There’s only one thing to do when you arrive in Newquay, ‘surf capital of Cornwall’: get in the water. So dump your bags and head straight to the beach – Fistral, Towan or nearby Watergate Bay are all good options for a bodyboard, paddleboard or surfing lesson.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for a more relaxing start, visit the Headland Hotel Aqua Club for a swim at its cool Mediterranean-style outdoor pool.

Next, work up an appetite with a leisurely pre-dinner loop walk around Newquay Bay. This section of the Coast Path has spectacular views out over the rocky headlands, Atlantic swell and skies filled with storm petrels and terns.

Then find a bite to eat – in Newquay, you’re spoilt for choice. Perhaps opt for the local catch of the day at the Fish House, seafood tapas at the Fish Bar or cool cocktails at Cove24.

Overnight in Newquay. There are many options – see Accommodation, left.

It’s time to pull on your boots and spend a day walking the National Trail. Buy supplies in Newquay (a pasty, perhaps?), catch a bus south to seaside Perranporth and walk back to Newquay from there.

This stretch is classic South West Coast Path: towering clifftops, huge expanses of sand, secretive coves, rippling dunes, wave-smashed headlands, wildflowers and birds. Challenging? Yes. Rewarding? Every step of the way.

From Perranporth, stride across 3km-long Perran Beach, look out for dolphins, check out the Iron Age defences still visible on Penhale Point, stop for a quick sea swim at tucked-away Porth Joke and walk amid the wildflowers on West Pentire.

Pause at the little thatched village of Crantock to pop into the Bowgie Inn: it has one of the best beer gardens you’ll find anywhere, looking out over the waves. Newquay lies just across the River Gannel, which you can cross by footbridge or ferry, depending on the time and tides.

Overnight in Newquay. There are many options – see Accommodation, left.

Time for a change of scene. Send your luggage on to Portreath (bag transfers are easy to arrange), buy picnic goodies and put yourself in a bus or taxi, bound for Chapel Porth.

The area around Chapel Porth is part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, where the natural drama of the coast merges with its human history. Take a short walk via Wheal Coates, one of Cornwall’s most striking mines, perched high on the sheer red cliffs; you can roam around the ruins of the engine house, now surrounded by heather and gorse. Then drop to Chapel Porth’s long sandy beach to investigate the caves and rockpools –  best explored on a falling tide.

Linger with your picnic, maybe reading a few pages of a Rosamunde Pilcher – adaptations of many of the Cornish author’s novels have been filmed hereabouts. Then, depending on your legs, continue along the Coast Path to Portreath, or make the trip by taxi instead.

You may want to save your energy, because an active evening awaits: a magical sunset stand-up paddleboard tour around the rocky coast. There’s nothing quite like seeing the shore from water level, especially as the sun starts to dip into the waves.

Toast an excellent day at the Portreath Arms, where the bar is well-stocked with local ales.

Overnight in Portreath. There are many options – see Accommodation, left.

Yesterday was full-on so treat yourself to a lie in and a laid-back brunch at the Tide Line Café. Then head out for another wild, windswept walk, full of fascinating mining heritage and big views.

Starting from Portreath, head inland, using sections of old industrial tramroads to enter the woods of Tehidy Country Park. The return is via the South West Coast Path, an unfurling of high cliffs, tiny isles and rocks pounded into fins and pinnacles by the relentless ocean waves. In summer, the heathland is a riot of wildflowers and gorse.

Take a well-earned rest this afternoon. Maybe finish off that Pilcher book, head to the pub or sit on the headland above Gooden Heath Cove and watch the sun go down.

Overnight in Portreath. There are many options – see Accommodation, left.

Finish your coastal adventure with sand between your toes. Take a taxi south to nearby Gwithian (it should take less than ten minutes) and kick off with a gentle stroll through The Towans (Cornish for ‘dunes’). This is a world sculpted by shifting sand, and full of life – a fifth of all Cornwall’s plant species can be found here, as well as the moths and butterflies they attract.

Alternatively, for a more testing walk, head north from Gwithian to the Knavocks, a cliff-top heath speckled with wildflowers, gazing to Godrevy Lighthouse.

Whichever route you choose, make a beeline for the Jam Pot cafe when you’re done, for lunch tucked into the dunes.

Finally, it’s time for one last dip in the sea. Swim, surf, bodyboard, kayak, SUP – all are possible along Gwithian’s long, enticing beach. Then grab a goodbye drink at the Red River Inn before heading home.

Overnight in Newquay or Portreath. There are many options – see Accommodation, left. Or head home – the nearest train station is in nearby Hayle, which is on the line to Exeter.