Cottages in St Mawes

Table of Contents

• At a glance: What should you know about renting a cottage in St Mawes?
• Cottages in St Mawes: find your perfect retreat
• Exploring St Mawes: our top recommendations
• Activities: What are the top things to do and see in St Mawes?

• Small village, modest choice: St Mawes is a compact village on the Roseland Peninsula, so the cottage stock is small – book early for summer and expect quick turnover of the best addresses.
• Harbour and water views: Many cottages sit within a short walk of the quay, several with sea views over Carrick Roads towards Falmouth on the far shore.
• Well-rated by guests: Recent stays score highly, with several St Mawes cottages rated 9.7+ for cleanliness, comfort and their position near the water.
• Roseland larder on the doorstep: Bakeries, a fishmonger and beach kitchens such as the Hidden Hut suit self-catering cooks who like buying supper the same morning.
• Walking, sailing and castles: The South West Coast Path, the Falmouth passenger ferry and St Mawes Castle fill an easy week without a long drive.

St Mawes is a small village, so the cottages here are genuine village houses rather than purpose-built lets: fishermen's cottages on the lanes above the quay, two-bedroom boltholes with terraces, and a handful of larger four-bedroom houses for families. If nothing suits your dates, widen the search to holiday homes in St Mawes or browse all St Mawes holiday lettings. Most cottages come with the practical extras self-caterers want:

• Sea or harbour views over Carrick Roads
• Enclosed gardens, yards and sheltered terraces
• Full kitchens with dishwashers for cooking the day's catch
• Wi-Fi and parking, which is scarce in the village itself
• Pet-friendly options

For a stay closer to the sand.

What are the best areas to stay in St Mawes?

Most visitors aim for the harbourfront and the lanes just above it, where the quay, the shops and the ferry are all within a few minutes on foot. The table below details areas for specific interests:

What do our guests say?

Guests staying in St Mawes cottages consistently praise how walkable the village is, how quiet the lanes stay after the day visitors leave, and how comfortable these small Cornish houses feel once the weather turns. Ratings of 9.7+ are common, with reviews singling out generous kitchens, sheltered terraces and hosts who leave local tips for the Roseland.

Here are our top-rated cottages from the past year:

1. Lower Tresulian - 9.9+: A two-bedroom cottage for four in St Mawes, with a yard and terrace that guests use for long, slow breakfasts.
2. No 1 - 9.9+: A compact cottage for two in the village, with its own terrace and a kitchen equipped for proper cooking.
3. Heathfield - 9.7+: A four-bedroom St Mawes cottage sleeping eight, with a garden, balcony and room for two families to spread out.

St Mawes sits at the tip of the Roseland Peninsula in southern Cornwall, facing Falmouth across the wide Carrick Roads estuary.

🥗Where to eat in St Mawes?

According to Google Maps data and reviews, St Mawes Bakery is the best rated restaurant in St Mawes. Below is a table showing the top 5 highly-rated restaurants hand-picked by our travel experts.

⭐Our guests' recommendation: Our guest traveller Charlotte recommends the St Mawes Seafood in St Mawes: a tiny quayside fishmonger where she bought whatever had landed that morning and cooked it back at the cottage.

1. Tour St Mawes Castle
2. Cross to Falmouth by ferry
3. Visit St Just in Roseland churchyard
4. Walk to St Anthony Head
5. Swim at Summers Beach
6. Sail on the Carrick Roads
7. Wander Lamorran House Gardens

1. Tour St Mawes Castle

   The village's clover-leaf fortress is a five-minute walk from the quay and one of the best-preserved of Henry VIII's coastal forts. Built in the 1540s and still in defensive use as late as the Second World War, it keeps its carved Latin inscriptions and gun rooms, and the lawns above the batteries give a wide view across the water to Pendennis on the Falmouth side. Allow an hour, longer if you settle on the grass with the estuary in front of you.

2. Cross to Falmouth by ferry

   The passenger ferry from St Mawes harbour is the village's most useful outing, carrying walkers and day trippers across the Carrick Roads to Falmouth's Prince of Wales Pier. It is a short crossing with sea-facing houses, moored yachts and, often, seals for company. On the far side you have the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, galleries and a high street, and you can be back on the Roseland by teatime. Check the season's sailings locally before setting out.

3. Visit St Just in Roseland churchyard

   Two miles north of the village lies one of Cornwall's most photographed churchyards. The thirteenth-century church at St Just in Roseland stands at the foot of a tumbling subtropical garden that runs down to a tidal creek, planted with palms, magnolias and gunnera. It is best at high tide, when the boats float level with the gravestones, and early in the day before the coaches arrive. Entry is free and the walk down is short but steep.

4. Walk to St Anthony Head

   The South West Coast Path runs from St Mawes around to St Anthony Head, the National Trust headland marking the entrance to the estuary. The route passes the nineteenth-century lighthouse, old gun batteries dug into the cliff and the sheltered sands of Great and Little Molunan. It is a rewarding half-day on foot, and in summer you can shorten it considerably by taking the small seasonal ferry across from the harbour to Place.

5. Swim at Summers Beach

   St Mawes has two small beaches within the village itself. Summers Beach, a short walk from the quay, widens at low tide into a pebbly, sheltered stretch that is good for swimming and rock pooling, and faces south-west for evening light. Tavern Beach, right by the harbour wall, is smaller still and handy for a quick dip. Neither is a resort beach, which is precisely their appeal for a cottage holiday.

6. Sail on the Carrick Roads

   The estuary in front of the village is one of the deepest natural harbours in the world and the reason St Mawes has been a sailing station for generations. Local operators run skippered trips and small-boat hire from the harbour in season, and the working boats racing under sail are a summer fixture. Even without stepping aboard, the wall by the quay is a fine place to watch the fleet come about against the Falmouth shoreline.

7. Wander Lamorran House Gardens

   Climbing the hillside above the village, Lamorran House Gardens is a four-acre subtropical garden with Italianate terraces, water features and one of the largest palm collections in the county, all arranged around views of the sea below. Opening is limited to set days in the warmer months, so check before you go. It makes a calm hour away from the harbour, and the planting shows just how mild this corner of the Roseland stays.