Frenchman’s Creek, a novel by Daphne du Maurier about the relationship between the English lady Dona, Lady St Columb, and a French pirate set during the reign of Charles II, came about following Daphne’s marriage, when her husband used to bring her to a tranquil corner of the Helford River, mooring up for some newly-wed canoodling. Daphne later lived within sight of this spot, so that she was constantly reminded of those romantic times.
The story begins with a detailed description of the village of Helford and the river, partly from the viewpoint of the time when the story was set, and partly as it was during Daphne’s time there in the 1930s. The river in Charles II’s time is described as “lonely and austere”, and the hamlet’s inhabitants as “dull-witted and uncommunicative”. In short, no reason for anyone happening upon this spot to linger there. Of course, at that time there would have been no pub, the present-day Shipwrights Arms being a mere 300 years old.
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| Helford Village - geograph.org.uk - 9853. Photo by Richard Johns, via Wikimedia Commons |
Du Maurier contrasts this unappealing description with how it was in her time, with “many voices to blunder in on the silence” and the coming and going of “pleasure steamers”. Presumably these were visiting from nearby Falmouth; it is still possible to get a boat trip from Falmouth to the Helford River, also taking in Frenchman's Creek. However, visiting yachtsmen in Daphne’s day would hesitate at the entrance to the creek, finding it disconcertingly mysterious, the only sounds the occasional plopping of a fish breaking the surface and the sound of the night-jar issuing from the bracken on the hills.
In Daphne’s day, daytrippers would head to a farmhouse kitchen which doubled up as a tea-room. She claims in the novel that this was once Navron House, the Cornish retreat Dona escapes to when she has tired of London. In fact, Navron House is a fiction, and the inspiration for it can be found in the Trelowarren Estate. Fans of the book can stay on the estate, which offers a range of cottages for hire, and guests staying there can also enjoy the beautiful gardens. What is real, however, is Frenchman’s Creek itself, a long sinuous offshoot of the Helford to the west of Helford village. The National Trust website has a suggested walk taking in the creek.
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| Frenchman's Creek at low tide - geograph.org.uk - 1370928. Photo by Graham Loveland, via Wikimedia Commons |
Helford River and its village lie between Falmouth and Lizard Point, the most southerly spot in Britain. Lovers of gardens visiting the area are in for a treat, even if not staying at Trelowarren. On the other side of the Helford is the National Trust garden Glendurgan, with the equally beautiful Trebah Garden next door. From Helford, it is possible to cross to the other side by ferry and follow the South West Coastal Path along to Glendurgan. Further afield, and accessible from Falmouth by boat, is another National Trust garden, Trelissick.
Map of the area.
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