Retire to Cornwall

Cornwall has maintained its own special identity despite being the summer destination of hundreds of thousands of British and, more recently, European visitors.

It's partly geographical. As Devon drifts into Cornwall , sandstone becomes granite and as you go west the land becomes lower, tougher; stone houses clustered in coves or tucked into the rocky countryside that is the first landfall for the winter gales which roll in from the Atlantic .

It's partly the people, hospitable and friendly but fiercely independent. These are the descendants of the Britons who became separated from the West Britons and the Welsh in the Sixth Century and, squeezed into the south west corner of the country by the Saxons, maintained their unique culture and language. The last traditional speakers of the language died towards the end of the nineteenth century but there were always some who could speak a little Cornish and as late as the 1940s fishermen were still counting fish in Cornish. Now the language is experiencing a great revival. It's taught in schools and local newspapers and radio stations have news reports in Cornish. It's reckoned that 3,500 people can hold a basic conversation in Cornish and around 500 are fluent - the most for 250 years.

This can only enhance the distinctiveness of Cornwall but won't decrease the welcome for the Cornish know how much the area is dependent upon tourism.

It's a beautiful county in summer with the warm-coloured stone and whitewashed cottages reflecting some of Britain 's best sunshine. The fishing villages are picturesque, the coastscapes stunning and all around are reminders of its ancient past while the quality of its light has inspired schools of artists. If you like being close to the elements, walking, fishing or swimming in the sea, this is the place to be.