If you make a visit to Trago Mills then make sure you find time to visit Carnglaze Caverns, which is very close by. I think this is the country’s only visitable underground slate mine. You can find out about the miners’ ingenuity and skills, and how slate roofed the Industrial Revolution.

A self-guided underground tour about 150m into the hillside and 60m below ground shows you how the mine was worked, ending at the Underground Lake with its crystal clear blue/green water (from which the house above draws its water).

The first of the three caverns, the Rum Store, was one of the nation’s safe storage areas during WW2. It is now used as a 400 capacity concert and event venue with outstanding acoustics and atmosphere with a wide range of musical entertainment and events throughout the year. It is also an unusual wedding venue for both ceremonies and receptions!

The caverns are a constant 10°C underground – a jumper and sensible footwear are recommended and as the caverns are underground it makes for an ideal wet weather activity. There is also a woodland trail that takes you around one side of what was once a quarry. Look out for fairies in the Enchanted Dell!

Carnglaze Caverns website

An hours drive from the lodge, St Ives has to be visited at least once. Now the home of the Tate St Ives Gallery, the town has long been a mecca of artists, drawn by the supposed unique light of the peninsula. So expect lots of galleries and art-themed venues.

While the exhibitions at the Tate can be of variable taste, do visit it at least once. The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden is definitely a must (book your entry first).

Wander through the maze of narrow cobbled streets, independent shops and fisherman’s cottages in the heart of St Ives. It has its fair share of fudge shops but there a plenty of more unique things to see besides. For a town packed solid with visitors in the summer, some of the back streets are surprisingly run down, but don’t let that put you off!

St Ives is rammed in the summer and parking is at a premium – most likely you will end up in a car park at the top of the hill with a steep walk down to the town. Much better to do the park and ride – stop at St Erth, a few miles from St Ives. You will catch a shuttle train that runs along the estuary, so sit on the right-hand side to get the views. Trains run every half an hour or so and it makes a visit to St Ives much less stressful!

Charlestown grew out of a small fishing village but was transformed in 1791 by Charles Rashleigh who begin the construction of a harbour and dock.

The port was built to facilitate the transport of copper from nearby mines. Crinnis Hill Mine to the east of the village exported some 40,000 tons of copper ore between 1810 and 1813. As the local mines became exhausted and their output dropped, the port was used to export china clay from the region’s quarries until very recent times (the last commercial load leaving in the year 2000).

The port is now owned by the Square Rigger company that runs sailing ships from the harbour. There are cafes, pubs, galleries, an antique centre, the Shipwreck & Heritage Centre and a few classy restaurants.

To this day the port remains unspoiled and retains much of its Georgian character. This unique combination has led to Charlestown being a popular location for film and television locations, including Doctor Who, Poldark, Hornblower, Mansfield Park, Alice in Wonderland, The Eagle Has Landed and many more.

Crackington Haven lies between Boscastle and Bude on the North Atlantic coastline.

The foreshore is covered with attractive marbled humbug pebbles and fist-sized stones (signs warn against removing souvenirs from the beach) and to the left and right are unusual craggy rocks running to the sea. Most of the beach, when at low tide, is sandy. The surrounding cliffs are well known for their visible folded sedimentary rock formations. Plenty of rock pools at low tide.

It began life as a small port importing limestone and coal for the lime kiln and exporting slate from small, local quarries. Look out for the traces of a donkey path going down to Strangle Beach where sand, stone and slate were collected.

Like many Cornwall beaches, there is a seasonal dog ban of Easter day to 1st October. There are two cafes, shop, pub, toilets and surf hire with a pay and display car park.

While the fishing industry and boat building still survives at Padstow, the main industry is now leisure

Padstow’s gated harbour is filled with pleasure boats, surrounded all around by children with crab lines. There is a regular ferry across the river to Rock, a village which has lately been all but taken over by the young and posh from London. Other vessels offer cruises around the bay.

It’s hard to read anything about Padstow without the name of a certain celebrity chef being mentioned; Padstow is often referred to as Padstein. While there are many eateries related to Rick Stein, there are plenty of others. Beyond food and drink, Padstow has more than its fair share of galleries and clothes shops.

The lobster hatchery is worth a visit and crab fishing is a must. I think Padstow is best visited on bike from Wadebridge but if you are coming by car don’t attempt to park on the harbour – use the large carpark on the main road (£4 for three hours). Alternatively, in the summer season, there is now a park & ride situated on the outskirts of the town. £5 per car, with buses every ten minutes – a great idea.

Choose a fine day and wear sensible shoes or walking boots. This isn’t a hike but not a walk in the park either.

If you aren’t walkers (we aren’t) then the prospect looks a bit daunting looking up from the car park (free and easily reached from a right-hand turning as you begin to leave Camelford heading north). However, progress is fairly swift and if you head towards Little Rough Tor on the left you are soon treated with excellent views over the moors.

Then make your way across to the larger Rough Tor, which involves a bit of clambering to explore fully. Retrace your steps to return to the carpark, don’t try to clamber down Rough Tor. Or do what Mary did, pretend to twist an ankle and get a helicopter sent out for you.

