Cornwall is the second largest county in the South West of England but has the lowest population in the region.

The County comprises has the longest coastline of any English county, the sea forming the northern, southern and western boundaries. The River Tamar forms Cornwall's eastern boundary, almost completely severing it from Devon, creating geographical and culture isolation from the rest of the country.

290 million years ago tectonic motion further south in Europe thrust magma up under Cornwall, heaving up the peninsula of granite which now comprises the county. As the granite cooled and cracked, molten rock from below filled the cracks to form rich veins of ore, creating the mineral legacy that once made Cornwall a centre of mining the world over.

Cornwall is dominated, however, by the sea, inevitably. From great cliffs at the base of which the sea boils and seethes, to miles of sandy beaches, from sand dunes blown inland, to the smuggler's favourite, the inlets and the coves, every kind of shore can be found.

The weather comes out of the waves as well. From great gales and storms driving off the Atlantic, to the swelling of the Gulf Stream bringing sub-tropical conditions to the valleys and south facing slopes, Cornwall's climate come blowing in off the seas about it.