The Daily Telegraph most beautiful villages in Cornwall

Cadgwith's the best for sea shanties (Image: Ian Wool/Getty)

Cadgwith on The Lizard is chosen as the best for singing shanties.

It describes it as follows “On the Lizard Peninsula’s eastern edge, little Cadgwith ticks every Cornish fishing village box. It has working boats pulled up on the shingle beach, another beach for swimming, piles of lobster pots, a tiny tin church and tight lanes of thatched cottages.

Boats pulled up on Cadgwith Beach (Image: David Moorhouse)

“And hopefully it will remain that way. In 2021, the Cadgwith Fishing Cove Trust raised enough money to safeguard the old buildings from development. There’s little to do, just buy an ice cream and take it all in.

The highlight

A night at the 300-year-old Cadgwith Cove Inn (cadgwithcoveinn.com), which has renovated guest rooms and live music nights – Tuesdays for folk jams, Fridays for shanties by the Cadgwith Singers.

Cute cottages in Cadgwith (Image: Andy Roland)

Best viewpoint

From the old lookout hut, on the South West Coast Path, north of the village.

Boats in Polperro Harbour (Image: RolfSt)

Polperro is selected as having the best “smuggler vibes”

The Telegraph says: “It’s testament to the charm of Polperro that it still manages to impress in the face of overtourism.

“The oh-so-cute cottages of this narrow, valley-tucked village look barely changed since smugglers ruled the roost here in the 18th and 19th centuries, though many are now home to shops flogging souvenirs.

“Embrace the kitschier side of things at the Model Village (polperromodelvillage.co.uk) then grab a pint and a fish platter at the quayside Three Pilchards (threepilchardspolperro.co.uk).

The highlight Take a wild swim at Chapel Pool, a natural tidal pool just off the coast path, on the village outskirts.

Evening at Polperro Harbour (Image: Andy Roland/Getty)

Best viewpoint

Follow the three-mile Harbour and Headlands Walk, to see Polperro from all angles (iwalkcornwall.co.uk/walk/polperro).

Kingsand and Cawsand has been chosen as the best in Cornwall for relative solitude.

The Telegraph's description says: “Being “undiscovered” is a relative concept in these parts. But the twin villages of Kingsand and Cawsand, on the Rame Peninsula, offer a less-crowded Cornish coast experience.

Odd, because they’re idyllic: mazy, slender streets of pastel-painted houses, boats swaying offshore, Mount Edgcumbe Country Park rising behind.

Once distinct villages in separate counties, the two now flow together, each with its own sheltered, sand-and-shingle beach, good for paddling and rock-pooling. Bag a table with a view, either at the old Devonport Inn (devonportinn.com) or the newer Bay Bar (thebaycawsand.co.uk).

The highlight Riding the seasonal Cawsand Ferry to Plymouth, a 30-minute tour for just £6 (plymouthboattrips.co.uk).

Best viewpoint From the water – hire kit from Cawsand Bay Watersports and enjoy looking back to land (facebook.com/thebaycawsandwatersports).