Day One
For lovers of artists, fishing villages and impossibly blue seas
There is nowhere better to begin than St Ives. Few places have inspired quite so many painters, sculptors and writers, and after an hour wandering its narrow streets you’ll quickly understand why. We’d explore the galleries with a knowledgeable local guide before stepping away from the crowds to meet one of Cornwall’s talented contemporary artists in their own gallery. It’s these conversations that bring a place to life far more than any guidebook ever could.
Stay at the magnificent Carbis Bay Hotel, perched above its own Blue Flag beach, where the sea seems to stretch endlessly towards the horizon. Spend the evening enjoying exceptional seafood before falling asleep to the sound of the Atlantic.
Day Two
For explorers, romantics and anyone who believes picnics always taste better beside the sea
This is Cornwall at its most spectacular.
Begin at St Michael’s Mount, walking across the tidal causeway before exploring the castle and magnificent gardens with a private guide who brings centuries of stories to life. From there, forget motorways and sat navs. Cornwall is best discovered slowly.
Follow the coast through dramatic cliffs and tiny fishing villages until you reach Mullion Cove, where a gourmet picnic somehow tastes even better with waves crashing against the rocks below. Continue to Lizard Point, the southernmost point in mainland Britain, stopping for a Roskilly’s ice cream while watching seals basking lazily below the cliffs.
As afternoon turns to evening, make your way via Mousehole to the extraordinary Minack Theatre. Watching a performance with nothing but the Atlantic Ocean as your backdrop is one of those experiences that stays with you forever. On the journey home, we’d take the coast road via Botallack, where the abandoned tin mines seem to tumble into the sea and where fans of Poldark will instantly recognise the landscape.
Day Three
For food lovers, sailors and those who secretly wish they lived in Cornwall
Today belongs to the Roseland Peninsula, one of Cornwall’s quieter corners and, in our opinion, one of its most beautiful.
Cross the Fal on the wonderfully old-fashioned King Harry Ferry before arriving at the charming Philleigh Way Cookery School, where local ingredients and generations of Cornish knowledge come together in a relaxed, hands-on experience. Afterwards, take the scenic route to St Mawes, perhaps pausing in tiny Portscatho simply because it looks too pretty to drive past.
We love staying at The Idle Rocks, where sailing boats gently bob in the harbour and life seems to move at exactly the right pace. If time allows, head out onto Falmouth Bay aboard a beautifully restored classic yacht, or simply settle into a harbourside chair with a glass of something chilled and watch the world drift by.
As the evening draws in, there is no better way to finish than listening to one of Cornwall’s wonderful traditional singers before dinner overlooking the water, ending three days that somehow feel both wonderfully relaxing and impossibly full.
Of course, three days are nowhere near enough.
We haven’t even reached the Lost Gardens of Heligan, cycled the Camel Trail to Padstow for Rick Stein’s famous seafood, wandered through Tintagel Castle in search of King Arthur, explored Prideaux Place or discovered Cornwall’s excellent vineyards.
But perhaps that’s exactly the point.
Cornwall isn’t somewhere you tick off.
It’s somewhere you return to.
Because long after you’ve left, you’ll find yourself wondering what lies around the next headland, which little harbour you missed, and whether perhaps, just perhaps, three days was never going to be enough after all.