PRIVATE BOAT TRIPS FOR FAMILIES AND SMALL GROUPS - FALMOUTH, ST MAWES, HELFORD, RIVER FAL
Carmen Rose is moored in the beautiful Mylor Yacht Harbour, a 15-minute drive from Falmouth. This is the perfect location to set off from to explore the Carrick Roads, River Fal and the numerous creeks that lead off to and meander their way through unspoiled countryside and lead to tucked away hidden villages and historic sites.
Falmouth and Flushing - which are home to a wide array of interesting local and visiting boats and ships - are just around the corner. Across the water is the famous old fishing village of St Mawes, home to the Idle Rocks, the Nare Hotel and Hotel Tresanton, not far from which is St Just in Roseland with its stunning hidden church and sheltered tidal pool.
Luxury boat tours tailor made for you
Every trip is unique and tailored to suit your group. Whether you're seeking peace and tranquillity or an adrenaline-fuelled adventure, a unique way to celebrate a milestone anniversary, or a family day out that includes amazing scenery, historic buildings and secret smugglers tunnels, you can be assured of a memorable trip. There's always the option to stop off for a swim or to visit a waterside pub if you so wish.
You are welcome to bring your own food and drink to enjoy during the trip; there's a fridge on board to keep the bubbles chilled! For a more detailed look at where we can visit and see, continue reading below.
The very best boat trip to explore stunning south Cornwall
An area as rich in historical interest as it is myth and legend, there's much to see from your on-the-water vantage point. From King Henry VIII castles that guard the entrance to the harbour at St Mawes and Pendennis Point, to 'Fraggle Rock' lighthouse and Black Rock.
There's opportunity to explore secret coves and hidden caves, or we could head to the beautiful Helford River, an area rich in literary history, where the most unique of homes are found nestled amidst lush greenery. We might even be lucky enough to see dolphins and porpoises!
Sights you'll see on a trip around the Carrick Roads' by boat. Private charters to relax and explore.
Mylor Yacht Harbour, our home port, has history dating back to being a bronze age settlement, and became a significant Royal Naval ship yard in the 19th century. It's located at the entrance to Mylor Creek, on the shores of the Carrick Roads. The estuary itself is pretty huge, formed from a drowned river valley - very shallow at low water in some areas but with an extremely deep natural channel zigzagging up the middle. Reaching from where the river Fal starts in the north under the rolling lawns of Trelissick House down to the Black Rock and the edges of the English Channel, its shores vary from ancient woodlands, to rocky cliffs and sandy beaches. It holds stories of ship wrecks and smuggling, and is now a playground for many pleasure vessels as well as larger commercial craft. If we were (and of course we can if you'd like to) to make a circuit of the estuary itself, without heading up the various creek entrances and habitations we pass on the way (more on those below), this is what we would see. As we reach the far shore across the creeks entrance, we come to the Greatwood quay, the grade II listed slatestone and granite private landing stage belonging to Greatwood House. We follow the tree covered rocky shoreline, its majestic old oak trees with their lowermost branches reaching the water if we're at high tide on our left, and hundreds of yachts of all types swinging away on their moorings on our right. On leaving the moorings, we're likely to weave our way through pupils young and old learning to sail in the small dinghy’s belonging to Mylor Sailing school as we pass Greatwood House itself (built in 1840) - in recent times a hotel with a sad story of a boating tragedy back in 1966 in which many of its guests perished out at sea. Passing another couple of grand properties, we reach the entrance to Restronguet Creek (home of the famous Pandora Inn), and reach the northern shoreline and the fine houses of Feock with their long gardens leading down to private slipways and boat houses. Then to Loe beach and more moored yachts, past the entrance to Pill Creeks on onto the mouth of the river Fal with views up to Trelissick House and its National Trust gardens spread above its sheltered beach. Turnaware Bar partially blocks the entrance to the river at low tide and catches out many an unwary boater who hasn't studied their charts correctly, and was an important launching point for landing craft and boats heading to the French shores on D-day in WWII. Having reached the uninhabited (by people) eastern shoreline, we now pass low rocky cliffs, with numerous cormorants and the occasional shag perching on ledges for safety and to nest. We pass a centuries old smugglers tunnel, hidden well behind a jutting out rock and invisible unless you know exactly where to look, and on southwards until we see the huge scot’s pines and St Just creek leading to the sheltered pool in front of the 13th century St Just in Roseland church. Leaving the cluster of houses behind us, we continue past more farmland and beaches until passing under the cannons protecting the perfectly