St Agnes is a small vibrant village on the North Cornish coast. While the summers are busy with visitors, the winters are also busy with coast walkers, those people who prefer to take their holidays off season and the villagers themselves who live and work here all year round. There are contrasts, both equally beautiful, between the incredible colours of the sea ranging from turquoise to deep blue in the summer and the greys of winter when the sea comes thundering in and the wind makes warm and windproof clothing a real necessity.

There is a great deal of history in this area, bronze age barrows, St Agnes beacon which was part of the chain of beacons along the coast thought to be used to warn of the Spanish Armada. A Roman coin was found near St Agnes and the most tangible relics of past history are the many chimneys and ruined engine houses associated with tin mining.

On Trevaunance Cove beach you can still see the remnants of a harbour, one of five that have been built, the first in 1632, but all of which have succumbed to the strength and violence of the sea. In 2001 a pod of dolphins joined in the games with a group of children swimming in the cove and during the winter months seals visit the cove with their babies. Orcas and basking sharks are also visitors to these waters.

St Agnes has a library, a health centre, a veterinary surgery and certainly enough shops to make it unnecessary to travel too far to do your shopping. We have artists, writers, sculptors, silversmiths all living and working in the village. We even have a giant - Bolster and Mrs Bolster who lead all the parades through the village, carnival, carol service, Feast of lanterns to name a few. We have a town band - one of the many silver bands which still flourish in Cornwall and who also join in the many social functions which are held here.

We are proud of our involvement with the Lifeboat service - our present inshore lifeboat is the fourth in line given by the Blue Peter programme and every year we hold a Lifeboat Day on the beach with sandcastle competitions, a surfwear mannequin parade, demonstrations by inshore, offshore and helicopter rescue services.

We are proud of the fact that our one of our local doctors is the latest in line of a family of doctors that have practiced in the village since the early 19th century and who have been very involved with the lifeboat service.
For the holiday maker, St Agnes has a great deal to offer. There are wonderful walks, both coastal and inland; beaches such as Trevaunance Cove, Chapel Porth, Portreath and Porthtowan which are well supervised by lifeguards; pubs and restaurants offering a wide selection of food and drink - and often, evening entertainment.

It is easy to access many other places of interest in Cornwall. The City of Truro is less than half an hours drive away and has a range of shops and restaurants; a recently refurbished cinema and a theatre - The Hall for Cornwall - which through the year has a variety of entertainment. Truro is on the main railway line and provides a sleeper service to London. There are bus services to many different parts of Cornwall including St Agnes, and Truro is a stopping place for National Coaches.

Newquay, with its world famous surfing beaches is an easy drive, as are Watergate Bay and Perranporth. Newquay Airport is a small but thriving airport with flights to Stanstead, Edinburgh and the Isles of Scilly to name a few.

The Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan are a short drive away so too is St Ives with its Tate Gallery and Barbara Hepworth Museum, Cape Cornwall, Lands End, the Minack Theatre at Porthcurno, Newlyn, Penzance, the Roseland Peninsular and the beautiful small fishing villages along the south coast. This coast is as beautiful as the north coast but different - softer and less rugged.

There are numerous National Trust properties - beautiful houses and gardens such as Lanhydrock, Trelissick, Glendurgan. St Agnes Beacon itself is owned by the National Trust who have recently purchased St Agnes Head - keeping the coastline unspoilt and undeveloped. Springtime is particularly beautiful for garden lovers and, of course, it comes early to Cornwall, daffodils and camellias are often blooming before Christmas.

St Agnes and the surrounding area has something to offer for everybody and those who come for the first time are easily persuaded to return, and do so time and time again.

© 2008 Anne and Duncan Pascoe © trevaunancecottage.co.uk