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What's happened to Cornwall? All we hear about nowadays are the clever things Rick Stein does with fish, the visionary success of the Eden Project, the ultimate teenage resort of Rock and the discreet chic of Hotel Tresanton. What ever became of those much-loved staples of Cornish holidays - crouching on a wet grey beach eating pasties; high-sided lanes clogged with caravans; gift shops with their baskets of shell souvenirs, their plastic spades swinging in an unseasonal gale? Where are those eccentric B&Bs and the take-it-or-leave it attitude to visitors?

Well, the good news is that they're all still there. It's still possible to huddle in a doorway eating fish and chips, to witness the drama of an August storm, to leave the crowds and walk for miles without seeing another soul, to feel that once you cross the River Tamar, you leave behind some of the smug familiarities of England and enter a foreign country. The best of the recent flowering of restaurants, hotels and attractions play to Cornwall's particular strengths. The duchy's pleasures have always been earned rather than dished out. They are the pleasures of discovery, of stumbling across an idyllic half-hidden cove after an infuriating bout of map-reading, of an evening of sudden sun after a rainstorm. The attractions of new Cornwall are still sufficiently scattered to be rewarding when you reach them. Cornwall remains - for now at least - wonderfully, distinctly, uniquely Cornish.



Restaurant

Porthminster Beach Cafe, St Ives (01736 795352)

With its Australian chefs and beachside location, the Porthminster Beach Cafe has become one of the best places to eat seafood in Cornwall. Built in the 1930s as a tea-room, the building was abandoned when war broke out. For half a century it languished as a store for deck chairs until reclaimed in the early 1990s by its enterprising partners. The pale sand of Porthminster beach - by sunlight or moonlight - is a spectacular backdrop. Museum

The National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Falmouth (01326 313388).

Opened in March this year, this new museum has been dubbed the "third jewel" in Cornwall's crown (the other two jewels in this unlikely piece of headgear are the Eden Project and Tate St Ives). Overlooking the historic harbour of Falmouth, the museum's galleries house a staggering range of craft. An artificial wind-pool allows you to test your sailing skills with a fleet of remote-control boats. Cornwall's maritime past - and present - is also on display, and interactive models explain the basics of navigation and maritime meteorology. Another gallery is given over to a floor-to-ceiling audio-visual show relating the story of various boats. The museum is the next best thing to actually being on the water. Hotel

St Martin's on the Isle Hotel, Isles of Scilly (01720 422092; doubles from £210).

The Isles of Scilly are to Cornwall what Cornwall is to England - an offshoot with a character all of their own. There are 54 islands in total and St Martins (pop. approx 100) boasts an excellent hotel with its own indoor swimming pool, snooker table and a beach so close that its white sand drifts up against the front door. Walk

South-west Coast Path

If you have a month or so to spare in spring or autumn, there can be few better ways to spend it than walking the Cornish part of the South-west Coast Path. If you can only spare a long weekend, the westernmost section provides a wonderful excursion. Take the mainline train to St Erth, change on to the St Ives branch-line, sling a bag over your shoulder and head west. A few days later - via the strange ancient fields around Zennor, the cliffs around Land's End, cove communities and the quieter southern section with its blonde beaches - you will reach the railway terminus at Penzance, one stop on from St Erth. Any number of B&Bs can be found among the farmsteads and villages along the path.



Sailing

The Fal Estuary

Sheltered, varied and still unspoilt, the waters of the Fal estuary offer arguably the best day-sailing in the country. The upper reaches of the Carrick Roads, the charm of the Helford River or the expanse of Falmouth Bay are all within reach of each other. In the summer there are numerous regattas to take part in. The estuary also makes a perfect base for sailing further afield - east to Fowey, south to France or west to the Isles of Scilly. Classic Sailing (01326 270027) have a variety of traditional craft for charter; Dream Seakers (01326 316100) provide sailing courses from Falmouth. Living Painter

Jeremy Le Grice

Galleries spring up in Cornwall like mushrooms. You can buy aquamarine images by the yard in quayside galleries in St Ives, Penzance, Mevagissey or Falmouth. But there are also plenty of more imaginative painters at work, continuing the centuries-old, fruitful union between artists and Cornwall's light and landscape. Among the best of the living painters is Cornish-born Jeremy Le Grice. His brooding land- and seascapes speak eloquently of the many faces of the sea and the unworldly mood of the Penwith peninsula where he lives and works. His paintings, and those of others, are available through Newlyn's Badcocks Gallery, Newlyn (01736 366159). Beach

Bedruthan Steps

Exposed to the full roll of the Atlantic swells, the north coast is best for beaches. Even in high season, walking a little way along the coast from a car park or road often turns up some under-visited treasure. Bedruthan Steps - between Padstow and Newquay - is one of the best. At low water, its yellow sands surround a series of isolated rocks, reputed to be the stepping-stones of a giant. With its pounding surf and westerly aspect, it makes for exhilarating swimming or body-boarding.



Picnic

Few of Cornwall's simple pleasures beat a cliff-top picnic. Take a bottle of Cornish cider (Veryan Cyder or Black and Gold are strong, no-nonsense cider), some cold-smoked mackerel from Cornish Smoked Fish Company (01726 72356), or a couple of home-made flans, crepes or tarts from Pencoose Pantry (01872 520511). Select a headland - Nare Head or the Dodman Point on the Roseland are as good as any - take a pair of binoculars (for birds and boats) and with good weather, I challenge you to think of anywhere in the world you would rather be.

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