Holiday In Flushing Cornwall

Flushing is a coastal village in Cornwall, England.  Located across the Penryn River from Falmouth, it is a relatively small village with about 800 inhabitants.  It is most famous for the annual Flushing Regatta Week.

Not to be confused with Flushing in New York, or other Flushings elsewhere, Flushing Cornwall is located in the far south west of the UK.  There are even two settlements with the name Flushing in Cornwall, however, this article relates to the more northerly of the two.  The nearest town is Penryn and Falmouth is just across the Penryn River, with the nearest city being Truro.  

Flushing is a small waterside village, and so the transport links are therefore less than those of major cities - however they are still relatively good.

There is only one road which goes into Flushing - Tregew Road.  This road can be accessed from several directions.  It can be accessed from Mylor, Mylor Harbour and Mylor Bridge from the north.  However, the majority of people will access from Penryn, as Penryn is far better connected to the national road network.  The Cornish town of Penryn is approximately 2 miles west of Flushing, and running through Penryn is the B3292.  This road connects up with the A39 north of Penryn, and this in turn connects up with the A30 north of the Cornish capital of Truro.  The A30 is the main road in Cornwall and connects up with the UK motorway network in neighbouring Devon.  Parking is at a premium, particularly near the centre of Flushing, and so this is something which needs to be considered before driving to the village.  

Penryn is also the location for the nearest train station.  Penryn station is a station on the Maritime Line branchline, which connects up with the main rail network in Truro.  Despite being only a branchline, the trains to Truro run up to approximately every 30 minutes.  From Truro it is then possible to get trains to other areas of the UK, including the Midlands and London.  Penryn railways station is nearly 3 miles from Flushing by road, and slightly less by foot, and so it would be advised that if travelling with luggage a taxi or car is used.  However, if there is little luggage the walk is relatively picturesque and so this would be advised.

The nearest airport to Flushing is Newquay.  By road it takes at least an hour to get from Newquay Airport to Flushing, and it can take longer at busier times.  However, this is the quickest option since alternative transport options such as train and bus take even longer.

One of the best ways of accessing Flushing is by ferry, from across the water in Falmouth. This journey takes approximately 10 minutes. The ferry runs relatively frequently with services starting before 9 in the morning and ending at just after 5 in the winter and even later in the summer.

Flushing is served by a single bus service, the 400. This service connects Flushing to Falmouth and Truro, but there are only 6 buses in each direction weekdays and less on weekends.

The village of flushing was traditionally a small Cornish fishing village.  Fishing still plays a part in the local economy and way of life, but it's importance is somewhat diminished.  Similarly, farming used to play a large part in the local economy, but with the increase in mechanisation it now plays a much smaller part.

Instead the vast majority of Flushing residents earn their money outside the village.  Many commute to Penryn, Truro or Falmouth for work.  Some people work further afield, and use their home in Flushing as a holiday home.  Finally, a portion of local residents have retired to Flushing.

As agriculture and fishing has diminished in value for Flushing, tourism has played an increasing part.  There are a number of premises offering bed and breakfast (B&B), including Trefusis Barton.  There is a much larger range of hotels, bed and breakfasts and other forms of accommodation in Falmouth.  

The village has a small post office, which also serves basic groceries.  There are a couple of pubs which serve both food and drink, and a small restaurant on the quay which the Flushing to Falmouth ferry departs from.

Flushing is probably most famous for Flushing Regatta Week, which includes the Flushing Carnival and Flushing Village Regatta.  During Flushing Regatta Week a large number of activities are carried out both on the water and off of it.  Upon the water there are a number of sailing competition for different classes.  In addition, there are a number of competitions involving other boats, such as rowing boats and speed boats.

The activities also continue on land, with barbecues, running races and other summer activities.

The dates for the Flushing Regatta Week this year is from approximately 20th July through to the last event, the Flushing Carnival, which takes place on  Sunday 26th July.