to mention vibrant Falmouth just across the water and nearby Trebah and Glendurgan gardens.

Flushing Carnival takes place on 28th July this year while Falmouth holds its inaugural arts festival from 7th to 16th September. SPLASH will play host to artists and writers including Michael Morpurgo, the award-winning author of War Horse and former Children's Laureate, and the renowned illustrator and author Michael Foreman.

Seafood lovers will want to make a trip in October for the Falmouth Oyster Festival from 11th to 14th October. This event marks the start of the oyster dredging season at one of the last remaining traditional oyster fisheries. It is followed shortly after by the Fal River Autumn Walking Festival from 19th October to 4th November – a great chance to explore and learn about this beautiful corner of Cornwall on a guided or self-guided walk.

Clottage (pictured above and right), a much loved holiday cottage by the water in Flushing, is a favourite with return visitors. Its peaceful location and estuary views, as well as the good pubs and friendly locals, add to its charm. Clottage is within easy reach of the sheltered sandy and rock pool beaches at Falmouth, which is also home to the National Maritime Museum.

Take a look at our other holiday cottages in Flushing and discover this hidden gem of a place to stay. 

Celebrating the stunning Fal River region…

One of Cornwall’s most popular destinations, with over 2 million visitors per year, the Fal River region stretches from Falmouth up to Truro and down to St Mawes. 26 beaches line the coast, and the Fal River boasts some of the UK’s most wonderful waterways.

There’s more than coastline though – it’s an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Special Area of Conservation. You’ll be charmed by the stunning scenery of the Roseland Peninsula, with miles of unspoilt walks and traffic-free cycle routes to get you deep amongst its boundless natural beauty.

Our own Adrian Innocent gets hands on at the Festival

One of the best times to visit has to be at the start of June, when the Fal River Festival offers an excellent opportunity to embrace the places, people, history, culture, sport and industry that are connected by this very Cornish river. This not-for-profit community festival comprises over 150 events varying from music and drama, the arts and heritage to gig racing, swimming, walking and lots more. Last year more than 100,000 people attended a range of different events, raising £75,000 for charity. We regularly sponsor this event and can heartily recommend it. If you feel like joining in, the Festival runs from Friday, 1st June  to Sunday, 10th June.

We now only have a handful of cottages available in the region during the festival.

In nearby St Mawes, Peel Cottage is a very comfortable and welcoming detached cottage just two minutes’ walk from the enclosed patio garden via lane or footpath to the waterfront, beaches and shops. Once there, this beautiful village situated at the end of the lovely Roseland Peninsula looks across to St Anthony Head and to Falmouth and the Helford River. Fancy popping over to Falmouth? Take one of Cornwall’s iconic boat trips and catch the St Mawes Ferry to Falmouth harbour.

Coppers is another well-located property within easy walking distance (300 yards) of St Mawes beaches and village centre. From the elegant and spacious interior of this comfortable, three-storey house you can enjoy far-reaching south-westerly coastal views over St Mawes River and Falmouth Bay. Both Peel Cottage and Coppers have a Wednesday changeover day which means you can miss the weekend traffic when travelling.

In the heart of Perranwell, in country lanes between Falmouth and Truro, Ancarva Cottage is a lovely semi-detached cottage with its own ‘secret’ garden by a stream. The private lawned garden with patio, perfect for al-fresco breakfast or a contemplative evening drink, is accessed by a short (50 yards) footpath beside the cottage. Another stunning ferry ride connects you to the Roseland Peninsula – established in 1888, the historic King Harry Ferry is one of only five chain ferries in England.

In addition to the Fal River Festival, we also sponsor the Fal Walking Festival in October. What better way to enjoy this very special area? A number of organised and self-guided walks take in some truly world-class scenery.

Browse all our cottages with availability for the Fal Walking Festival.

Top photo by Tim Green.

The Fal River Autumn Walking Festival

We are proud to be one of the sponsors of the Fal River Autumn Walking Festival, which kicks off on Friday 21st October and runs (or perhaps we should say ‘walks’!) until Sunday 6th November.

St Mawes

Encompassing the very best of the Fal River, the wide range of walks takes in various historical points of interest as they meander along coast paths and pass through areas of outstanding natural beauty and world heritage sites.

The walks are either guided or self-guided and pass through some of the most stunning scenery Cornwall has to offer, taking in areas from Falmouth to Truro, the Roseland to the Helford Passage. They are graded for all the family (and the dog!) in order to suit all abilities.

We’re sponsoring a self-guided walk – St Mawes, round the headland, which is approx 3-½ miles and should take about two hours at a gentle pace.

This video gives a great overview of what to expect from the Festival:

Details of the festival and all the walks are included in the festival programme (you can look at an interactive copy on their website). You can also find the Festival on Facebook and Twitter.