preserved St Mawes castle, built by King Henry VIII between 1540 and 1542. We now cross the mouth of the Percuil river, home of St Mawes village and Place House manor, and to far larger cliffs and beautiful sandy bays to where St Anthony’s lighthouse (or more famously known as Fraggle Rock lighthouse due to it's starring in the popular 1980’s tv show of the same name), which guides ships into the safety of Falmouth Harbour, and warns them of the Manacles, a cluster of rocks off the Lizard Peninsula, visible far out in the distance across Falmouth Bay. Directly opposite us on the westernmost shoreline stands Little Pendenis castle, and as we head towards it, we pass the infamous Black Rock with its legendary past. Now marked by a nearly two-hundred year old stone tower and isolated danger warning, many a vessel has struck in whilst invisibly submerged just below the surface high tide over the centuries, with dozens of them sunk. It also served as a useful target for the canons from the nearby castles and is now more often used as a sunbathing spot for the local seals at low water. Pendenis Castle (the King Henry VIII partner to St Mawes castle stands proud on the headland, along with the coastguard station and WWI/II gun emplacements below it and Little Pendenis castle low down on the rocks ready to skim its cannon balls like stones across the surface of the sea. Once we clear the cliffs below, we reach the more commercial part of the estuary, with Falmouth docks on our left with Falmouth, Flushing and Penryn upstream beyond. Trefusis point is now on our route back to Mylor, or rocky shoreline which looks totally benign on a fine day but also has stories of disasters. Then back to the moorings we left, and home.
Boat trip up the river Fal and its tributories. Ruan Creek, Coombe, Malpas, Truro and Tresillian.
As we enter the mouth of the river Fal, we have Turnaware on our right. During the last war, this area was concreted over above the beach and there were temporary dock extending out into the river. Landing craft loaded with tanks, troops and other equipment would loaded onto landing craft and boats ready for setting off to undertake the D Day landings. Trees have now grown through the concrete but there are still remains to be seen, although now it s a very sere place where boats anchor up for barbeques on the beach, swimming and camping. On the left is the beach belonging to Trelissick House, which stands proudly above its sweeping ground leading down to the sea. Continuing up the river, we are on one of the most unspoilt waterways in the country. Ancient forests come down to the waters edge as we head towards the King Harry ferry, we’re likely to see seals sunbathing on the rocks along the shore or their heads bobbing in the water as they fish or come up to eat their catch. Beyond the ferry, on our left is Roundwood Quay, an 18th century structure, and tucked away in the trees behind, an old iron age fort. If we turn left, (tide permitting) we can follow Coombe Creek the half a mile or up to the pretty little village of Coombe itself. If we stay following the Fal, we turn to the right and can see Tregothnan House (home of Lord Falmouth, owner of vast swathes of land across Cornwall) up on the hill, with a deer park sloping down to the entrance of Ruan Creek and the continuation of the Fal, and a tea plantation on our left. If the tide is high enough to safely enter, Ruan Creek is probably my favourite bit of water in Cornwall. Full of wading birds and other wildlife, with several miles of water where very few boats go, and nothing but un-spoilt nature on either back. One of Cornwall’s best kept secrets! Alternatively, we can turn left towards Malpas on what is now the Truro river, formed by the confluence of the rivers Kenwyn and Allen below the city of Truro. Still very much tidal, but navigable at any time, we pass pretty waterside properties, moored sailing boats, and plenty more birdlife before reaching the pontoons at Malpas where, should you wish, we can stop for a drink at the Heron Inn, or their café down next to the water. An amazingly sheltered and peaceful spot. From here, we could either continue up towards Truro, or for a couple more miles up the Tresillian river towards the village, but this does require careful planning tide wise as it isn’t a place you want to get stuck on the mud… The above will hopefully give you an idea of what we might expect to see on a trip around the Carrick Roads and up the Fal, but this really is just a part of the area I cover on our trips. I have omitted talking about the main port of Falmout, the village of Flushing, and the Penryn River. I haven’t really touched on St Mawes, Place, and the Percuil River. The huge expanse and rugged costline of Falmouth Bay itself has been ignored. And we still have the whole of the Helford River and it’s numerous creeks to explore. There really is a huge amount of water to play in and endless things to see. In the eleven years I’ve been boating in this area, I still haven’t been everywhere accessible by boat. If you’d like to know more, come out on a trip and see for yourself. I guarantee you’ll be amazed at just how beautiful this little part of Cornwall is. Hopefully see you soon!
