Cornwall

630 miles of National Trail, about 52 days end to end, and roughly half of it is Cornish. Do day sections between two bus stops rather than trying to hold a car at both ends.

A tidal island castle off Marazion. Advance castle and garden tickets £28 adult against £32.38 on the day. Open Sunday to Friday 09.45-17.00, last entry to the island 15.45, castle closed Saturdays, garden weekdays only. Walk the causeway at low tide or pay £3.20 for the boat.

An open-air theatre cut into the cliff at Porthcurno. Daytime visit tickets £12, released about two months ahead and essential in school holidays. It is open to the weather and the paths get slippery in rain.

£15.50 with the donation, £14 without, open 10.00-17.20 daily above Porthmeor Beach. The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden is a separate ticket a few streets away, and is the better half.

The north coast runs the surf: Fistral at Newquay, Polzeath, Perranporth, Sennen. Water is 10-17C through the year, so a wetsuit is not optional, and schools supply one.

The main line from London Paddington runs the length of Cornwall to Penzance via Truro. Change at St Erth for the St Ives branch, Par for Newquay, Truro for Falmouth and Liskeard for Looe. GWR also runs the Night Riviera sleeper down overnight.

Cornwall Airport Newquay takes domestic flights from several UK cities and is far quicker than the train from northern England.

The coves, the coast path trailheads and the good beaches are not on bus routes. Lanes are single-track with hedges instead of verges, and village car parks fill by ten in August.

May, June and September: warm sea, long light, and the coast path without the school-holiday queues at every gate.

October to March. Half the seasonal places shut, but the storms are spectacular and the surf is best in autumn.

Late July and August, when roads clog, cottages triple in price and beach car parks fill before ten.

St Ives before the day-trippers: Porthmeor beach, then the Hepworth garden when it opens.

Coast path west out of St Ives towards Zennor, as rough and empty as the path gets.

Back for a crab sandwich on the harbour, or a pasty eaten standing up with your back to the gulls.

Drive round to Marazion for St Michael's Mount, timing the causeway against the tide table.

Down to Porthcurno for a performance at the Minack, with the sea behind the stage. Take a cushion and a coat.

Biomes built in a worked-out china clay pit near St Austell, with rainforest under one dome and Mediterranean planting under the other. Book online before you go.

The most southerly point in Britain, with serpentine rock stacks at Kynance and a tidal beach below the National Trust car park.