• Accommodation in Padstow
• Accommodation in Polzeath
  
• Accommodation in Wadebridge
• Accommodation in Rock, Daymer

Watching the everyday ebb and flow of harbour life is a perfect way to spend a day in Padstow. And when this gets too hectic, then spread your towel on nearby Harbour Cove, and watch the sails of the passing river traffic. Or get a sailor's view of the Camel Estuary on a boat trip, sailboard or ferry ride.

If this gives you a taste for the sea, then you can dine out in style at one of Padstow's famous seafood restaurants, or try your hand at Thai fishcakes or moules mariniere at Rick Stein's Seafood School. If you prefer your shell-fish alive and kicking, you can experience the gripping world of the National Lobster Hatchery.

Take time away from the quayside to explore the port's rich heritage - the hidden curiosities of the Town Trail, the maritime displays in Padstow Museum, and the grounds and lavish interiors of Prideaux Place, home of the Prideaux-Brune family for 400 years and film location for Twelfth Night.

On balmy summer evenings there are quayside concerts, where the brass band plays on as the sun goes down. And once a year on May Day, Padstow dances to a different tune, when the pagan 'Obby 'Oss is unleashed and the narrow streets throb to the ceaseless drumbeat and wild cavortings of this age-old fertility celebration.

Padstow, with its fleet of trawlers, netters and crabbers, and colourful harbour surrounded by pastel-washed medieval houses, is an example of what Cornwall does best - it's a working port which wears a holiday hat.

Hotels, guest houses and holiday cottages are never more than a seagull's cry from the water's edge. Narrow streets run down to a bustling waterfront where fishing boats rub gunnels with yachts and cabin cruisers, where you can get down to the serious business of watching the ebb and flow of harbour life.

If you find this too hectic, spend the afternoon relaxing at peaceful Harbour Cove, a short walk from the quay. And when the sun finally sinks below the yard-arm, it's time to tuck in to some award winnning pasties or fresh fish from one of the quayside cafes or dine in style at one of Padstow's renowned seafood restaurants.

If Padstow had a visitors' book, it would make for interesting reading. You'd find entries from the prehistoric Beaker folk, from Romans, Celtic Saints and even Viking marauders. Later inhabitants include Sir Walter Raleigh, whose Court House stands on Riverside, and the Prideaux family, still in residence at Elizabethan Prideaux Place.

On May 1st, Padstow, festooned with flags and flowers, heralds the coming of summer. The pagan 'Obby 'Oss is unleashed and the whole town drums with a carnival atmosphere from dawn to dusk.

Chances are you'll bump into the cavorting beast as it wends its way through the revellers taking part in this age-old tradition.

The Camel Estuary, flanked by low hills and farmland, inhabited by waders and wildfowl, is a dramatic contrast to the rugged Atlantic coast. The calm waters are perfect for watersports, and along a former railway winds the 18-mile Camel Trail - a cycleway and footpath running inland as far as Bodmin Moor.

From the gently shelving sands of Daymer and Trevone Bay, to the sheltered golden coves of Harlyn Bay and Mawgan Porth; from the award-winning bays of Treyarnon and Constantine to the awe-inspiring wave-swept stacks of Bedruthan - there's a superb sandy beach for every day of your holiday.

This is Betjeman Country - the landscape lovingly evoked by the Poet Laureate in Old Friends, Summoned by Bells, and Seaside Golf. Hear his poetry recited on summer evenings on Brae Hill, overlooking St Enodoc Church where the poet is buried, and see his personal artefacts at the Betjeman Centre, Wadebridge.

Its three bridges spanning the Camel, Wadebridge is an ideal touring base and attractive shopping centre, with arts, crafts and antique galleries. During the annual August Folk Festival, the shopping boulevard and pavement cafes ring to the sounds of jigs and reels, and in June the town hosts the Royal Cornwall Show - three days of arena events, stands, stalls, marquees and fairground thrills. Nearby lies the stately Georgian home of Pencarrow, with 50 acres of woodlands, Italian garden, lake and ice house.

• Accommodation in Padstow
• Accommodation in Polzeath
  
• Accommodation in Wadebridge
• Accommodation in Rock, Daymer