EXPLORING THE LIZARD AND BEYOND

  The stunning Lizard Peninsula is one of only 46 designated UK Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This beautiful part of Cornwall offers ocean views and spectacular scenery. The most southerly place in Britain, Lizard Point, boasts dramatic cliffs and turquoise seas. Kynance Cove, with its white beaches and rock stacks, stretches from Lizard Point to Gwennap Head. The Land’s End peninsula, with its steep, cliff faces, is the most westerly point of Cornwall.

  Local attractions include Poldark Mine, the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, Flambards Theme Park, and the National Trust’s Godolphin Estate with its medieval garden and historic house. The Museum of Cornish Life displays thousands of objects over three floors within Helston’s historic market buildings, providing a fascinating insight into local traditions.

The fishing ports of Porthleven and Cadgwith provide picturesque, romantic harbours, with interesting old buildings. During winter storms, Porthleven attracts visitors to watch waves crashing over the sea defences.

 A little further afield is the National Maritime Museum, Falmouth and St Michael’s Mount, a striking tidal island linked to Marazion by a man-made causeway.

 Poldhu Beach is a perfect spot for surfing with its surf school providing lessons from qualified tutors. Its beach cafe is open 363 days a year.

Porthkerris Divers offer shore diving from the nearby secluded cove of Porthkerris, as well as boat diving to numerous diving sites around the Lizard. A popular spot is the Manacles Marine Conservation Zone, with its colourful reefs and plentiful shipwrecks, which offer an amazing range of scenic diving.

In the summer months, basking sharks can be seen in Falmouth Bay, as well as visiting pods of dolphins and the occasional seal.

  The open-air Minack Theatre at Porthcurno, with its stunning cliff-side location, is one of the world’s most spectacular theatres, with the sea providing a dramatic backdrop.

Well-known locally for their unique, full-blooded style, the Cadgwith Singers are a group of friends who will lift your spirits with traditional songs. Catch them if you can at local venues, including the Five Pilchards Inn.

  Romantic novelist Daphne du Maurier lived locally and wrote Frenchman’s Creek about an English Lady and her French pirate lover, based in a secluded Helford creek. Bestselling writer Rosamunde Pilcher, author of The Shell Seekers, is one of Cornwall’s literary greats. The TV adaptations of her books include stunning scenic Cornish settings.

Cornwall is Poldark county, and smuggling scenes for the popular BBC period drama are shot at the sandy cove of Gunwalloe. Kynance Cove with its white sand and sea caves is ideal for Nampara beach scenes, while Predannack Wollas, The Lizard, provides the stunning backdrop for Poldark’s legendary horseback shots.