It's lovely to be back and to chat to so many old friends!
It's lovely to be back and to chat to so many old friends!
Member since:05.09.2001
Reviews:92
Members who trust:109
For several years my family have had a house in Falmouth. This gave us the facility to go often out of season. I cannot recommend Cornwall highly enough out of the main season. It is a wonderful way to wind down and recharge the batteries. You would be amazed at how mild a Cornish winter can be! We have been known to go for walks in our shirt sleeves in January! When we first went there my sister had left an excellent book for us called “Pub Walks in Cornwall”. This sounded right up our street- a nice walk punctuated with a pleasantpub and a beer or two! Of course we tried many walks and many pubs! They were all lovely but the pub we liked the most was The Pandora Inn at Restronguet Creek, Mylor Bridge.The nearest town is Falmouth and the pub is well signposted.- Just as well as it is down some remote country lanes!
It is a beautiful, thatched 13th century inn with an interesting history. It is named after “The Pandora” which was the naval ship sent to Tahiti to capture the mutineers of Captain Bligh’s “Bounty”. Remember the film Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando? Perhaps that ages me a bit! Anyway, in 1791 the Pandora hit the Great Barrier Reef and sank. It’s Captain, Captain Edwards, was court-martialled. He subsequently retired to Cornwall and bought the inn.
The Pandora Inn is in a beautiful location. It is on Restronguet Creek at the end of the river Fal. It has a 43m long floating pontoon and a waterfront aspect. It is lovely when the weather is nice to sit with a drink on the pontoon and watch all the boats going by. There is provision for boats to be tied up and you often see people coming ashore for a pint! You need to be aware though, that it dries out for three hours at low tide. In the spring this coincides with closing time. If you have come by boat beware! You might get stranded!
Inside is very atmospheric. It has a low, beamed ceiling and there are nautical artefacts all around. There is a good cellar and there are many fine draught ales, including a local brew “Tinners”.
Food: the Pandora has an excellent restaurant upstairs which has both Le Routier and Egon Ronay recommendations. An A la Carte meal starts from £15, and they accept all the major credit cards. The menu caters for all tastes, including vegetarians. However, their speciality is fresh, locally caught fish and seafood.
They also offer bar food. I have often enjoyed cheap and very high quality bar food for around a fiver. They also have a very imaginative children’s menu. On one occasion my youngest opted for chocolate spread and chip sandwiches. Yuk!!! She loved it and had a rare clean plate! I think parents must have moaned about the nutritional content of that particular dish as shortly after it disappeared from the menu!! They have a wonderful array of home cooked seafood, pies, pasta and of course the ubiquitous Cornish pasty. Or, you can opt for a triple-decker sandwich. It is all fresh and tastes great!
We love the Pandora- you can even get a hot shower here. It is open every day of the year apart from the evening of Christmas day.
The drawback is that it is a very popular tourist attraction. It is not particularly nice in the height of the season. It is absolutely lovely in the spring or after the summer season. This is when you find the locals there and it reverts to a welcoming cosy atmosphere. During the season it is crammed full and you can’t move. It also is full of touristy Pandora Inn merchandise.
I would advise against going in the season- but in the spring or autumn, especially combined with a lovely countryside walk (foot and mouth permitting) it is quite sublime. You can drive to it if you are not a walker and there is an adequate car park.
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Advantages: Buses are more frequent than they used to be and new routes have been introduced. Disadvantages: They often break down and aren't waterproof in the rain!
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