Explore the Helford River on your own private boat tour
The Helford is one of the most popular sailing destinations on the south coast of England, and with good reason. As you enter the sheltered mouth of the ria, a flooded valley formed over 10,000 years ago during the last ice age, you are surrounded by an area of outstanding natural beauty, history and stories. On the right as we head upriver over the protected eel grass beds, home of sea horses, we pass the sub-tropical gardens of Glendurgan and Trebah, with their own secluded beaches and tales of WWII strategic importance, and the little collection of quaint stone residences that are Durgan itself. When we reach the start of the yacht moorings, we pass the little villages of Helford Passage with the famous Ferryboat Inn accessible for a stop off for a drink or lunch on one side, with the beautiful Helford village on the opposite bank. Passing some very impressive houses (some celebrity owned, we can now poke our nose into Port Navas, a very sheltered creek and home to the Budock Vean hotel, the Helford sailing club and some very interesting architecture. On leaving the main mooring on our way upstream, we pass Frenchman’s Creek, the inspiration for Daphne Du Maurier’s famous novel of the same name. If the tide is high enough, we can go and explore it to the end, being wary of fallen oak trees in the water. When we reach Groyne Point, we can either choose to head up Polwheveral Creek towards the village at its head, or left to follow the Helford up towards Gweek and Mawgan. For either option, the tide needs to be in as both routes dry out at low water, then they become mudflat feeding grounds for Oystercatchers, Little Egrets, and many other wading birds such as Curlews, Dunlin and Redshanks depending on the season. At high water, there are often Herons and Egrets to be seen fishing at the waters edge, and the rare chance to glimpse the flash of blue as a kingfisher makes its way along the shoreline. The ancient oak woodlands who’s branches come all the way down to water on a high spring tide, are actually rare Atlantic temperate rainforests, a critical habitat for many rare species. As we head beyond Tremayne Quay, more and more peace and quiet enfolds us, as few boats travel up this far, and we’re surrounded by the sounds of nature and birdsong. It’s a magical place to switch off the engine and just drift along with the tide, soaking in all in with no noise other than the birds, and through scenery which has remained pretty much unchanged for thousands of years.
Falmouth Bay by private skippered speed boat charter
Falmouth Bay itself is a very large, relatively sheltered area of water, and actually marks the start of the English Channel when leaving the Helford and Carrick Road estuaries. Popular for some of the larger classes of sailing boats to take part in regattas on as well as well used by recreational sailors, there are generally a lot of interest boats around, including anchored cruise ships which are too large to get into Falmouth harbour. It's also home to a lot of interesting wildlife, and dolphins and porpoises are seen fairly regularly. In recent years, we’ve also had fairly large number of blue fin tuna in these waters, which are very impressive to see when leaping out of the water whilst hunting. They can weigh up to several hundred pounds! There are also very occasionally whales and basking sharks seen in the bay, although I’ve yet to come across one, unfortunately, but you never know! The coastline is fairly dramatic, with cliffs below Pendennis Castle leading on to Castle Beach, Gyllyngvase, and Swanpool, Falmouth’s three main beaches, whilst these are lovely to see, they’re easily accessible from the town by car and on foot, so the ones that are of more interest to us from a boating point of view are further around the coast towards the Helford. Beyond Swanpool Beach, we head around the very rocky Pennance Point with it’s impressive sea cave, where there are often coasteering groups to be seen leaping off the cliffs, past the (nudist) Sunny Beach, and on to Maenporth Beach. Again, this one is accessible by road, but beyond it there are several unnamed smaller beaches at the base of huge cliffs which you can only get to from the water. These make great spots to anchor off and swim, as does the more hard to reach Bream Cove, which is a good snorkeling spot too. Beyond here, we have more cliffs and stunning scenery around Rosemullion Head before we pass Prisk Beach, Parsons Beach, August Rock (a reef) and the entrance to the Helford, beyond which the dramatic cliffs continue until we reach the mouth of Gillan Creek and our outermost pointed, the coast watch station on Nare Point.