Best Boat Trip While On Holidays To Cornwall

Carmen Rose, the 23 foot Galeon Galia speed cruiser, is a luxury speed boat that is super quiet when slowly moving through the water yet can shift when asked! Quite exhilarating! It has comfortable seating in the back behind the skipper, plus a passenger seat if you fancy chatting to Giles or a lounging area at the front of the boat. Below deck there is more space to lounge and relax plus there is a mini fridge onboard for storing some fizz and also a small hob for cooking something to snack if you wish. A bonus is the onboard loo too!

We parked at Mylor Harbour (there is a pay and display that accepts cards) and then walked around to the pontoon where Giles was waiting with a big welcoming smile and Carmen Rose was gently bobbing on the sea. We climbed aboard and were briefed on health and safety must-knows as well as where the life jackets were if we chose to wear one. Within 5 minutes we were gently moving away from Mylor harbour with the warm air going though our hair and the promise of a magical few hours ahead.

St Just in Roseland Anglican Church, described by John Betjeman (English poet) as the most beautiful churchyard on earth, is well-known to us as we visited it on foot after visiting St Mawes a couple of years ago. Then, we were simply stunned by its grounds, churchyard and inside the church plus placed a loving thought in its prayer tree. So, knowing just how beautiful it is when visiting on land, we really wanted to see it from the creekside. Giles didn’t disappoint and said that the tide was in our favour and so off we glided. The sun was dancing off the sea, the wind was warm and the rolling hills gently joining creeks were like something out of a fairytale. It was so peaceful and serene, the stress of life very quickly melted away.

St Mawes is a popular holiday location in Cornwall and we have visited it a few times out of season and also enjoyed visiting English Heritage’s St Mawes Castle so we thought it would be really lovely to see it from the perspective of the water. Giles opened Carmen Rose up over some open water and it was really very exhilarating. Be sure to wear something warm if there is a chill in the air plus something that dries quickly. We felt the sea water droplets on our faces (but not too much) and loved the fact we were leaving a white tram line behind us! It was incredible to see St Mawes Castle holding fort so impressively and then as we slowed approaching St Mawes, Giles’ knowledge of the Polizzi family boat moored on a buoy opposite their hotel was incredible. We gently moved into the calmer sea water on the approach to St Mawes where I spotted a Da Bara Bakery along the waterfront. They do amazing cinnamon buns. Giles told us it costs him £15 to pull up on the pontoon at St Mawes so we decided against such expensive buns!

We then mooched in front of a few incredible homes in the process of being built along the water’s edge where some famous people have invested huge amounts in the local building community. We continued to cruise gently along Percuil River to experience the peace and solitude of Place Creek accessed by land via the Roseland Peninsula.  It really did feel like Swallows and Amazons or Wind in the Willows.

Words can’t describe the exhilaration of speeding across open water in the expert hands of a skipper so all we can say is book in with Giles at Falmouth Bay Tailored Luxury Boat Trips and experience it for yourselves. More information and contact details can be found in our Cornwall Area Guide.

After 15 minutes at high speed passing landmarks such as Pendinnis Castle, Gyllyngvase, Swanpool and Maenporth beaches and St Mawgan and St Stephen Church, we approached the mouth of Helford River where the pace of life returned to snail’s pace gracefully gliding across the calm water like a swan. I promptly moved to the front of the boat to warm up under the sun on the warm lounge pads. It was blissful. Two states of mind in a split second; excited by the speed of open water to reclined and relaxed on a sun deck taking in the glory of the Helford River.

A luxury boat tour along the Helford River can only be described as heaven. We passed private boat houses, secluded beaches and coves, wooded creeks, buoys with moored up sail boats and some incredible wildlife too. We cruised to Port Navas where the gentle sound of water against the hull and the sounds of sail boat masts tinkling in the gentle breeze was so soporific, we could have fallen asleep there and then. We passed in front of National Trust’s Glendurgan’s private beach where many were enjoying an ice-cream and the cool water lapping their feet and then we eventually stopped for Ross and our friends to take a dip. I didn’t partake in the swim even though I had packed my wetsuit as I knew just how chilled I’d get on the open water again (I’m one of life’s hypothermic individuals!).

We were soon hitting the open water again and I have to say I was feeling smug that I hadn’t taken a dunk given the wind was a bit chilly so do remember to pack layers if you plan of swimming! You may want to pack hair products too as the men in our party were sporting some funky hairstyles at the end of the trip. As we approached Falmouth, the landscape changed dramatically with large dock machinery and a huge grey warship docked for a rest and work. We all gawped at the enormous structures, ships and luxury yachts as we weaved our way along Falmouth harbour towards Mylor where our morning boat trip of pure bliss and utter relaxation would come to its conclusion. We thanked Giles profusely for a really memorable trip and disembarked to walk along the pontoon back to our car.

We followed up the best boat trip thanks to Falmouth Bay Tailored Tours with lunch sat outside in the sun at Pandora Inn, an award-winning 13th Century pub at Restronguet Creek which is a short drive away, we can throughly recommend that too. Book with Giles now for a boat trip of your dreams; we guarantee you will come away with a big smile on your faces, your heart rates lowered and a deeper sun tan!