Town guide: Accessible Falmouth
The world’s media has descended on the Cornish seaside town this week as the G7 summit takes place, so please note some car parks are closed (including Grove Place) and the town is exceptionally busy. But Falmouth is a beautiful town filled with lots of independent cafes, shops and places to visit. Here is an accessibility guide to Falmouth in Cornwall
Please let us know of any updates or additions you would like us to make to this guide at hello@accesscornwall.org.uk and enjoy visiting this lovely Cornish town.
Beach
Falmouth’s most accessible beach is Gyllyngvase beach (also known as Gylly beach) which is a little out of town. Here is some information on the beach.
Parking: There is no parking right next to the beach but there’s a car park and on-street parking not that far away. Street parking is tricky during high season.
Click here for information on disabled parking at Gylly beach car park
Wheelchair access to the beach:
There is a ramp to the beach which is a bit steep but manageable and the beach is sandy. You can hire a sand chair from the Gylly Beach Cafe 01326 312884 to book.
Disabled toilets: The toilets are next to the ramp to the beach and the cafe as well as Queen Mary Gardens. The accessible toilet is a good size. all the toilets are unisex cubicles and there is braille on the entrance to the toilets and the accessible toilet door.
Falmouth town centre
Overview
Falmouth essentially has one long high street along the front of the estuary which some smaller roads (and alleys) leading off this. The main street is pedestrianized for the most part, but there are lots of little avenues leading to the harbour which involve steep inclines and steps and the road is uneven in places. The high street is fairly level, however and there is tarmaced road along the main street — do beware of cars coming and going at certain times. If you choose one of the car parks near the water, the hills are not too steep, but The Quarry car park does lead down from a steep hill and there can be short, steep inclines from some of the car parks right at the edge of the water. These car parks all get very busy in the summer months.
Falmouth has a Shopmobility scheme, to help those with mobility challenges:
http://www.falmouth.co.uk/travel-resources/falmouth-shopmobility-scheme/
Parking and drop off points
There is disabled parking available in the following car parks which are close to the town centre and don’t involve hills which are too steep:
The Moor car park: https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/transport-parking-and-streets/parking/cornwall-council-car-parks/the-moor-falmouth-tr11-3qa/#disabled
On the other side of the town is Grove Place car park (closed until 19th June, 2021 due to the G7 summit), near to the Maritime Museum and Discovery Quay which has lots of cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating and level access.
Even if you cannot park here, these car parks are good spots to drop off passengers who have mobility challenges as the access to the high street is farily level and close from here and there are disabled toilets near to both (The Prince of Wales Pier near The Moor and at the edge of Grove Place Car park). There are links to other car parks in Falmouth on the sidebar when you visit these links.
Places to visit
The National Maritime Museum Cornwall
A great place to visit on Discovery Quay near to Grove Place car park. There are frequent exhibitions here, a space to look out under the sea and a tower to look out over the bay. You can see the NMMC accessibility information here: https://nmmc.co.uk/visit/accessibility/
Falmouth Art Gallery
There is good accessibility around this lovely Cornish gallery which features some real treasures, both permanently home and through their loan programme. Wheelchair/pushchair access is by lift in our side entrance to the right of the building and you can find out more information by calling 01326 313863 or see their website www.falmouthartgallery.com
Pendennis Castle
Henry Tudor’s fort built to protect this strategically important area of the Cornish Coast is in wonderful shape. English Heritage work hard to make sure it is as accessible as an historic stone castle with twisting spiral steps can be and there is access to some parts of the castle as well as a drop off point, accessible toilets and lift access to the Royal Artillery barracks. There are also braille and large print guides as well as tactile displays. See full accessibility information here: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/pendennis-castle/plan-your-visit/access/
Places to eat
The following places list themselves as having wheelchair access:
The Chain Locker: https://chainlockerfalmouth.co.uk/
The Prince of Wales http://www.princeofwales-falmouth.co.uk/
Indigo Eatery https://indidogeatery.com/bookatable/
The Shed on Discovery Quay are also very helpful with level access and worth calling https://theshedfalmouth.co.uk/about-us/ 01326 318 502 info@theshedfalmouth.co.uk
Gylly Beach Cafe by the beach a bit out of town is also accessible with a great reputation — it does get very busy though.
Disabled toilets
There are disabled toilets on The Prince of Wales Pier (close to The Moor car park) and Grove Place (at the edge of Grove Place car park).
Please let us know of any updates or additions you would like us to make to this guide at hello@accesscornwall.org.uk
