Why Penzance offered a better route to Falmouth

Even after taking Falmouth, an invading army would still have to cross difficult Cornish ground while Britain could bring reinforcements against it. A landing near Penzance would have faced St Michael's Mount, probably the area's only defensible position at the time and itself the site of a siege during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A large Franco-Spanish force could establish itself there and then march overland toward Falmouth. The comparison shows why amphibious planners should distinguish the best place to land troops from the port they ultimately want to capture.