Devoran
A charming village, tucked quietly away from the busy Truro to Falmouth road, Devoran's present belies its past. Now a quiet and beautiful creek-side village, boasting a fair number of small-boat sailors, Devoran was once a busy commercial port, shipping copper ore from mines on the Great Flat Lode around Redruth, linked by the horse drawn Redruth and Chacewater Railway, now part of a Coast to Coast trail. When you see how the creek has silted up - ironically with mine spoil - it is hard to imagine how any cargo boats ever got as far as Devoran - let alone Bissoe further upstream. The old village is a triangle of streets, Quay Street and the higher St. John's Terrace linked by Market Street. Along Quay Street several homes are interesting conversions of old warehouses or of former port worker's cottages. On the Quay, a series of odd stone enclosures are the old ore hutches where the copper ore awaited shipment. West down Restronguett Creek there are some mining related remains and at low tide you can see an odd causeway of stepping stones. The Old Quay Inn has an enjoyable local atmosphere; food is fairly ambitious gastro-pub. We have eaten there on several occasions and have always liked it. If there is no space in the pub's car park, you should be able to park by the village hall at the start of Quay Street. A round walk from Devoran
Ore Hutches by the Quay, now storage for boats
Signed from A39 Truro to Falmouth road.
More in Towns & Villages
Duloe
Unusually, this entry appears on three different pages: here under towns and villages but also on my antiquities page and my churches and holy places page. The reason is that, for such a small village, there is so much variety of interest. The form of the church, while not unique to Cornwall, is most unusual. It consists of nave, north aisle, south transept and a strange leaning tower attached to the south transept. The tower was once taller but the top stage was replaced by a pyramidal roof in the 19th century. It leans northwards at a sharper angle than the Leaning Tower of Pisa; fortunately the rest of the church holds it up. Inside, behind an elaborate parclose screen, possibly made from the former rood screen, the chancel aisle was built as the Colshull family chapel and contains Sir John Colshull's tomb, his recumbent effigy on it, and several elaborate slate memorials. The rood loft may be gone but the stair and loft doors remain. About 600 yards south of the church, alongside the road to Looe, is St. Cuby's Holy Well. What is claimed to be his original font was moved from the well site and now stands in the church. A few yards north of the church a sign directs you to Duloe Stone Circle, a small circle of 8 stones, believed by some once to have enclosed a cairn. A storyboard, somewhat weathered, stands by the hedge behind the circle.
East and West Portholland
Portholland
Falmouth
There are really several distinct Falmouths. Approaching from the north, first the boatyards and marinas of Penryn, once a separate fishing village. Next Dunstanville Terrace, its grand sea captains' homes looking across the water to Flushing. Next the much improved cobbled High Street leads to the diminished interest of Market Street and up-and-coming Church Street, its shops improving. Then opposite the Tudor manor of the Killigrews is a vast timber shed, looking to Flushing and across Carrick Roads to St. Mawes; this is the superb Maritime Museum, beyond it the dockyard. Next is fortified Falmouth, Pendennis Castle high on its headland. Finally, the sandy beaches of resort Falmouth, lined with hotels and apartments. A good Art Gallery is near High Street in the centre of town. What surprises about Falmouth is that, despite the world's third largest natural harbour and its ideal situation for international shipping, there was no such place until the 17th century. There were just three small settlements - with Penryn to the north, the Killigrew manor of Arwennack below Pendennis Head, and Henry VIII's Pendennis Castle. But when Falmouth grew it grew fast and by 1688 was the main Packet Ship port. The port declined with the advent of steam but from 1863 the railway brought tourists. Now cruise ships take advantage of the deep water to anchor here.