Merry Christmas! I’m Evie, a History and Politics student here at the University of Exeter, Cornwall’s Penryn Campus. This is my final year of studying here, so I’ve made it my mission to make the most of what the festive season has to offer in Cornwall whilst I still live here. Three years into my degree, I’ve realised how many nice activities there are around at this time of year, and hopefully, hearing about them from me will give you some ideas about how to make the winter term feel as cosy as possible throughout your whole time here! Cornwall is such a special location, and although it might be best known for the sunny beaches, surfing and wildlife, it’s also such a unique place to spend the Christmas period, with its small towns and community spirit.
Falmouth Lights Switch-On
The last couple of years I’ve made it a tradition to go and see the Christmas lights being switched on in Falmouth town centre. This is one of the easiest ways to instantly feel a lot more festive; the streets are filled with people of all ages wrapped up in hats, gloves and scarves, watching the parade and listening to local choirs sing carols whilst they await the countdown. This year, the parade featured sixteen tractors decorated with colourful fairy lights from local farms which was a nice touch. The Moor is decked out with a vibrant stage and plenty of hot food and drink stalls ready for the parade to arrive. Once everyone is gathered around, children from nearby primary schools perform some Christmas songs. Seeing their excitement is one of the most heartwarming parts of this event, it really makes you relive the childhood experience of Christmas we all get so nostalgic about. The family atmosphere also makes the evening feel very homely and warm which is nice when it’s getting towards the end of term and you might be starting to look forward to returning home yourself. Getting to experience this with the friends you’ve made at university is particularly special and really makes you feel closer to those around you at this time of year.
The lights switch-on itself is always surprisingly impressive – for such a small town Falmouth manages to put on quite a display. A special guest from the community s always nominated to turn the lights on, with speeches from various local figures as the atmosphere builds up. Counting down with everyone around you really does make you feel part of the town, however far from home it may be. The lights this year are stunning. The second the countdown was over, everyone cheered and the square was illuminated all over, with lights twinkling along tree branches and strung across the night sky. A Christmas tree of lights shone down from on top of the library, and all the nearby buildings were covered in different colours. It’s such a lovely collection of so many different decorations that there’s always new ones to spot. Walking through town for the next few weeks is made much more atmospheric, and it makes the short days worthwhile.
The Falmouth lights switch-on is in late November, so perfect timing to get in the Christmas spirit for your last few weeks of term. There are various similar events across the local area, which are usually completely free, with plenty of opportunity to join.
The Penryn Christmas Light Switch-On features more music, festive characters, and another impressive light display. The streets lined with Christmas trees, covered in multicoloured lights and decorations are only a fifteen-minute walk from campus and make a lovely evening walk after lectures.
This year I also explored the Helston Christmas Light Switch-On which is fairly easily accessible by car or bus. I was shocked by the scale of this event, with multiple streets holding food stalls, charity stands and raffles. There were lots of different bands, choirs and performers, all singing Christmas classics to get everyone joining in. I also had a look round a couple of community halls and churches which had a cosy atmosphere with craft stalls, mince pies and mulled wine. Once again, the lights were incredible and spanned through a huge amount of the town centre.
Truro Christmas Market
Truro is another place worth visiting to see the lights, but it also has a wonderful Christmas market that continues throughout late November and December. There are various specific events that take place throughout the festive period, but there has also been late-night shopping every Wednesday this year, with the market and surrounding shops open until 9pm. This allows you to visit after a day of university, it’s only a fifteen minute journey by train or half an hour on the bus from campus, so you can make the most of the lights and food stalls into the evening. I did exactly this and was greeted by a buzzing atmosphere and a local choir performing. We wandered around and popped into a few shops to get some Christmas presents, which all seemed transformed by the lights that were strung throughout the entire city centre. We then headed into the markets themselves, which looked even more festive.
I was impressed by the range of market stands they had, in cute little wooden cabins in the main Lemon Quay area and expanding further into marquees in nearby streets. There were local artists selling paintings of nearby beaches, jewellery makers with some beautiful sea-inspired products, cosy knitwear and clothing stalls, and many more opportunities to get some Christmas shopping done with local businesses. It’s such a nice way to buy a few gifts locally to take back home to people, giving them a taste of what life is like here whilst really supporting the community. I was also extremely tempted by all the food and drink on offer, some Cornish produce to buy and keep, and some there to enjoy whilst listening to the bands play. There was a great variety, with something for everyone.