The area is covered with Neolithic, Bronze age and Medieval field formations, enclosures and hut circles. It needs a bit of imagination to work out what and where they are, but it is cool to be in amongst ancient history. To be honest, I think there were much more sensible place to establish a settlement but hey, that’s 4,000BC for you.

Highly recommended, especially as this site of special scientific interest and National Park is on the doorstep of the lodge. Allow 3 hours, more if you have a nap at the top. OK for teenagers and older, I wouldn’t attempt it with little people.

Delabole Slate Quarry has been in operation for around 1000 years and over 10 million tonnes of slate has been quarried since it was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. The quarry is now almost 500 feet deep and over 1.5 miles around. Once the largest man-made holes in Europe, it is an amazing sight to see.

From 1st May to 31st August, a short walking tour will start at 2pm each day Monday to Friday (not bank holidays). You can phone and book or just arrive around 1.45pm and a tour will run. There is a short version at £2.50 but go for the longer tour at £8.00. You will have an overview of the quarry from the viewing platform, then a walk around the works seeing rock cutting, different grades of slate blocks and the age-old skill of hand-splitting roof slates.

An interesting and recommended visit. Note that safety gear is provided and children need to be over 8 years of age.

Delabole slate quarry lies just over the hill opposite the lodge (the windmills you see to the right are on the adjoining Delabole windfarm). However, to reach the quarry don’t take the quickest route as the lane is narrow, windy and steep. Instead, head out on the normal road that goes to Trebarwith Strand/ Tintagel etc and follow the signs for Delabole. There are a few brown signs pointing to the quarry but they are small and easily missed. Head on through Delabole village, turn left at the Spa shop (opposite the Bettle and Chisel pub) into the road called Pengelly. The car park is right at the end.

Something of a crazy museum. Built by the passion of one man the museum documents the history of the Davidstow airfield.

The land was acquired in 1941 and a three-runway airfield with extensive dispersal areas was constructed in the first half of 1942. RAF Davidstow Moor closed in December 1945 at the end of World War II and many of the buildings including the hangars were soon removed. It became a motor racing circuit, known as Davidstow Circuit and in the early 1950s three Formula One races were held there (the Cornwall MRC Formula 1 Races) including the first success for the Lotus marque. Some of the airfield is currently used as a microlight club.

The Davistow Airfield and Cornwall at War Museum has been set up to commemorate the work and people of RAF Davidstow Moor. It is located next to a creamery where Davidstow and Cathedral City cheeses are produced. Many exhibits cover life in World War II in Cornwall, including other airfields along the North Cornwall coast, the Royal Navy, Army and civilian services, and life on the home front. Other exhibits include artefacts from the Royal Observer Corps and the Light Infantry, vehicles and weapons.

If you are interested in militaria or the social history of WW2 then there is much of interest, but this is a haphazard site and clearly run on a shoestring budget and relies on volunteers. Perhaps this is what makes it something different. I enjoyed the madness of it – summed up by the utter weirdness of the officer’s mess. I didn’t know whether to burst out laughing or run out screaming.

Lanhydrock (a National Trust property), near Bodmin, is a magnificent late Victorian country house with extensive servants quarters, gardens and a wooded estate. After a devastating fire in 1881 the house was refurbished in the high-Victorian style, with the latest mod cons.

It is the perfect country house and estate, with the feel of a wealthy but unpretentious family home. There are 50 rooms to explore – the kitchens, nurseries and servants’ quarters offer a glimpse into life ‘below stairs’, while the spacious dining room and bedrooms are elegant and the long gallery is impressive.

There 30-acres of formal and informal woodland to explore, but the garden opens onto an extensive network of footpaths zig-zagging through 900-acres of beautiful countryside.

A newish innovation are the extensive cycle tracks – bring your own bike or hire one on-site.

Link to National Trust Lanhydrock website

Twenty-five years ago, Heligan’s historic gardens were unknown and unseen; lost under a tangle of weeds. It was only the chance discovery of a door in the ruins that led to the restoration of this once great estate. Today, The Lost Gardens have been put back where they belong: in pride of place among the finest gardens in Cornwall.

You could easily spend a day here if you walk all the trails and paths, nooks and crannies. But not to be missed is the ‘Jungle’ which sits in a steep-sided valley, creating a microclimate at least five degrees warmer than the Northern Gardens. Passing along a raised boardwalk, snaking around four ponds, past giant rhubarb, banana plantations, ferns, towering bamboo and avenues of palms. The exotic plants brought back from across the world by the intrepid Victorian plant hunters and more recent collectors have an almost Jurassic feel about them.

Plenty of refreshments are available around the site, there are children’s activities in the summer (dare them to cross the 100ft long Burmese rope bridge!), rare breed pigs, cattle, goats and sheep.

A bit of a trek heading down past St Austell, but highly recommended for all ages, doggies too. Note that much of the site has steep paths so not great for those with wobbly legs or wheeled conveyances.

Link to Heligan website