Charis Cottage | Tigh-na-Mara | Cornwall | What to do | Festivals & events | History | Prehistory | Present Day | Cornish Language | St Piran & the Cornish Flag |

Cornwall Looking towards Park Head at Bedruthan Steps in August. Photo by Charles Winpenny. Cornwall is the peninsular at the far South West corner of England. We have the mildest climate in Britain, our spring comes early and the warm autumn lingers longer. Cornwall is almost an island, the River Tamar cuts us off from Devon and the other sides are surrounded by the sea. Over 300 miles of coastline with superb beaches and coves are punctuated by high rocky cliffs carpeted in heather. Both the most westerly point in mainland Britain – Lands End – and the most southerly – The Lizard – are in Cornwall. Left: Perran Bay, Perranporth. Photo by Charles Winpenny. Cornwall has maintained much of its own identity in traditions and culture. It possesses distinctive physical features in its peninsular form, such as the long indented coastline, granite moorlands and tiny coves. These have influenced both the natural and socioeconomic development of the County. Right: The mine called East Pool Whim at Pool owned by The National Trust and open to the public. Photo by Charles Winpenny. Despite a past history of mining, and the gradual development of tourism to the major industry it is now, Cornwall remains essentially rural in character. Farming is still the mainstay of the economy, and agriculture is the predominant land use. Much of the countryside and the varied coastline is of high landscape value with over a 1000 square kilometers designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Many towns and villages retain an attractive and relatively unspoilt appearance. The uplands and much of the coastline have considerable importance as wildlife habitats. There are a large number of relatively undisturbed sites of great interest to the archaeologist and historian with 12,200 listed buildings and 23 (56 km2) Areas of Great Historic Value. Look at our page on prehistory to see some of them. For more information on Cornwall in general look at the Cornwall County Council web site. Lichen covered rocks at The Chair, top of the cliff to the north of Kennack Sands. Photo by Charles Winpenny. When you are in Cornwall listen to BBC Radio Cornwall – BBC's most popular mainland local radio station. You can find them on 103.9 FM in the west of the county, 95.2 in the east and 96 FM on the Isles of Scilly. Here is their web site. The BBC also have a dedicated page about Cornwall. What is the weather like today? The met office weather for Devon and Cornwall The weather forecast from BBC Radio Cornwall To find out more about this wonderful county, look at these pages we have put together for you: Prehistory: Neolithic and Celtic sites History: Shipwrecks, wreckers and smugglers Present Day: How to make a proper pasty St. Piran and the Cornish Flag: What does the white cross mean? The Cornish Language: Betho whye lowenack! Festivals and Events: Arrange your visit to Cornwall to coincide with one of our famous festivals Photos on this page by Charles Winpenny at Cornwall Cam. Every day there are different views of Cornwall on his site!