Falmouth Festive Weekend
After the lights switch-on, Falmouth went even further this year with a weekend dedicated to festive activities throughout the town. My visit was a lovely experience and really gave me something to look forward to in-between working on deadlines. Walking into town, we came down through the Old High Street which is an area you sometimes miss when getting the bus from campus but is really worth having a look around. The Chintz (a wonderful quirky bar and music venue) was holding a fayre with some nice clothing stalls, and all the independent shops in the street had come together to decorate and put some pop-up stands out to showcase their crafts. We then walked down to The Moor, which is where a lot of the events were taking place. There was a huge marquee with lots of stalls selling things like chilli jams, handmade pottery, jewellery and much more. There was a stage outside featuring a massive choir all wearing Santa hats, with a sizeable crowd gathered around to watch while queuing up for food stalls. Although they are at Saturday markets all year round, I couldn’t help but get a Christmas themed donut from the Sasparella van (the best donuts I’ve ever tasted, you would never know they’re vegan).
Strolling through the rest of town, there was a very lively atmosphere, and the streets were crowded with people carrying bags of Christmas presents and starting to celebrate with their friends and family. We made our way through the snow that was drifting down from the tops of buildings and watched some little ones get very excited about it. The next stop was The Poly, which has a theatre, gallery, shop, and one of my personal favourite cafes and study spots, but had been taken over for the weekend by another independent craft market. There were some wonderful paintings, posters, sculptures and so much other artwork dotted about in various rooms. We then headed towards The Princess Pavillion which was holding a lot of the festivities this year. There was a giant snow globe and artificial ice rink in one section, and another filled with a buzzing atmosphere of people eating mince pies and drinking mulled wine while listening to a choir sing some carols. Outside, with a sea view, there were rows and rows of Christmas trees, each decorated by different primary school classes.
This was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and really goes to show how much effort the local community put into the festive season here. It’s so nice to live somewhere for university where you can feel truly integrated into the town and enjoy activities along with others, and Christmas time is the perfect moment to appreciate that.
On Campus and at Home
The University, Students’ Union and ResLife team also put on an array of events for the festive period, meaning you can make the most of the build up to Christmas over the last few weeks of term. There are organised trips to local attractions, like the Truro Christmas Market if you want to find some friends to go with, and further afield to places like the Eden Project for their beautiful winter ice rink. There are also free events held for a couple of hours on campus, such as with the Multifaith Chaplaincy to make Christmas decorations for our beautiful community tree, and wreath making workshops with the SU to help you decorate your own accommodation.
The campus gets a particularly nice vibe at this time of year, with Christmas trees and decorations dotted about all over the place, markets popping up with student made crafts for you to buy as Christmas gifts, and a general sense of excitement for the break. I recently spent a very cosy day in the library finishing off an essay, with a few study breaks spent walking around campus to see the community Christmas tree, have a look at some of the stalls that were on and treat myself to a gingerbread latte from the Sustainability Café.
There are plenty of opportunities to get your festive food and drink in throughout the end of term, with the campus catering outlets offering great deals with Christmas menus, including full Christmas dinners at The Stannary on certain dates. The Campus Shop also sells Christmas meal hampers if you fancy cooking for yourself, but don’t fancy all the effort.
Making a Christmas dinner with friends and flatmates has been one of my other favourite traditions across the years I’ve been at the University of Exeter. In first year living in halls, my flat did a Secret Santa and had an evening spent exchanging gifts and eating somewhat festive food (I’m not sure pasta bake actually is that Christmassy, but we did have camembert too). I also joined a big Christmas dinner with multiple of my friends’ flats, where everyone pitched in and we ended up with a proper roast and listened to Christmas songs in a kitchen decorated with paper snowflakes and tinsel. Now that our cooking skills have progressed, my student house this year managed to pull together a decent Christmas dinner in a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon. We laid out the table nicely and all sat around for a cosy evening, and it truly felt like it could have been a Christmas at home.
The festive season at Penryn Campus really is a wonderful time of year, there are so many opportunities to join in with both the University and local community, and you are sure to feel the warm, cosy atmosphere of Christmas in Cornwall.
