Aerial photography

Falmouth

Falmouth sits at the mouth of the River Fal on Cornwall’s south coast, where Carrick Roads opens into the sea between Pendennis Point and St Mawes. The Roads are one of the deepest natural harbours in the world, which is why the town is here at all: Sir John Killigrew founded Falmouth in 1613 beside Henry VIII’s castle, and Charles II gave it a charter in 1661. From 1689 to 1851 the Packet ships sailed from here carrying mail across the Atlantic and to the Mediterranean, and the docks that opened from 1858 still repair big ships today, with the National Maritime Museum Cornwall on the harbourside and the beaches of Castle Beach, Gyllyngvase, Swanpool and Maenporth running round the bay to the south.

Pendennis Castle stands on the wooded headland at the end of the town. Henry VIII began it in 1539 to cover the anchorage, together with St Mawes Castle across the water; the Little Dennis blockhouse on the rocks at the tip is older still. Elizabeth I’s engineers wrapped the Tudor keep in star-shaped ramparts by 1600, and in 1646 the castle held out for five months against Parliament before about a thousand soldiers and their families marched out with honour when the food ran out. Half Moon Battery was added for the wars with France, and in both world wars Pendennis commanded the coast guns of west Cornwall, with radar-controlled 6-inch guns on the point from 1943. The army left in 1956 and the castle is now in the care of English Heritage.

This collection shows Falmouth from the air: the whole of Pendennis Point with the docks and town behind, the keep and barracks close up, the castle above flat calm water with St Mawes and St Anthony Head lighthouse beyond, and the two castles that have faced each other across Carrick Roads for nearly five hundred years. The St Mawes photographs are here as well, since the two castles were built as a pair. Round on the south side of the town are Gyllyngvase, the town beach below Queen Mary Gardens, and Swanpool, the next cove along, with its lake just behind the sand.

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  • Aerial view of Falmouth Docks from over the harbour on a calm morning, with the long breakwater in front, superyachts in the shipyard basin, grey Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships alongside including RFA Mounts Bay at the end of the wharf, and the moorings and town of Falmouth behind

    Falmouth Docks — Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships and the Harbour

    Falmouth Docks — Royal Fleet Auxiliary Ships and the Harbour
    From £25
  • Aerial view over the coast path fields beyond Swanpool looking north-east across Swanpool Beach, the cliffs to Gyllyngvase, Pendennis Point and its castle, Falmouth Docks with ships alongside and the Fal estuary running inland under a blue sky

    Falmouth — Swanpool, Gyllyngvase and Pendennis from the Air

    Falmouth — Swanpool, Gyllyngvase and Pendennis from the Air
    From £25
  • Aerial view of Pendennis Castle from the harbour side, with the round keep and the barracks on the headland above wooded cliffs and small coves, the edge of Falmouth Docks below, a tanker at anchor in glassy Falmouth Bay and the coast running south under big white clouds

    Pendennis Castle — The Harbour Side and Falmouth Bay

    Pendennis Castle — The Harbour Side and Falmouth Bay
    From £25
  • Aerial view over Gyllyngvase Beach looking north across Falmouth to the harbour, with Queen Mary Gardens behind the sand, the deep blue bay on the right, grey Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships in Falmouth Docks and the fields beyond Flushing under white cloud

    Gyllyngvase Beach — Falmouth, the Harbour and the Docks

    Gyllyngvase Beach — Falmouth, the Harbour and the Docks
    From £25
  • Close aerial view of Pendennis Castle with Henry VIII's round keep and its gun wall on the lawn, the long stone barracks behind, Falmouth Docks with a large grey ship alongside and the houses of Flushing across the water

    Pendennis Castle — The Keep and Falmouth Docks

    Pendennis Castle — The Keep and Falmouth Docks
    From £25
  • Aerial view of Pendennis Point from the south-east, with the Little Dennis blockhouse on the rocks, Pendennis Castle in the trees on the summit, Falmouth Docks and the town behind, and Carrick Roads opening out to the right under a hazy sky

    Pendennis Castle — The Headland and Falmouth Beyond

    Pendennis Castle — The Headland and Falmouth Beyond
    From £25
  • Aerial view over Castle Beach in Falmouth with rock reefs in clear turquoise water, the sea wall and Cliff Road, Pendennis Castle on its wooded headland, and St Mawes, its castle and St Anthony Head lighthouse across the water under white cloud

    Pendennis Castle — From Castle Beach to St Mawes and St Anthony

    Pendennis Castle — From Castle Beach to St Mawes and St Anthony
    From £25
  • Aerial view of Swanpool Beach near Falmouth with the lake directly behind the sand, the road and car park between them, the beach café, rocks at each side of the cove, deep blue sea and the town and fields inland

    Swanpool Beach — The Cove and the Lake Behind

    Swanpool Beach — The Cove and the Lake Behind
    From £25
  • Aerial view looking down on Gyllyngvase Beach in Falmouth from the east, with clear turquoise water and dark patches on the seabed, the beach café and lifeguard hut on the sand, Queen Mary Gardens, the tennis courts and the houses of Falmouth behind

    Gyllyngvase Beach — Clear Water Below Queen Mary Gardens

    Gyllyngvase Beach — Clear Water Below Queen Mary Gardens
    From £25
  • Aerial view of Pendennis Castle on its headland above wooded cliffs and Castle Drive, looking east over flat calm water at the mouth of Carrick Roads to St Mawes and its castle, the Black Rock beacon and St Anthony Head lighthouse under white cloud

    Pendennis Castle — Glass-Calm Water to St Mawes and St Anthony

    Pendennis Castle — Glass-Calm Water to St Mawes and St Anthony
    From £25
  • Aerial view of St Mawes Castle from the south, with its round tower and bastions above the rocks and a small beach, houses to the right, and the still water of Carrick Roads stretching away towards the Fal

    St Mawes Castle — Still Water on Carrick Roads

    St Mawes Castle — Still Water on Carrick Roads
    From £25
  • Aerial view of St Mawes Castle on its headland with St Mawes village, the harbour and the Percuil River behind, calm blue water in Carrick Roads and the Roseland fields running away into a distant haze

    St Mawes — Castle, Village and the Roseland

    St Mawes — Castle, Village and the Roseland
    From £25

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