Cruise Specialists Blog

Luxury Cruise News & Reviews

Blog Home / General Interest

A Time Travel Tour in Falmouth, England

Special Guest Reporter

A special guest post today from Sharon and Alan J about a shore excursion through Falmouth, England during their Holland America Line ms Prinsendam tour this summer. In fact, the two had so much fun in this region they are going back in 2016 for their 50th anniversary. Sharon and Alan are Cruise Specialists clients.

Guests Sharon and Al Touring Falmouth, England with Holland America

Falmouth, England: June 7, 2015

Do you believe in time travel? On that sunny June day in Cornwall, it seemed like we were certainly traveling back in time.

We had boarded a gleaming, round-shouldered, two-tone motor coach painted in forest green and pale yellow. There were about twenty of us, mostly gray-haired and elderly. Our driver wore a dress jacket and hat to match the coach’s colors. Our stout, jolly local guide, Lorna, had a breathy, nervous laugh and spoke with a thick tongue against her upper teeth.

We motored inland from the coast. The road was lined with white “ox-eye” daisies and pink campions. The coach, brand new in 1956, was named “Hughey”. Two other coaches operating in the area were named “Harry” and “Dumpy”.

Our old coach groaned up the narrow, hilly roads between tall, vine-covered stone walls. Several cars had to “reverse” to let us pass. In these forested hills, the U.S. troops hid before the D-Day landings of 1944, almost exactly seventy-one years to the day we were here. General Eisenhower spoke to them here before they departed for the fateful landings on Omaha Beach.Touring Falmouth, England with Holland AmericaAt a narrow river, our coach eased carefully onto a small ferry. The ferry was pulled across the river on a chain, a rare type of ferry boat. Continuing, we stopped at an old stone church in the woods near a sand bar in the river. It was called St. Just Church & Bar. (No, no drinks here!) We walked among the gravestones and into the church for a short visit. One Englishman called it “the most beautiful churchyard on earth.”

After a visit to a castle built by Henry VIII, we sat down to lunch in a pub in the picturesque port of St. Mawes. Our fish & chips arrived on a bed of “smashed” green peas. We had a pleasant hour after lunch to walk around this village before meeting our group again at the Prince of Wales Pier. We boarded a larger ferry, the “Duchess of Cornwall”, (without our coach) to carry us across the Fal River to the City of Falmouth, situated on the coast at the river’s mouth.CornwallOur old coach and driver were waiting on the dock when we arrived. We boarded for a drive through Old Falmouth. Our driver slowly navigated a narrow cobblestone street, apparently designated “Pedestrian Only”. Was his eyesight really that poor?

English families on holiday parted to let us pass. We waved to them as they pulled out smart phones to capture a photo of this strange old bus from the past filled with old people slowly making its way through town. Were we really back in 1956? No, certainly not with all those new-fangled cell phone cameras aimed at us.

More from my site

  • Two South American Jewels: Rio de Janeiro and Buenos AiresTwo South American Jewels: Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires
  • Holland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam Review and ChristeningHolland America’s Nieuw Amsterdam Review and Christening
  • 2017 Grand South America Voyage: Patagonia2017 Grand South America Voyage: Patagonia
  • 2017 Grand South America Voyage: Argentina and Uruguay2017 Grand South America Voyage: Argentina and Uruguay

General Interest, Holland America Line Cruise Reviews, Safari Reviews

SEARCH ARTICLES

Article Categories

  • Cruise Destinations
    • Africa Cruise Reviews
    • Alaska Cruise Reviews
    • Amazon Cruise Reviews
    • Antarctica Cruise Reviews
    • Arctic Cruise Reviews
    • Asia Cruise Reviews
    • Australia/New Zealand
    • Baltic Cruise Reviews
    • Canada/New England Cruise Reviews
    • Caribbean Cruise Reviews
    • Cuba Cruise Reviews
    • Europe Cruise Reviews
    • Galapagos Cruise Reviews
    • Grand Voyages
    • Hawaii Cruise Reviews
    • Iceland/Greenland
    • Mediterranean Cruise Reviews
    • Mexico Cruise Reviews
    • Panama Canal Cruise Reviews
    • Scandinavia and Northern Europe Cruise Reviews
    • South America Cruise Reviews
    • South Pacific Cruise Reviews
    • Transatlantic Cruise Reviews
    • World Cruise Reviews
  • Cruise FAQs
  • Cruise Lines
    • Abercrombie & Kent Reviews
    • AmaWaterways Cruise Reviews
    • American Cruise Line Reviews
    • American Queen Voyages Reviews
    • Aqua Expeditions Reviews
    • Atlas Ocean Voyages Reviews
    • Avalon Cruise Reviews
    • Azamara Cruise Reviews
    • Celebrity Cruise Reviews
    • Celebrity Galapagos Cruise Reviews
    • Cunard Cruise Reviews
    • Cunard World Cruise Reviews
    • Disney Cruise Reviews
    • Explora Journeys Cruise Reviews
    • Holland America Line Cruise Reviews
    • Holland America World Cruise Reviews
    • Hurtigruten Reviews
    • Lindblad/National Geographic Reviews
    • Norwegian Cruise Line Reviews
    • Oceania Cruise Reviews
    • Oceania World Cruise Reviews
    • Paul Gauguin Cruise Reviews
    • Ponant Cruise Reviews
    • Princess Cruise Reviews
    • Quark Expeditions Reviews
    • Regent Cruise Reviews
    • Regent Seven Seas Cruise
    • Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection
    • Royal Caribbean Cruise Reviews
    • Scenic Eclipse Discovery Yacht Reviews
    • Scenic River Cruise Reviews
    • Seabourn Cruise Reviews
    • Seabourn Expedition Cruise Reviews
    • Silversea Cruise Reviews
    • Silversea Expedition Cruise Reviews
    • Silversea World Cruise Reviews
    • Star Clippers Cruise Reviews
    • Tauck Cruise and Tauck Land Tour Reviews
    • UnCruise Adventures Reviews
    • Uniworld River Cruise Reviews
    • Viking Cruise Reviews
    • Viking Expedition Cruise Reviews
    • Viking Ocean Cruise Reviews
    • Virgin Voyages
    • Windstar Cruise Reviews
    • Zegrahm Expeditions
  • Cruise News
  • Cruise Ports
  • Cruise Specialists Benefits
  • Expedition Cruises
  • Hosted Cruises
  • Ralph Grizzle
  • River Cruises
  • Ship Reviews
  • Solo Cruising
  • Tom Mullen
  • Tours, Trains & Resorts
    • Palace Resorts Reviews
    • Safari Reviews
    • Shore Excursions
    • Trains

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Maggie Blehert

Her ideal travel day: venturing to a new place, learning something interesting and sharing a smile.
View My Blog Posts

Steve and Wendy Bodenheimer
Cruise Specialists Voyage Hosts reporting on their round the world journeys.
View My Blog Posts

Ralph Grizzle

The Avid Cruiser. Well-traveled and insightful. Helping you make informed cruise decisions.
View My Blog Posts

FOLLOW US ON

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter