The Cornish foodie scene is booming. Here are a few recent favourites, but enjoy exploring.

St Tudy Inn: smart but excellent gastro pub on north side of moor.

Rising Sun: pub the far side of Altarnun. Also walkable for the energetic. Unexpectedly good food.

Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac. Book well in advance. 2 Michelin stars.

Salt Box at Wadebridge: two-storey street-food hub in shipping containers, next to Lidl. Great place to fill up en route home from a day at the beach. Starts food at 5 so great pit stop with kids

St Breward, Churchtown. Decent if unexciting pub food. Included because you can walk there from the cottage, via King Arthur’s Hall in the middle of wild moor. Note, it’s quite an ambitious walk: a leisurely 2.5 hrs each way. Boots and map needed. Contact me if you want help with the route!

Blisland Inn: friendly locals pub, excellent atmosphere & real ale in an idyllic village setting. More for drinking than eating. Good church across the green too.

Pintxo, Fowey. Small but perfectly formed tapas restaurant.

The Lugger, Portloe. On the lost Roseland Peninsula. Book ahead to sit on the tiny terrace overlooking the magical little cove. Food was less good last time we visited but the setting compensates. Lovely coast walking. A good place to escape to after visiting the (touristy but interesting) Charlestown.

Endsleigh House Hotel: (Devon) v good

Jamaica Inn has a decent little farm shop with local produce.

For large supermarkets: M&S Food Hall or Tescos in Launceston; Asda, Morrisons & Sainsburys in Bodmin. Co-op, Lidl & Tescos in Wadebridge.

Farm shops are springing up everywhere, and are generally excellent. Some favourites:

Sea View farm shop & cafe, near St Teath (N coast). Excellent own meat and Haywood cider. Now doing BBQ nights and live music

St Kew Farm Shop, handy if you’re heading back from the north coast

Boscastle Farm Shop: great coastal view from picnic tables & small play area at the back

Strawberry Fields: just beyond Launceston. Huge. More like an expensive supermarket. Plus cafe and seasonal activities (pumpkins, maize maze…)

Coombeshead Farm Shop & Cafe – new, 15 mins away. Incredible bread. Thurs-Sun only currently.

Wadebridge has masses of independent grocery shops, inc. good fishmonger

Choose based on activity (surfing or swimming?), wind direction & tide. The cottage location gives you excellent flexibility.

New Polzeath – it’s a cliché for a reason. Best for surfing / bodyboarding, beach cricket, epic sandcastles, rockpooling. Also seems to be a microclimate with the sun shining when everywhere else is wet!
Ice cream at The Cone Zone (Old Polzeath, on the main street) is worth the detour. Watch the tide – it comes in fast.

Trebarwith Strand – great for surfing & children rockpooling. Mid/low tide only. Walk the cliff path from there to Tintagel and see King Arthur’s supposed birthplace

Lundy Hole – mid/low tide only. National Trust car park on the left shortly after the turning to New Polzeath. 15 min walk down a gentle path to the beach. Walk through rock arches at low tide and pick mussels for supper…

The Strangles (North coast): just west of Crackington Haven (you’ll need a map), and it’s a 15 min steep walk down. Magnificent in a very wild way! Not suitable for young children. Best at low tide.

Crackington Haven: couple of cafes and dramatic beach, hemmed by huge cliffs. Best at mid-low tide

Great Lantic Bay (South Coast, 45 mins): again, you’ll need a map, and it’s a steep walk down. Magnificent. No amenities so don’t forget water! Pick up a picnic from the small but perfectly formed village shop in Lerryn en route.

Portholland Bay (South Coast): quite a drive, but worth it if you’re visiting the Roseland peninsula beyond St Austell, e.g. Portloe, Mousehole, Lost Gardens. Beach café. Good for swimming. Fab view of Caerhays Castle behind (gardens open for rhododendrons in the spring)

Note, please always use a map and take suitable footwear and waterproofs.

Fowey. (Tip: drive to Bodinnick, and either park in the tiny car-park on the side of the creek if you’re going for a walk, or continue across on the car ferry to the larger car-park if you just want to walk into town. Check last ferry running times if you’re staying for supper…). Walks: either walk round the Fowey headland, or follow the well-signed ‘Hall Walk’ up to Pont, over to Polruan (good pub), across on the foot ferry to Fowey, ice cream pause, then back to Bodinnick on the car ferry.

