What do you do on a wet day midweek on your holiday in Cornwall? Head to the indoor sanctuary of the Maritime Museum in Falmouth of course!
This was guaranteed to satisfy the men in the family, from my Dad, my brother-in-law to my 2 year old nephew. There would be something for everyone, whether obsessed with boats, history or the sea in general.
View from the look out on the top floor of the museum across the harbour
Maritime Museum Falmouth
Location
The Maritime Museum is situated right on the harbour in Falmouth and only a short walk from multiple carparks. If you are organised enough you can do the park and ride by train, or the park and float by boat! We arrived at Discovery Quay at lunchtime and grabbed lunch at The Shack whilst the rain came in sideways. When the rain lessened up a little we made the dash down the Quayside to the National Maritime Museum.
Inside the maritime museum
Once you are inside you enter the vast space of the main hall, hung with boats of all shapes and sizes:
A collection of historic boats all of all sorts hang from the ceiling of the main hall
If you look carefully you can see the GB flag from one of the boats used in the Olympic sailing competitions!
This little boat with the fish sail and outrigger was quite unusual
I love the prow on this traditional boat
The detailing on the finish of this rowing boat is quite beautiful
History of Falmouth and the surrounding area
Through the doorway from the main hall you enter The Hold, where the current exhibition is Viking Voyages. Having just read all of Bernard Cornwell’s Last Kingdom viking series, I know all about this period of history (albeit in the form of fiction!)
History of the Vikings in the West Country
The local areas where evidence of Vikings was found and some of the sites of historic battles
I love this dragon prow, recreated to demonstrate what Viking boats would have looked like when attacking (they remove these figures when in ‘friendly’ areas so as not to scare the locals). Note the large red and blue sail behind too.
I loved looking at all the information and the museum really tries to bring the history alive. There are lots of interactive exhibits, like the boat you can walk around and lots of demonstrations of what viking life was like.
The history of the local area includes the more modern history too:
History of the local lighthouses
They focus on the Victorian period, as this is when Falmouth had the most influence as the main connection between England and the colonies of the Empire.
The royal charter that was bestowed on Falmouth as the main port to run the post office packet service across the Empire.
The packet ships would sail out of Falmouth and all over the world delivering post and packets. They were the quickest way to get messages around the Empire. It was only the invention of steam ships that saw the traditional sailing ships being replaced.
Things for kids of all ages!
There is a great kids area on the first floor. The whole museum is accessible to buggies or wheelchairs, with a massive ramp winding around it and lots of lifts.
Kids can dress up as vikings or dragons!
My little nephew enjoyed dressing up as both a viking and a dragon and spent ages in the kids area (I think they had to bribe him out!)
The play area includes a slide behind the dragon and a multi sensory area hidden underneath
The museum is known for being one of the best interactive museums in the UK – there is literally something for everyone to do there:
Sail your own boat on their indoor boating lake!
Practice your hand at knotting – crucial for any maritime community
Maritime Museum from top to bottom
As I mentioned earlier the museum has a lookout on the top floor of the tower. It actually spans 5 floors in total, from the top:
View across Discovery Quay from the lookout tower right at the top of the museum
To the bottom, where you can be underwater at high tide!
Down in the basement you can find the tidal zone – depending on high or low tide you may see shoals of fish that live in the harbour
More fishes
Verdict and cost
Our visit was fairly brief (due to the 2 year old only having a certain attention span!). We could have spent a lot more time in the museum.
As of 2021 adult tickets are £14.95 and children under 18 are £7.50 (under 5s free) and makes a great day or afternoon out.
Adonis Villanueva says
Looks like a very cool museum to visit! I’m especially interested in Viking history so this place is a must visit for me if I’m ever in Cornwall. Also, I love sailing so I could probably spend an entire day in this museum and not get bored 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Katie Hughes says
Glad you found it useful Adonis! I love the Viking history too.
Sarah from Tales From a Fork says
I love that this museum is great for all ages. That depiction of the vikings was hilarious. Will think of this for a family outing.
Katie Hughes says
Thanks Sarah ?
Sally says
That looks like an interesting maritime museum and lots of fun for the kids.
Vyjay says
The museum looks like a great and fun experience, I am fascinated by the exhibits. Also the fact that kids can get dressed as Vikings would be something exciting that they can look forward to. So all in all an educative and fun experience for the family.
Katie Hughes says
Thanks Vyjay – my nephew certainly enjoyed it!
Danielle Des says
Such a fun family filled day! I would be interested in dressing up like a viking and learning how to tie an appropriate know. Was there someone around to demonstrate?
Katie Hughes says
Hi Danielle – when I was at the knot station there wasn’t anyone around, but there were picture cards to follow ?
Inês says
That definitely sounds like a fun museum to visit! Even with no kids hehe I’m a sucker for any interactive museum like that! Thanks for sharing!
Katie Hughes says
Glad it was useful Inês!
Sydney Fashion Hunter says
Sounds like a fabulous wet weather option and you definitely need a few of those up your sleeve in the UK!
Katie Hughes says
Definitely @Sydney Fashion Hunter!
Kelly | A Pair of Passports says
This looks like such a cool place to visit – my fiance works in maritime and would probably love this!
Katie Hughes says
My male relatives were definitely keen – but we all enjoyed it in the end!
Gabby Beckford says
How stunning! I love viking history so I wouldve been a kid ina candy shop in this museum!
Katie Hughes says
I can imagine you getting involved in the dressing up too Gabby!
Flo says
Looks like a great place to spend the afternoon! My boyfriend’s nephews would go absolutely berserk in here!
Katie Hughes says
Haha I’m sure they would Flo!
Khansa says
That looked like a fun visit. I love the part in the museum where you can practice the knots, and also the part where you can enjoying see the fish.
Sandra says
Fascinating collection! So would I get away with behaving like a kid next to the viking boats…? 😀
Katie Hughes says
I’m sure you could get away with it Sandra!!
Cristal Dyer says
It would have been so cool to learn about the viking history. Sounds like a great place to visit!