Stone & Story

Arrive at Plymouth station and transfer to the historic Barbican, where a ferry carries you across the Sound to Cawsand — a quiet fishing village tucked into the far side of the bay. It's an arrival that sets the tone for the week: unhurried, scenic, and nothing like the way most people enter Cornwall. An optional road transfer is available for those wishing to avoid the ferry, or in poor weather. Enjoy your first dinner at the Devonport Inn and then head to the hotel to settle in.

Head inland to Bodmin Moor, Cornwall's wild granite upland, for a morning walk among ancient tors and Bronze Age stone circles that have watched over this landscape for thousands of years. After lunch at Olive & Co, visit the Kerdroya Labyrinth — a striking land art installation built from Cornish stone in traditional Cornish hedging style — before stopping at Jamaica Inn, the 18th-century coaching house made famous by Daphne du Maurier's novel of smugglers and wreckers.

Walk the coast path to Looe, one of Cornwall's most charming fishing towns, where the harbour is still a working centre of the local fishing trade. Lunch is at the Sardine Factory, right on the quayside. In the afternoon, join the celebrated Hall Walk following a route through ancient woodland above the river with superb views and strong associations with the Civil War.

Step back in time and follow in the footsteps of Daphne du Maurier along the paths that inspired some of English literature's most beloved novels. This is the Cornwall she fell in love with — wooded estuaries, hidden coves and a dramatic coastline that feels worlds away from the tourist trail. After lunch at the Red Rocket cafe, explore historic Fowey on foot and pause for a cream tea in the town where du Maurier lived and wrote for over forty years.

Venture into Cornwall's clay country — a strange, beautiful landscape of wooded peaks and turquoise pools created by centuries of china clay mining. Visit the Wheal Martyn Museum for the story of the industry that shaped this landscape and ships its product across the globe. In the afternoon, transfer to Charlestown, and walk down to the perfectly preserved Georgian harbour that doubled as a filming location for Poldark, in which your guide Lucy was a supporting artist. Complete the afternoon with a gentle coast path walk to your hotel.

Your final walking day takes you on a circular coastal route from Mevagissey, one of Cornwall's most picturesque fishing villages where colourful boats crowd the harbour, on coastal and countryside paths. Lunch is at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, one of Cornwall's finest gardens, still largely worked as they were 100 years ago when the gardeners left to go to war (WW1). The afternoon is spent on a guided tour of the gardens, where a great uncle of Lucy's worked, and a fitting end to the week.

Say goodbye to Cornwall's south coast and transfer to St Austell station for your journey home — or onward to your next adventure. After a week with Lucy, you'll leave with a Cornwall that runs deeper than the postcards: a landscape of ancient stones, literary legends and harbours that still work to the rhythm of the tide.