The south western corner of the UK comprises the counties of Devon and Cornwall . It is the area most favoured by the British themselves for holidays, and the few roads can become unbearably busy in the summer months.

But the reward for that endurance is miles of beautifully wild rocky coastline, interlaced with glorious sandy beaches, tiny fishing villages, and locals with ruddy faces and a highly distinctive accent. Inland you'll find the sprawling remote moorland of Exmoor and Dartmoor , which exudes and eerie feeling as you travel its barren and often misty roads.

The Eden Project is one of the main attractions for tourists with a horticultural eye. Huge biodomes lie like something from another planet in a deep disused clay quarry, holding inside them a colourful array of tropical and temperate plants. Towering waterfalls cascade as you walk through tropical jungle, and even the walls of the quarry are lined with patterns of interesting and unusual flora.

The towns around the coast, Torquay, St Austell, Falmouth, Newquay, and St Ives, all have merit, and have enough on offer to detract the visitor from passing them by. As you would expect, seafood restaurants abound, with many local specialities on offer. The original Tudor port of Penzance has mostly disappeared after centuries of attacks by hostile nations and the even more hostile weather. Today, most of the seafront area has a pleasant Georgian style, and acts as a good base to explore the Lizard Peninsular, and Land's End .