The Grand Tour

Arrive at Bodmin Parkway station where Ruan and your driver will welcome you to Cornwall. The drive north takes you through rolling countryside to Camelot Castle Hotel, a Victorian castle perched above the cliffs at Tintagel — where Churchill, Ava Gardner and Noël Coward once stayed. Settle in and explore the castle grounds before your first dinner in the dining room, with the coast stretching out beneath you.

Your first full day begins at Tintagel — the legendary birthplace of King Arthur. Cross the bridge to the castle ruins on the headland, where medieval walls cling to the cliffs above the Atlantic and the views reach for miles in both directions. From there, drive the coast road to Boscastle, a narrow inlet squeezed between towering cliffs that once sheltered smugglers and still shelters one of Cornwall's most atmospheric harbours. Stroll the village and harbour before lunch. The afternoon brings you to Port Isaac — the impossibly pretty fishing village made famous as the setting for Doc Martin — for a walk around the harbour lanes and a cream tea overlooking the water.

Head inland to Lanhydrock, the National Trust's grandest Cornish house — a Victorian country estate with extraordinary kitchens, forty-nine rooms open to the public, and a gatehouse dating to the 1650s. After a morning exploring the house and grounds, drive to the Eden Project for lunch among the biomes — vast domes housing rainforest and Mediterranean gardens in a reclaimed clay pit. The afternoon takes you south to Fowey, Daphne du Maurier's beloved harbour town. Explore the narrow lanes, the waterfront, and the bookshops before settling into Fowey Hall — the Victorian mansion said to have inspired Toad Hall — overlooking the estuary.

Begin at Charlestown, the perfectly preserved Georgian harbour that doubled as a filming location for Poldark, with tall ships still moored in the dock. From there, drive to the Lost Gardens of Heligan — 200 acres of restored Victorian gardens that were lost under brambles for seventy-five years before being rediscovered in 1990. Wander the pleasure grounds, the jungle valley, and find the famous Mud Maid sleeping beneath her blanket of moss. Lunch nearby. The afternoon takes you to the Roseland Peninsula — the King Harry chain ferry across the Fal, the subtropical churchyard at St Just in Roseland, and the Tudor castle at St Mawes built by Henry VIII to guard the estuary entrance.

The first of two days in Cornwall's far west — and perhaps the most memorable day of the week. Cross the ancient causeway at low tide to St Michael's Mount, the tidal island crowned by a medieval castle that rises from Mount's Bay like something from a fairy tale. Explore the castle, the chapel, and the subtropical gardens that cling to the rock face. After lunch, visit the Minack Theatre — an extraordinary open-air amphitheatre carved into the granite cliffs above Porthcurno, with the Atlantic as its backdrop. Continue to Land's End, the most south-westerly point of mainland Britain, before transferring to Carbis Bay Hotel — five-star, with its own private Blue Flag beach.

Your final day begins with the scenic branch line train from St Erth into St Ives — fifteen minutes along the coast with the sea on both sides, one of the great short railway journeys in Britain. Explore the town's world-class galleries, including the Tate St Ives and Barbara Hepworth's studio and sculpture garden, where her bronzes still stand among the palms and olive trees exactly as she left them. Lunch harbourside. In the afternoon, drive to St Agnes and stroll the clifftop path past Wheal Coates — the dramatically positioned engine house that has become one of the most photographed landmarks in Cornwall — with a stop at Chapel Porth beach before returning to the hotel for a farewell dinner to celebrate the week.

Say goodbye to Cornwall and transfer to St Erth station for your journey home — or onward to your next adventure. After a week with Ruan, you'll leave having seen the Cornwall that makes the postcards and the Cornwall that lies beyond them — from the castle on the cliff at Tintagel to the fishing boats in Port Isaac, the tidal island in Mount's Bay, and the engine houses standing watch on the headland at St Agnes.