Port Isaac Bay scenic drive

• Turn right onto the B3263 and drive down Trewarmett Hill and up the valley passing slate quarries on either side. At the top of the road is a sharp bend to the left of which is Condolden Barrow (access is up a lane to the left).

The location and massive proportions of Condolden Barrow suggests that a figure of considerable importance is buried here. Thomas Hardy presented it as the final resting place of Queen Isolde in his play, The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall, about a pair of doomed lovers, Tristan and Isolde, who were much like Lancelot and Guinevere.

Many scholars believe that the barrow is the burial place of Cador, the sixth century king of Cornwall. In the 12th century poem The Dream of Rhonabwy, Cador is described as one of Arthur's knights and is said to have led the British warriors in their rout of the West Saxon army at the Siege of Mount Badon. Cador is also mentioned in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain as Arthur's sword bearer at his coronation and a caretaker of Guinevere.

• Follow the main road round the sharp bend to the right and to a T-junction. At the T-junction turn right on the B3314 to Delabole.

England's oldest slate quarry (the first printed records of a slate order date from 1314), Delabole Quarry was once the deepest man-made pit in the world. Delabole slate is noted for its uniform colour, durability and imperviousness to rain making it popular for roofing. There is a visitor centre (open Mon to Fri 8am - 4:30pm) with some interesting historical photos including the Duke of Windsor (then Prince of Wales), plummeting down the tram line into the quarry! Guided tours of the quarry are available at 2pm daily, Mon-Fri from the start of May to the end of August.

• Follow the B3314 out of Delabole passing some left turns to St Teath. Take a right turn to Port Gaverne.

At high tide the beach at Port Gaverne is a shingle which is mostly flint - unusual in North Cornwall where most beaches are a golden sand composed of slate and fragments of shell. The reason is that the flint was used as ballast for incoming ships collecting Delabole slate which was brought to the coast by horse and cart.

• Follow the road up the hill to Port Isaac. Park in the car park at the top of the hill and walk if you want to explore Port Isaac (the roads are extremely narrow).

Port Isaac is a pretty fishing village with narrow winding alleys running down the steep hillside to the harbour. Particularly noteworthy is the number of 18th and 19th century white-washed cottages and granite, slate-fronted houses, many officially listed as of architectural or historic importance.

Port Isaac was a busy coastal port from the Middle Ages to the mid 19th century where cargoes like slate, coal and timber were shipped in and out. The economy was also heavily based around the pilchard trade and the sheds where the women cleaned and salted the pilchards now house the fish merchant and tiny aquarium. The stone pier was built in about 1300, and the rest of the harbour in the 19th century. In the church here for the harvest festival celebration, fish, nets, oars and lobster pots took the place of the more conventional flowers and fruit. It's still an active fishing port with locally landed fish available for sale at the fish merchants.

• Take the main road out of Port Isaac (B3267) to a T-junction. Turn right onto the B3314 to St Endellion.

St Endellion lies on the B3267 just past the turning to Port Isaac. There is a music festival here every Easter and Summer. There is a farm shop on the left just before you reach St Endellion, and look out for the famous 'Longcross' near the church.

• In St Endellion turn right just before the church (signpost to Port Quin) and follow the road to Port Quin.

Port Quin is a tiny cluster of fisherman's cottages around a sheltered inlet. In the early 19th century the village had upwards of 20 houses, but was then suddenly deserted. The local legend is that one night a violent gale sank the entire fishing fleet leaving 32 women widowed. The harbour was used for filming the Poldark series.

• Follow the lane south up the hill from Port Quin which ends in a T-junction at a staggered crossroads. Turn right and follow the road past the Portreath Bee centre. Just past here the road forks. Take the right fork signposted to Lundy Bay.

At Lundy Bay, the footpath from the car park leads to 3 small beaches. The first two make up Lundy Bay; the one on the right is Epphaven Cove. At high tide the beaches are rocky. At low tide they join up to form a beautiful sandy beach. About half way along there is a collapsed cave forming an arch onto the beach which you can walk through at low tide and see from the path on the way down.

• Follow the road past Lundy Bay and turn left at the crossroads, through the caravan park to a T-junction. Turn right at the T-junction to Polzeath.

Polzeath rivals Bude for Cornwall's second surf capital after Newquay. Bustling in the summer, it's a good place to get surf lessons, buy surf gear or just give it a go. There is quite a lot of parking (on the top of the beach itself).

There is a beach at all stages of the tide. Down the left side of the beach there are some good rockpools at low tide. The rest of the beach is very flat and sandy, which can make for some long rides (and paddles!) if you are surfing, but also means in the shallows the waves are small which makes it safer for small children to paddle or surf than some of the steeper beaches further north. It's lifeguard patrolled and there is usually a separately flagged malibu area to avoid surfers mowing down swimmers. To the left along the coast path are a number of smaller beaches. Also to the right onto Pentire Point there are a couple of small beaches.

The tide goes out and comes in a long way so bear that in mind to avoid floating picnics. In the event of such a catastrophe or for those more inclined there are a number of cafés around the beach and even a grocery shop. There is often an ice cream van on the beach in the Summer so parents may want to be armed with change to avoid diplomatic incidents.

The shortened route resumes here:

• If your appetite for "proper" Cornish lanes hasn't been exhausted take turning left onto Trebarwith Road just past Lugg's garage; the route involves a steep hill with a hairpin bend - it you don't fancy this then just head straight through Delabole and back the way you originally set out.
• If you opted for the Trebarwith Road route then take the first lane to the right from Trebarwith Road. This ends in a steep hill and near the bottom of the hill is a steep bend.
• At the bottom of the hill, turn left and drive up Trewarmett Hill to Park Farm.