Sand, sea and no signal

Some are firm favourites, others offer an unspoilt contrast and many require effort to reach them, but each of these Cornish creeks and coves, selected by Ben Lerwill, is a place of true beauty in which to while away the hours

- Ben Lerwill

It seems restrictive to judge the Cornish coastline by its figures alone. The vital statistics are clear enough—it stretches for 422 miles, reaches heights of 732ft (at High Cliff, above Rusey Beach) and includes more than 300 beaches—but the reality is even more epic and unbound. This isa serpentine land-meets-seascape of ancient inlets and tumbling waves, of rearing cliffs and sun-caught spindrift, of smugglers’ caverns and soft sands, of winds that roar off the ocean and headlands that stand immutable. Cornwall is a promontory that invites awe.

Even in an age when modern phenomena, such as overtourism and Instagram, can remould elements of a place, there's something undiminishable about these bays and contours. It’s a part of the country that speaks to different people in different ways—you could ask 50 devotees of Cornwall to recommend their favourite coastal spots and be left with the same number of suggestions. Geology, wildlife, fishing villages, folklore, surf beaches, hiking paths, deep history, far-off horizons: all these things merge and meld as you travel around, creating a wealth of special places that lie on and off the mainstream radar.

The following highlights take in both the rugged, Atlantic-facing north coast and the calmer, but no less dramatic south. Many are rich in myth, legend and intrigue. Some are ocean exposed and salty aired, others are tucked away down wooded estuaries. Some are highly visited, others are quieter. All, however, have their own brand of Cornish magic.

Kynance Cove