There's so much on offer in Cornwall

And this year I finally got the chance – in Cornwall.

Blessed with weather that wouldn’t have been out of place in some of those hot and dusty two-bit towns frequented by the good guys and the bad guys in American frontierland, I took to the Western saddle during a week at a horse-riding retreat just a cowgirl’s spit away from Penzance.

It was nearly 50 years since I was last in the Duchy, and little of what I had seen then had remained impinged on my memory, save for the crashing of the waves against the jagged coastline at the very southern tip of England.

We had decided to spend the first of two weeks there exploring some of the countryside on horseback, courtesy of a very relaxed stabling yard tucked away in the countryside village of St Hilary near the seaside town of Marazion.

It’s always something of a gamble booking a horse-riding adventure from afar, as we have found to our cost in the past, but this time we certainly landed on our feet with a set-up that was entirely suited to what we were searching for in a holiday in the saddle.

Riding at The Old Vicarage combined fun, flair, variety, relaxation and adventure with excellent horsemanship, learning, discipline and safety.

Genial hosts John and Rosie run the yard next to their old country vicarage home that doubles as a nicely-appointed guest house.

We stayed in one of the biggest rooms I have ever rattled around in, and enjoyed great breakfasts and evening meals to fortify us against the horsey exercise of the day.

And it appeared to be pretty much up to us just what we wanted to get out of each day. Guided by two great characters, Chris and Julia, who both seem to have been born on horses, we hacked out across country on a network of bridleways, tried bareback riding, even free-reined a three-year-old stallion, watching it canter round a tight circular outdoor school, ostensibly totally under our control!

I enjoyed their natural style of coaching which took us back to some of the basics as well as teaching intriguing new techniques for getting the best out of your horse.

We also decided to take up the option of learning to ride Western style, taught by another excellent instructor, Bob, who lived the part with cowboy hat, Confederate belt on his Levi jeans and cowboy boots.

Under his expert tuition, we learned the rudiments of controlling our Morgan horses – the choice of the US Cavalry in bygone days – with the lightest of touches, and I was left in awe at the incredible response of the horses to our instructions.

You could suddenly imagine yourself rounding up hundreds of head of cattle on ranches in the great plains of the US... or galloping after the baddies in a cowboy movie!

Time seemed to slip by so easily, and we never managed to take up two other options I quite fancied… horse carriage driving and galloping across the nearby beaches. Tides, unfortunately, were against us, being low at peak times for other beach visitors, so that treat will have to wait for a return visit in the future.

Our time there, though, wasn’t entirely confined to horse matters, and we took the opportunity to visit the stunning open-air Minack Theatre, perched on the rocks overlooking the sea a stone’s throw from Land’s End.

Shows run throughout the summer, and, blankets, warm jackets and Cornish pasties to hand, we took in a lively show by students from London re-living the story of Zorba The Greek.

At Marazion, there is also the National Trust island of St Michael’s Mount, accessible by boat when the tide’s in, but easily walkable when it’s out along a renovated stone causeway through the sand, which is well worth a visit.

And that seems to be the case with so much of Cornwall – loads of places of interest to visit round every corner, every cove, all of it steeped in history.

For our second week we moved back along the coast to a splendid bed and breakfast base outside the upmarket coastal town of St Mawes on the Fal estuary, across the water from Falmouth itself.

En route, we detoured to take a look at England’s most southerly spit of land, Lizard Point, wild and rugged, with a fascinating working lighthouse which you can take a close look round.

Spare a moment, while you’re there to nip down to Kynance Cove, an idyllic sandy beach with caves in the rocks and a teashop close by.

The gentle but vibrant little town of St Mawes, though, on the Fal estuary was a great starting point for exploring the waterways by pleasure boat, seeing the homes of several stars, like Pierce Brosnan, that hugged the coastline, watching hundreds of people messing about in boats, passing oyster farms and some gigantic ocean-going transporter ships that loomed high out of the water, moored way up the estuary waiting for the economic tide to turn.

Here, too, were the landing areas where tens of thousands of Allied troops embarked for the D-Day landings over in Normandy, a touch of history that I had not appreciated before, and landing areas, too, for the smugglers of centuries ago that give the area its special atmosphere.

Falmouth itself is a hive of activity and has an impressive-looking maritime museum as well as dozens of shops and a myriad of places to eat and drink along the waterfront crammed with boats of all descriptions and sizes.

Throw in one of the best preserved coastal forts built by Henry VIII in St Mawes itself and, across the water, the lighthouse where Fraggle Rock was filmed, and your days soon fill up with things to do.

Further afield, but not too far distant, is the mind-boggling Eden Project, with its giant ‘golf ball’ domes that house exotic plants from the tropics and the Mediterranean, indigenous plants outside, exhibtion areas, information, catering and much else, all sustained by an incredible eco-system carved out of a vast redundant china clay quarry.

If you like your gardening, you would do well to visit the Eden Project’s predecessor, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, just outside the quaint harbour village of Mevagissey – itself well worth a visit, if only for its tiny folk museum packed with an astonishing collection of ancient artefacts chronicling the village’s nautical past.

But the Lost Gardens are a rare treat; beautifully-restored gardens that were once the pride of a Victorian landed gentry family but which fell into disrepair and became hopelessly overgrown.

Then, the man behind the Eden Project stumbled across it and lovingly restored it to its former glory and beyond, and now it is a haven for flora and fauna of all descriptions, with endless gardens, a wildlife hide with live video cameras and much more.

On the only wet day of our holiday, we searched out Lanhydrock House and Park, a Victorian country ‘house’ now owned by the National Trust.

It’s a magnificent pile, which more than once nearly fell into terminal decline since its beginnings in the 17th century but is now restored to its glory years.

A tour round the 50 or so rooms really brings to life the upstairs/downstairs nature of Victorian and Edwardian upper class life. And if you still like gardens, there’s plenty of formal gardens to catch your eye here too.

Time had slowed right down in the calm of the Cornish countryside and the bustle of the coastal towns and bays.

Cornwall had been a great surprise, with its tiny winding roads, craggy clifftops and their meandering footpaths, some excellent pubs and restaurants with true country atmospheres, and a host of pleasant locals to greet us at every turn.

On our way out, as it were, we crossed the spit of land to the northern coast to take a look at Tintagel, the ‘home’ of King Arthur, with a ruined castle perched on the cliff tops overlooking the pounding waves on the rocks below. It’s all smoke and mirrors, of course, but well worth a look around if you have the energy to climb the dozens of craggy steps.

It was a fascinating part of England to visit, and there’s certainly much more to do and see than we had time to take in, and we shall endeavour to secure the time to tackle them ’ere too long.

Fact File

Horse Riding contact: oldvicaragepenzance.co.uk tel: (01736) 711508 or mobile: 07736101230; e-mail: johnbd524@aol.com

Eden Project contact: Eden Project, Bodelva, Cornwall,PL24 2SG. edenproject.com