Christmas in Fowey - Your 2024 Guide
Victoria ClarkSadly we've not had any snow this year and although I'm writing this in December, our town's biggest and most popular festive event, the Christmas Market Weekend has already been and gone! The dates change each year due to the tides, you can read my 2023 Christmas in Fowey article here to find out more about why that is.
Christmas Fairs in Fowey
As well as the official market weekend there are also several small community led Christmas fairs taking place. On Saturday 7th December you'll find two events up at the top of town. Between 10am and 1pm Squires Field Community Centre are holding a fayre with stalls, Santa's grotto, a raffle and much more. There will be tea, coffee and mulled wine on sale too. You'll find the community centre at the back of Squires Field park on Park Road with free parking across the road on the gravel carpark.
The brilliant Fowey Pre School are also holding a Christmas fair on Saturday 7th December between 9.30am and 12pm. This is taking place in the Sports Hall at Fowey River Academy on Windmill. Santa will be putting on double duties with a grotto in there as well as various Christmas market stalls, a cafe, a raffle and fun games for your little ones.
Late Night Shopping for Christmas in Fowey
Fowey's businesses have got together to host a late night shopping evening in the town on Saturday 14th November with many businesses staying open until 8pm. There will be lots of mulled wine flowing, a snow machine for some festive fun and you will even be able to meet Disney characters Minnie Mouse and Olaf from Frozen who will be popping in and out of the various shops to greet customers.
There is also a mini artisan fair taking place at North Street Kitchen all weekend which is open until 8pm on the Saturday night. You can find out more about the participating venues celebrating Christmas in Fowey by following the Love Fowey Facebook page here.
We'll be doing a little pop up at the gorgeous Boheme (as I didn't think many people would be up for walking down to Readymoney in the pitch black) with a select range of our popular gift items including mugs, jewellery, homewares and more.
Why not make an evening of it and pop into one of Fowey's pubs or restaurants for meal before or after you shop. The Lugger has just launched their new winter menu including some tempting new sharing platters. Find out more here.
Spot the Stranger - Festive Edition
Fowey's long standing and super popular Regatta Week tradition has been given a festive rollout for 2024. As per the usual rules, each participating business has a sticker in their window (this time they are green stickers instead of red) and something on display which they don't sell - that's the "stranger".
Find them all and email in your answers to win a cash prize (kindly donated by the participating businesses). You'll find full details here.
Parking in Fowey during winter
Did you know that in the run up to Christmas Cornwall Council offer a number of free parking days in their Council run carparks? Parking rules can be complicated to get your head around in Fowey as there are three different carpark operators in total, all with different rates, tariffs and enforcement.
Again, we recommend heading over to Love Fowey for a comprehensive list of when and where charges are payable. The free parking days are Saturday 7th and Saturday 14th as well as Monday 23rd but this only applies to Caffa Mill and Main carpark (the Readymoney carpark is free 1st Nov to Easter Sunday anyway) so don't get caught out as no-one wants their Christmas in Fowey ruined by an unexpected parking ticket!
Christmas Gifts from Fowey
Our Christmas Opening Times
Did you know that the beach shop is open everyday except Christmas Day? So if you are spending Christmas in Fowey then do take a wander down to Readymoney and see us. Our hours over Christmas and New Year are below:
Current: 9.30am to to 4pm
Christmas Eve: 9.30am to 3pm
Christmas Day: CLOSED
Boxing Day: 10am to 3pm
27th to 30th December: 9.30am to 4pm
New Years Eve: 9.30am to 3pm
New Year's Day: 9.30am to 3pm
2nd January onwards: 9.30am to 4pm everyday*
**We will need to close completely for a few days in January to do some repainting and other maintenance work inside the shop which we simply can't do whilst the shop is open. We will publicise this information on our website, by email (sign up here to our mailing list so you don't miss out) and on our Facebook and `Instagram pages.**
Readymoney New Year's Day Swim
For several years a popular New Year's Day Swim event was held at Readymoney Cove as a fundraiser for a cancer charity set up in memory of a local girl, Beth. After lots of dedicated fundraising, the Beth's Inspiration team stepped back and the swim was instead arranged by various volunteers (including me at one point) to fundraise for local charities such as Fowey RNLI and Cornwall Hospice Care.
However, arranging a big swimming event has been become increasingly more complicated over the years with much more red tape required in terms of paperwork, permissions, safety considerations and insurance, as well as getting volunteers on the ground on the day to actually make the event happen. Also, with the huge boost in the popularity of sea swimming all year round, the novelty value of running screaming into the sea on a cold winter's day has worn off a bit as so many people do it regularly (me included!). All of the above means that sadly, there is no longer a charity New Years Day swim at Readymoney Cove.
That said, New Year's Day at Readymoney always has just the loveliest community atmosphere with locals and visitors spending Christmas in Fowey alike congregating at the beach to enjoy a chilly dip. The charity swim used to take place at midday and this seems to have stuck in the minds of many as the time to aim for but there's usually a steady stream of keen beans all day long. We'll be on hand with hot drinks, pastries, delicious homemade cakes and even mugs of soup so do come and join us if you can.
Christmas in Fowey is always such a wonderful time and its always lovely to see the town absolutely buzzing with festive cheer before the inevitable slowdown in January. But never fear, Fowey absolutely remains open for business all year round and although the streets will be quieter, most of our shops (including ours) and food businesses will still be open ready to welcome you.
Merry Christmas from Fowey and Happy New Year!