Brown Willy! Yes, our mighty Cornish mountain can be conquered from the cottage – about 1.5 hrs each way. Can be boggy. If you’re feeling ambitious, head on to Roughtor and feel smug at all the people who’ve just come up from the car park, before completing the loop to King Arthur’s Hall and back across Shallow Water Common to the cottage. Note, the full route is long; only recommended for the fit & confident map reader

To see Port Isaac without the traffic, park at Port Gaverne and walk along the coast path. Note, this takes longer than you’d think! Coasts wiggle. There’s a shack in Port Isaac where you can buy takeaway local dressed crab, or pub/cafe. You can take a quicker inland route back

Wadebridge & around. Full of lovely shops.

• Hiring bikes and cycling the Camel Trail (to Padstow or Bodmin) is deservedly popular.
• Clapper Yard pottery studio in Egloshayle on the left just before Wadebridge.
• Old-school cinema.
• Camel Valley vineyard nearby for a glass of fizz on their terrace with view of their vines and valley. Also Trevibban Mill Vineyard the far side of Wadebridge.
• Pencarrow for its old-fashioned courtyard cafe with roaming peacocks and quirky play area
• Circle Contemporary Gallery in the Hawksfield complex on the A39 just beyond Wadebridge. It’s modern. There’s a great cafe and homewares store next door too.
  See also foodie recommendations earlier

North coast (plus see earlier beach recommendations)

• The cliffs around Crackington Haven (useful if the A30 is blocked Westbound). Steep but glorious! Good cafe at Crackington itself. Also useful and charming community run store at the top of the hill (follow signs)
• Tintagel is great – new bridge is a bit Marmite but we think it’s spectacular. However a honeypot, so walk in if you can or go early! Boscastle ditto – beautiful but too popular; coast walk in if you can.
• St Nectan’s Glen between Boscastle & Tintagel becoming a bit too well known now, but on the plus side there’s a great new cafe (walk to only) called “Tree of Life”

Go East

• Endsleigh House Hotel & Gardens: yes, it’s in Devon, though only just, in a magical Sir Humphrey Repton-designed setting on the bank of the Tamar. Fun for children to explore (grotto, dell, waterfall, giant redwood…), and you can order afternoon teas and picnics to eat in the grounds.
• Hidden Valley Discovery Park: quirky, sweet visitor attraction for children just north of Launceston. Maze, train, puzzle solving activities. Fun to combine with steam train ride & to Launceston to see the small castle on the hill

South side of the moor:

• Siblyback Reservoir: kayak/paddleboard hire, cycle route & activity centre, playground and v good cafe (Olive & co).
• Golitha Falls, with cafe. A bit over-rated but atmospheric in the rain under the trees..
• Minions stone things: the Hurlers (stone circles) and Cheesewring (natural rock formations), quoit, mining remains. Visitor centre has closed.
• Sterts Theatre (summer only) is an atmospheric semi-outdoor venue with some good productions
• Lostwithiel. Ancient stannary town and site of a major Civil War battle. Medieval bridge with paddling & picnic spot; great pasties and antique/bric a brac shops. Just up the road is the Duchy Nursery, from where you can walk to Restroom Castle (English Heritage, 40 mins)

South coast:

• Charlestown, with old boats and pretty harbour. Bit of a honeypot in high season.
• Roseland Peninsula. Bit further but a lovely area with excellent walking.
• Lost Gardens of Heligan are a justified tourist magnet; run by same people as Eden Project but very different; both worth visiting
• Fowey/Bodinnick/Polruan. Beautiful. See earlier notes.
• Lerryn, between Lostwithiel and Fowey. Go at low tide and walk over the stepping stones. Nice pub and village shop.
• Lanhydrock: magnificent National Trust property with tragic family story & interesting upstairs/downstairs focus; great grounds with cycle trails. Park at Restormel Bridge and walk up. Or hire bikes from main car park.
• The back steps of the barn for sunset G&Ts – or wander up onto the moor behind the cottage for a 360-degree sunset view.
• ..contact me for more ideas!