Only a few weeks of the 2026 season remain: St Mawes Harbour runs the Place ferry from April to October only, so its last crossings come at the close of October, with the next season due in April 2027. Low spring tides also halt it for an hour or two around low water on some days; on 13 October 2026 there was no boat between about 13:45 and 14:45.
Season April to October 2026, as stated by Place Ferry and St Mawes Harbour; first and last sailings checked on both operator pages and the South West Coast Path site on 13 October 2026. Place Ferry — timetable and live status · 2026-10-13
St Mawes owes its harbour company to a crumbling pier. By the 1840s the old stone pier was in ruins and trade had dwindled, so the villagers, led by Sir Samuel Thomas Spry of Place Manor on the far shore, sought an Act of Parliament; the St Mawes Pier and Harbour Company Act received Royal Assent on 2 June 1854 and gave the new company jurisdiction over the harbour out to Polvarth Point and Carricknath on the Place side.
The same company now runs the little boat across to Place. Fal River operated the crossing for nineteen seasons, then handed it to St Mawes Harbour from the 2024 season, which is why the old Fal River ferry page and its prices no longer apply.
For South West Coast Path walkers the hop matters more than its length suggests: it joins St Mawes to the path round St Anthony Head without a nine-mile trek inland round the Percuil River.
Tickets are sold on board and only cards are accepted, so bring one even for a single crossing. The Fal Mussel Card that covers Fal River's boats has not been valid on Place since the harbour took over in 2024.
We have not printed a price because the ferry's own website and the harbour's website show different single and return fares, and the harbour page appears to date from the previous season. Phone the harbour office on 01326 270553 if the exact amount matters.
Fares checked on 13 October 2026 on placeferry.com and on the St Mawes Harbour website; the two pages disagree, so no fare is quoted here. Place Ferry — tickets and prices · 2026-10-13
Place lies just under a kilometre from St Mawes across the inner harbour, where the Percuil River opens into Carrick Roads. By road the two are far apart, because the Percuil cuts deep inland; the South West Coast Path's walking detour via St Just in Roseland, Trethem Mill and Gerrans is 9 miles, or 14 kilometres, and ends on a path beside the river down to the ferry landing.
On the Cornish coast path the Place crossing is one of a chain of small estuary boats. Further east the Polruan ferry carries walkers over the Fowey, while the seasonal Fowey to Mevagissey boat, already finished for 2026, saves a long stretch in high summer; on the Falmouth side of the Fal, the Flushing ferry links Falmouth with Flushing.
The Department for Transport places the landing on Marine Parade by the harbour. The harbour office warns that the exact boarding point shifts with the tide, so ask there if the boat is not where you expect it.
Walkers arriving from Falmouth step off the Fal River ferry in the same harbour.
The Place side is a landing on the Percuil River at Place Creek, reached on foot by the coast path signed to Place. There is no road service waiting at the jetty.
From here the South West Coast Path heads south round St Anthony Head.
The final departure from Place is at 16:15. Walkers coming round St Anthony Head in the afternoon should allow for that, especially late in October when the light also goes early.
On the lowest spring tides the boat stops for a while around low water. The operator lists the affected dates and approximate times; on dates not listed it runs all day.
St Mawes Harbour answers on 01326 270553 and listens on VHF channel 12, call sign St Mawes Harbour, though not around the clock.
Between November and March the crossing is closed. The coast path association's 9-mile route via Gerrans is the way round.
Payment on board is by card only, and the Fal Mussel Card is not accepted.
The harbour's own history leaflet records that before 1878 the link to Falmouth was an open 30-foot sailing cutter, the Market Boat, which carried people, goods and livestock to market. In 1943 St Mawes became a United States Navy amphibious training sub-base ahead of D-Day, and the Royal Navy requisitioned Place Manor and its grounds as a small landing-craft base.
A date stone at the end of the pier marks a further repair in 1873. Today the harbour office also handles moorings, a water taxi and the ferry, and it is the number to ring when the Place boat is not where walkers expect it.
The operator runs it from April to October inclusive, so the 2026 season closes with October. No exact final date has been published; ring 01326 270553 late in the month.
16:15. The last departure from St Mawes to Place is at 16:00, while mornings start at 09:15 from St Mawes and 09:30 from Place.
No. Fal River stopped operating it before the 2024 season and St Mawes Harbour took over, so Fal Mussel Cards are not valid and Fal River's old timetable no longer applies.
On the lowest spring tides there is not enough water at low tide. On 13 October 2026, for example, the operator expected no service between roughly 13:45 and 14:45.
Walk the 9-mile (14 km) route the South West Coast Path suggests, via St Just in Roseland, Gerrans and Porth Farm, finishing on the riverside path to Place.
No. The crew takes card payments only.