Falmouth

I found the pirates, but they were not in Penzance (described in one local guide as not very “piratey” at all). In Falmouth, there was a great pirate exhibit at the National Maritime Museum. Many of the most famous pirates came from southwest England or from Wales, and Falmouth harbor is the world’s third largest naturally deep harbor which made it a key spot for seafaring people of all types. And they say this is the reason the pirate accent we hear in the movies is similar to the West Country accent of Cornwall and Devon, though like so many things it’s just a Hollywood creation. Walking the plank is also fiction apparently, and just comes from the mind of Robert Louis Stevenson in Treasure Island — and then also from Hollywood. According to the exhibit, they did have parrots but not as pets. Arr!Read more