Penzance

Walking transition: from the Mount, pick up the South West Coast Path west along the edge of Mounts Bay — a 5 km coastal walk on sand, shingle, and low clifftop that takes about 70 minutes, with the granite island slowly receding behind you. Do not shortcut this on the bus; the receding view of the Mount is the scenery you came for. The path lands you at the Jubilee Pool end of Penzance; cut up two streets to Market Jew Street and Warrens Bakery, the oldest Cornish bakery in the world (since 1860). A traditional steak pasty in a paper bag, eaten on the harbour bench, is the right way to refuel.

Tip: Order the traditional steak pasty (£4.95) — the crimp must run along the side, not over the top, to be a genuine Cornish pasty. Skip the coffee inside the bakery; walk 60 seconds to Archie Brown's wholefood café on Bread Street for a better flat white in half the time.

Walk five minutes south back to the harbour and along the promenade to its eastern tip. The Jubilee Pool is a triangular 1935 Art Deco saltwater lido that juts straight into the sea — the largest seawater pool in Britain, and now geothermally heated on one side. Even without swimming, the curved white sea walls, Modernist lifeguard tower, and angled diving deck are the most photographed structure in town. Walk the upper deck for the long shot back across the triangle toward the harbour, and the harbour wall for the silhouette shot with St Michael's Mount in the background.

Tip: Shoot from the south-eastern corner of the upper deck back across the triangular pool toward the white diving platform — early afternoon puts the sun behind you and lights up the deco curves. Entry to swim is £8 cold or £15 for the geothermal side; the café terrace is free and gets you the same view.

Walk two minutes north away from the seafront and turn into Chapel Street — Penzance's most atmospheric lane, a sloping street of crooked Georgian merchant houses, smuggling-era pubs, and brass plaques. Halfway up sits the Egyptian House at 6-7 Chapel Street, an extraordinary 1835 facade in cobalt, gold, and terracotta, covered in lotus columns and a winged solar disc — one of only three buildings of its kind in Britain, built at the height of Britain's post-Napoleonic Egyptian craze. Continue up the street past the 17th-century Admiral Benbow pub, where a painted smuggler is forever clambering over the slate roof with a cutlass.

Tip: Stand on the opposite pavement from the Egyptian House for the full-frontal photo — the gold is in shadow until about 15:00 in summer, when the sun swings west and ignites the lotus capitals. The shop is a National Trust holiday let, so look but don't ring the bell.

Drop back down to the promenade and turn west — the seafront path runs uninterrupted for 1.5 km along the bay into Newlyn, the working fishing port that supplies most of Cornwall's restaurants. Stop ten minutes at Newlyn Harbour to watch the trawlers unload (the silvery light here is exactly what drew the Newlyn School painters from the 1880s), then continue another 2 km along the coast road into Mousehole (pronounced 'Mowzel') — a near-circular granite harbour ringed by whitewashed cottages that Dylan Thomas called 'the loveliest village in England.' Wander the inner quay, climb the harbour wall, find the Tom Bawcock cat carving on the Ship Inn, and let the last light go pink on the cottages.

Tip: Time your arrival in Mousehole for 17:30-18:00 in summer — golden hour hits the harbour cottages from the west and turns the granite to honey. The single best angle is from the South Cliff above the slipway (signposted 'coast path'), shooting back over the harbour wall with the open sea beyond.

Three minutes from the harbour wall, tucked into a converted fisherman's cottage on the village's only proper street, 2 Fore Street is the restaurant Cornish locals send their visiting friends to — a small, white-walled bistro with a walled back garden and a menu dictated by whatever the Newlyn boats landed that morning. The whole grilled lemon sole with brown shrimp butter (£28) and the half Newlyn lobster with chips (£32) are what to order; everything is cooked simply because the fish is six hours out of the water.

Tip: Book a week ahead in summer and ask specifically for a garden table — they are the prettiest seats in west Cornwall. The last M6 bus back to Penzance leaves Mousehole at 22:08; otherwise ask the restaurant to call a taxi (£12, 10 minutes). Avoid the harbour-front pubs in Mousehole for dinner — the views are postcard-perfect but the kitchens are tourist-grade, close by 20:30, and routinely charge £18 for a microwaved scampi basket.