Fowey and Polruan regattas

The week-long schedule begins with a carnival, which sets the tone for good-natured fun. Pub crews, families dressed up in themed costumes, and semi-professional brass bands all parade along the crowded, narrow high street. A local girl is proclaimed Queen of the Carnival, decked out in the hydrangeas that bloom in Cornwall in August, and the day concludes in quayside revelry and a firework spectacular that fills the estuary with light, noise, and smoke.

Above all, it is the estuary that gives Fowey its enchantment. The little village is carved into the slope of a miniature fjord, which serves as a great amphitheatre. Noises swirl and bounce about when bands play or guns fire to indicate races. When the huge yachts arrive from Falmouth, the gig boats race with their oars swinging frantically, or the torchlight boat procession passes on the last night, the boats all parade in plain view along the shoreline.

If you're looking for pure homeliness, consider attending the little-known regatta at Polruan, Fowey's villagey neighbor located a two-minute boat journey over the lake. There's hymn and shanty singing, a sandcastle competition, a tombola in behalf of the lifeboat, and a race of bouncing balls down the hill into the port. It's like 1950s Britain - and none the worse for it.

Time: 20 Aug 2022
Website: https://foweyregatta.co.uk/