Mr & Mrs Smith

Nearwater’s owners, Tim and Amelia, have a shrimp boat, which they’ll happily skipper for you if you fancy a bounce on the waves (£75 for a half-day; £150 for a full day). Tim takes his yacht racing on Sunday mornings, and is more than happy to take two guests with him (no charge). The B&B has kayaks and bikes for rent so guests can explore the Roseland Peninsula, and Tim has a sideline running Nearwater Walking Holidays, so if you need a rambling recommendation, he’s your man. This part of Cornwall is great for budding botanists, with the Eden Project (www.edenproject.com) and the Lost Gardens of Heligan (www.heligan.com) near St Austell, and National Trust property Trelissick Garden, home to an open-air theatre in summer.

Paul Wadham’s excellent restaurant at Hotel Tresanton (+44 (0)1326 270055) is just an appetite-inducing wander from Nearwater, and serves up superb fish dishes with spectacular sea views. A bit further up the coast, just outside Portscatho, Driftwood (+44 (0)1872 580644) serves a Modern European menu, with predictably good seafood. Rick Stein’s Fish & Chips is the chef’s newest outpost, a ferry ride away in Falmouth, and it offers crisply battered local favourites such as John Dory and bass, as well as champagne and Fal oysters in the bar upstairs, too.

The Victory Inn (+44 (0)1326 270324) is St Mawes’s pre-eminent local, a title closely contested by The Rising Sun (+44 (0)1326 270233), which is as good for an afternoon cream tea as a slap-up fish supper. 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 local fish or pheasant.

Beside St Mawes’ pier, Café Chandler is a must for coffee while watching the ships come in and roll away. Pick up picnic supplies at the divine deli too (+44 (0)1326 270998).

May There are May Day celebrations in St Ives, Padstow and throughout Cornwall. Mid May The Daphne du Maurier Literary Festival in Fowey includes talks, theatre, exhibitions, concerts and guided walks (www.dumaurierfestival.co.uk). June The Royal Cornwall Show is a showcase for the county’s food (www.royalcornwallshow.org). August Head to the water – there’s the Ripcurl Boardmasters in Newquay’s Fistral Bay (www.ripcurlboardmasters.com), Falmouth Classics Regatta Week (www.falmouthweek.co.uk) and the Fowey Royal Regatta (www.foweyroyalregatta.co.uk). October Glug down bivalves at the Falmouth Oyster Festival (www.falmouthoysterfestival.co.uk).