Enjoy a 66 mile slice of the Cornwall Coast Path with lashings of cream tea and ice cream. Cornwall has been voted Britain’s favourite holiday region and for many good reasons. Of course there are many popular tourist centres that you pass through along this walk, but on the Coastal Path you can really escape the crowds, dipping in and out of coves and harbours and ascending beside dramatic cliffs, up to high viewpoints, along promontories and back down to expansive beaches which out of the high season can be all but deserted. The climate is mild and even in bad weather the coastal landscape perhaps becomes even more dramatic.

Striding out from Padstow follow the shores of the picturesque Camel Estuary, with views of the ‘Doom Bar’ – an off shore sand bar that has destroyed many ships over the centuries. Another ubiquitous ‘Doom Bar’ can be drunk at many a Cornish pub and is equally notorious! The trail passes a natural arch with colonies of Razorbills and Guillemots in spring and past Trethias Island nature reserve, threading its way through coves to descend to Porthcothan Bay. Walking on to Newquay you pass Trevelgue Head, the largest Iron Age fort remains in the county.

Newquay is quite a shock after the day’s peaceful walk. Nevertheless the town overlooks fine golden sands which cushion the Atlantic rollers which make this Britain’s surfing capital. The trail then passes old huts used by fishermen of old to observe the pilchard migration. Nearby is the village of Holywell, named after an ancient well and equally aged Treguth Inn. Following the golden sands along Perran Beach, we pass the tiny ruin of St Piran's Oratory, said to be the oldest church in Cornwall (8th century) but reburied to protect it from erosion. From Perranporth tin mine buildings and chimneys dot the landscape. There follows a cliff top path to the harbour at Portreath. After a strenuous climb and six miles of National Trust land, you reach a rather sensational breach in the cliffs called ‘Hell's Mouth.’ Later on, you might be lucky enough to see grey seals and the lighthouse at Godrevy Point - the inspiration for Virginia Wolf's ‘To the Lighthouse’. Next is charming Gwithian, a sleepy thatched cottage village before reaching the busy port of Hayle via the dunes. Finally it is only a short walk into St.Ives, which should give you enough time for looking round its museums and galleries. St Ives is named after a fifth century Irish chieftain’s daughter ‘Ia’. St Ives was once the most important fishing port in Cornwall, however as early as 1811 Turner visited to paint the seascapes and today you will find the St Ives Tate Gallery, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and the Bernard Leach Gallery.