Driftwood
Cornwall, United Kingdom[view map]
Local restaurants
In Portloe, the restaurant at the Lugger Hotel (+44 (0)1872 501322) serves seafood – fresh lobster and crab in particular – and has tables overlooking the picturesque harbour. Another seafood specialist, the wonderful restaurant
and bar at Olga Polizzi-designed Hotel Tresanton (+44 (0)1326 270055) has romantic views from the terrace over the bay of St Mawes, and delicious organic food.
Local bars
Tucked away in the hamlet of Ruan Lanihorne, The Kings Head (+44 (0)1872 501263) is a proper, good old-fashioned country pub: get there before 2pm for the perfect ploughman’s or a hearty lunch of locally caught fish or pheasant (mind the shot!). In the fishing village of Portscatho on the Roseland peninsula, 17th-century pub The Plume of Feathers (+44 (0)1872 580321) is ideal for fish ’n’ chips and a pint after a walk along the cliffs, or a cosy evening drink. The Roseland Inn in Philleigh (+44 (0)1872 580254) does fantastic Sunday lunches, worth booking ahead for.
Worth getting out of bed for
A stomp along the cliff paths for a pint in Portscatho. Make a boat trip to the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth (+44 (0)1326 313388; www.nmmc.co.uk) – the journey itself is worthwhile; on Saturdays and Sundays, the foot-passenger ferry from St Mawes’ fishing harbour leaves every hour, on the hour, 9am–5pm. Surfing is becoming the Cornish national pastime. The Extreme Academy, Newquay (+44 (0)1637 860840; www.watergatebay.co.uk) has the UK’s only ski resort on a beach and also organises waterskiing, windsurfing and more. Art-lovers will enjoy a nose around The Gallery Portscatho (+44 (0)1872 580719) or, a little further away, Tate St Ives (+44 (0)1736 796226; www.tate.org.uk/stives). The Eden Project is interesting enough to make a detour worthwhile (+44 (0)1726 811911; www.edenproject.com).
Diary
July/August Newquay Surf Festival (www.britsurf.co.uk). August Falmouth Classics Regatta Week. October Falmouth Oyster Festival for oysters galore, washed down with plenty of champagne and/or Guinness.