My Cornwall: our expert's favourite places After stopping for a coffee and a home-baked doughnut at Porthmeor Beach Café, perched on Lizard Point (aerial display by rare choughs most days), follow the flower-studded coastal path as it rises and falls between headlands all the way to the thatched houses of Cadgwith. Nigel Legge, a lobster fisherman, runs short boat trips from here: book on 01326 290716 (lobsterpots.co.uk). Buy fresh crab sandwiches from the village crab shack or try a delicious home-made burger or fish and chips at the Cadgwith Cove Inn (cadgwithcoveinn.com). Order a taxi back to Lizard village or take the field path via Grade church and a rare surviving section of a Cornish hedge path leading to Trethvas Farm (raised above the fields so Victorian ladies could walk to viewpoints in crinolines). I drop in at Cross Common Nursery in Lizard village to see its unusual and subtropical plants (01326 290722; crosscommonnursery.co.uk). It's hard to ignore the call of the salted caramel ice cream at Roskilly's organic farm (roskillys.co.uk) near St Keverne; children can watch the Jersey cows being milked at 4.30pm daily. Church Cove, near the village of Gunwalloe, a few miles to the west, is a good place to flop back in the sun. Up the hill is the 500-year-old Halzephron Inn (01326 240406; halzephron-inn.co.uk), which has a grandstand view of the sunset over Land's End: the perfect place to enjoy supper and a Betty Stogs ale. Where I tell my friends to stay For a special treat, there's nowhere to beat The Scarlet (01637 861800; scarlethotel.co.uk), 37 sumptuous bedrooms above Mawgan Porth, a big surf beach on the north coast near Newquay. Great food, intimate lounges, indoor and outdoor pools and a spa. Double rooms from £155 a night. St Ives has a clutch of new guesthouses in the heart of the resort with spacious rooms and chic decor: Trevose Harbour House in the old fishermen's quarter (01736 793267; trevosehouse.co.uk; doubles from £135); The Tide House (01736 791803; thetidehouse.co.uk; doubles from £115); and, for the budget-conscious, the Queens Hotel, which has bright, modern triple rooms that will take an extra cot (01736 796468; queenshotelstives.com; doubles from £89). I direct friends with young children to the Polurrian Bay Hotel (01326 240421; polurrianhotel.com), in a beautiful clifftop setting on the Lizard peninsula. It has a crèche for babies from three months, allows dogs in some rooms, and has an indoor pool and spa. Doubles from £125. Favourite walk The four-mile circular Hall Walk from Fowey to Polruan. Park for the Bodinnick Ferry and cross the river. The house on the right, Ferryside, was Daphne du Maurier's first home in Cornwall. Head uphill a short way and take a footpath on the right marked Hall Walk. The path skirts the river estuary, rising and falling through oak woods, with constantly changing views over the port of Fowey. Go around Pont Pill and on to the boatbuilding village of Polruan for the foot ferry back to Fowey and its welcoming waterside pubs and cafés. On summer Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons, the traditional wooden Troy Class sailing boats race each other around the estuary. Favourite restaurants The Porthmeor Beach Café (01736 793366; porthmeor-beach.co.uk) in St Ives serves superb tapas, particularly the Sicilian arancini, marinated octopus, and chorizo meatballs. Finish with freshly made churros dipped in chocolate. The café's owners have recently opened the West Beach Bakery further along the beach, serving artisan stone-baked pizza, sandwiches and cakes (gluten-free options), all baked on the premises. The rustic Tolcarne Inn in Newlyn (01736 363074) is the place for perfectly cooked fish. It's owned and run by Ben Tunnicliffe, one of Cornwall's top chefs, who buys straight from the boats and chalks up a daily menu. Ben Prior's Cornish Kitchen in Marazion (01736 719200; benscornishkitchen.com) is another regular haunt. This year it has added a first-floor dining room with views over St Michael's Mount. Modern British dishes cooked with love include locally shot game as well as fish and seafood. Take my advice and... Catch the open-top 300 Cornwall Explorer hop-on-hop-off bus that runs both ways around the Land's End peninsula (firstgroup.com). It's a great way to see both moor and sea, and visit St Ives, Sennen and Marazion without the hassle of parking. There are also convenient stops for walkers tackling a section of the coastal path. Favourite tea shop Rosemergy Farm (rosemergy.com) for a classic cream tea: fresh Aga-baked scones, clotted cream and jam served with a pot of tea in a sheltered garden with a view near Morvah, on the coast road west of St Ives. Favourite pub The Tinners Arms (01736 796927; tinnersarms.com), a cosy medieval pub in the ancient village of Zennor. Real ales, a good kitchen and sea views from the large, sunny terrace. Favourite pastime with children Most beaches have rock pools, many rich in pipefish, crabs, prawns and anemones. Among the best are Treyarnon Bay near Padstow, Gerrans Bay near Portscatho, Duckpool Beach near Bude and Castle Beach, Falmouth. Perfect night out Taking a picnic and a warm rug to see a performance at the outdoor Minack Theatre (minack.com), built into the cliffs near Land's End. This summer's highlights include Ilkley Playhouse's Wuthering Heights and the Shakespeare's Globe production of The Taming of the Shrew. At times, the seascape steals the show as eyes stray to a rising full moon or a leaping dolphin. What I'll be doing this year Visiting Port Eliot, the home of the Earl of St Germans in south-east Cornwall, which is open to the public most afternoons until July 15. It has delightfully eccentric interiors (the original architect was Sir John Soane) and grounds that sweep majestically down to the Tamar: porteliot.co.uk. Trying the new SkyWire at the Eden Project, the longest zipwire in England, which travels at 60mph high above the biomes. Rides cost £15 (edenproject.com). What to read and watch for inspiration The series of 20 Pocket Cornwall books, illustrated guides by local experts. Some explore corners of the county, others focus on birds, flowers and geology: full list from alisonhodgepublishers.co.uk. Catch Summer in February in the cinema this month, based on a true story of love, art and scandal in the Edwardian art colony at Lamorna, near Penzance.