Top 4 Natural Monuments around Falmouth

Beautiful gardens which extend to a small beach.

In prehistoric times when the sea was higher, this was a beach. Look north east from here and you can see the manacles, a hidden granite reef which has been the cause of hundreds of shipwrecks.

From Pennance Point you can look south to Newporth Head. Considering how close to Falmouth you are, it's amazing how far away from anywhere you feel here.

Pendennis point provides beautiful views of the coast and is only a very short distance from busy Falmouth. The name comes the Cornish Pen (Headland) and Dynas (Castle). Dolphins and Basking Sharks have been spotted here along with more frequent visits from seals. Pendennis Castle began life in the 16th Century as a gun fort and has guarded the entrance to Carrick Roads (Falmouth Estuary) since. It is looked after by English Heritage and open to visitors.

St Anthony Head at the tip of the Roseland Peninsula commands amazing views over the channel and the Fal estuary. You can see why it's been used as a beacon and military instillation over the years. The coast path runs in both directions from here on wonderful, mainly single track coastal trails.

The monument includes a complex multi-period archaeological landscape of settlements, field systems and various manufacturing sites, situated on a wide band of sloping coastal cliffs between Lowland Point and Coverack. The archaeological remains survive as extensive standing rectilinear fields and enclosures; stone hut circles and other settlement sites; and their associated buried deposits and features which range in date from the Mesolithic to the early medieval periods. There have been numerous partial excavations, mainly from the first half of the 20th century, which have provided considerable information about the site. Chronologically, the earliest evidence for use of the area is a Mesolithic flint working site on a platform on the southwestern side of Carrick Crane Rocks. Excavated in 1933, it produced around 650 worked flints and some Iron Age pottery. Several chance finds of Neolithic pottery have been made, hinting at the occupation of the area during this period. Several of the hut circles, at least one of which had an annexe, have also been excavated with recorded finds from these including pottery (Bronze Age to Iron Age), stone rubbers and an iron blade. The settlements were associated with an extensive field system of rectilinear fields and enclosures covering over 4 hectares. A Romano-British salt working site of the 2nd century AD was also identified. Here salt was evaporated from sea water in two rectangular, superimposed stone-built ovens housed in an oval building and connected with a field system which extended for over a hectare. Large quantities of pottery were recovered from the salt works and its walls, as excavated, stand up to 1m high. An early medieval settlement of two dwellings with associated irregular enclosures was also excavated and found to contain an assemblage of at least 60 vessels from 500 - 900 AD, the majority of which came from one building identified as the site of a kiln. The various excavators, surveyors and specialists included: OP Serocold, G Maynard, FM Patchett, DPS Peacock, J Manehip White, V Favell, C Thomas, and H Quinnell. Further extensive archaeological remains survive in the vicinity and are not currently included in the scheduling because they have not been formally assessed. Sources: HER:- PastScape Monument No:-426434, 426440, 426449, 426452, 426443 and 426521,

Pendennis point provides beautiful views of the coast and is only a very short distance from busy Falmouth. The name comes the Cornish Pen (Headland) and Dynas (Castle). Dolphins and Basking Sharks have been spotted here along with more frequent visits from seals. Pendennis Castle began life in the 16th Century as a gun fort and has guarded the entrance to Carrick Roads (Falmouth Estuary) since. It is looked after by English Heritage and open to visitors.

At Lowland Point, you can experience a remarkably complex archaeological landscape with settlements and field systems ranging in date from the Mesolithic to the early medieval period. You can also see The Manacles, which extends from Porthoustock to Lowland Point. This granite reef, close to a major shipping route, has been responsible for hundreds of shipwrecks in the past.