Arts and Crafts

St Clements by David WestonA wealth of arts and crafts abounds in this region. The special quality of light found in Falmouth and South West Cornwall, a combination of clear air and the reflective elements of sea and sand, together with an unrivalled landscape, has made this region a natural home for artists and craftspeople employing traditional skills throughout the years.

The Cornish Crafts Association has made its home here, while Falmouth School of Art enjoys a national reputation for the quality of its teaching. Art galleries can be found throughout the area including Camborne, Falmouth and the Royal Cornwall Museum at Truro, which host displays of both local and international works. Further afield lies the famous Tate Gallery at St Ives.

From Daphne du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek to Winston Graham's Poldark series and more recently BBC Television's adaptation of W.J. Burley's Wycliffe novels, the region has continued to inspire writers and poets. Rich in performing arts, the area has produced many local companies and entices both national and international artists to Truro's new Hall for Cornwall theatre. Outdoor amphitheatres at Cam Marth near Redruth and St Piran's Round near Perranporth regularly host performances, whilst the legendary clifftop Minack Theatre at Porthcurno, near Land's End, provides a dramatic backdrop.

Family vineyards and home grown produce, local breweries and top class chefs - the flavours of Falmouth and South West Cornwall are sure to tantalise your taste buds. Seafood is, of course, a speciality with boats returning with their daily catch of crab, lobster and shellfish to every fishing village. Oysters are harvested on the Fal and Helford Rivers using the traditional Working Boat method and the local industry is celebrated annually at the Falmouth Oyster Festival in early October.

The sweet-toothed connoisseur should not leave without indulging in a Cornish Cream Tea of freshly baked scones, local clotted cream and a large spoonful of jam - or perhaps try a slice of fruity Saffron Cake another creation from the Duchy. The traditional favourite and true Cornish icon is of course the Pasty. A meal-in-one, the crimping on the edge was used by tin miners to hold the pasty in their arsenic stained fingers, then discarded when the rest had been eaten. Still sold in vast quantities today, there are few culinary experiences to equal a freshly baked 'oggy'.

Falmouth and South West Cornwall Guide

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