DAY 1: CHARLESTOWN

TALL SHIPS & FISH ‘N CHIPS

AFTERNOON

You’re starting your CORNWALL trip on the South Coast, at pretty, dinky CHARLESTOWN, the UK’s only working Georgian port and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Built in the late 1700s to transport China clay from Cornwall’s mines to Europe and beyond, the HARBOUR [open daily from April to October from 9am to 5pm | free] seems to have changed little in the 300 years since, and its granite quay is still regularly lined with traditional tall ships. The harbour has such a step-back-in-time feel to it, in fact, that it has appeared in over 100 films and TV shows, including The Three Musketeers, Treasure Island and, most famously, the BBC series Poldark. You can continue your maritime immersion in the town’s SHIPWRECK TREASURE MUSEUM [open daily from 10am to 5pm | £6, under-18s £3, under-5s free], just up from the harbour, where the cabinets are crammed with assorted relics retrieved from over 150 shipwrecks, most notably a complete barrel of coins salvaged from a ship that scuppered in the English Channel on its way to Bengal in 1808. In summer, the harbour is a great place for an al-fresco dinner, with several pop-ups opening along the quayside – try the Charlestown Fish Co for first-rate fish and chips, or HarbourQ for tacos, BBQ trays and loaded fries.

TOP TIP A couple of the tall ships in Charlestown’s harbour offer seasonal DAY-SAILS, if you wanted a proper seafaring experience. You can choose between a topsail schooner and a Bristol Channel pilot cutter, the largest of its kind still in operation, and you can help out the crew as much, or as little, as you like. Trips along the south coast [£50, under-17s £30 | no children under 10] last 3 hours and include refreshments.

WHERE TO STAY

FOWEY HALL