Amazingly, Cawsand and the adjoining village of Kingsand were once officially in different counties; one in Devon and one in Cornwall before the boundary was moved along the Tamar. There is in fact one house near the Post Office that still marks where the boundary lay – appropriately named DevCorn. Nowadays the villages are firmly in Cornwall, nestled into what is affectionally called “the forgotten corner of Cornwall”.

The Old School House itself like much of the village dates back to the 17th Century when it was actually a pilchard palace. With the huge trade in pilchards driven by big demand from Italy and Spain, large “palaces” were built right on the shore to take in the catch and salt them, placing them in round barrels before loading onto more ships. In the 18th century, once the pilchards trade had declined, the building was converted into the village school and was used as one all the way through to the mid 20th Century – except for a couple of breaks for the World Wars where is was used by the Navy.

The whole stretch of coast here has been heavily fortified over the centuries since Napoleonic times and very much seen as a strategic defence post to protect Plymouth and beyond. So when you are walking you will come across many olds forts and parts of our history.

Turner the artist also made the area famous by spending time here painting – and from the windows you do in fact have a great view of the MewStone – an island made famous by a painting by Turner of the same name. The recent film about his life was partially filmed here in the village including a scene by our very own garden steps!

The village (twinned with Kingsand) forms the quaint fishing cove within the conservation area which itself is nestled within a stunning Area Of Outstanding Beauty within the Mount Edgecumbe country park. Sitting pretty on Cornwall’s south coast, this stretch of unspoilt tiny towns is blessed with accompanying peaceful beaches, leafy lanes and boats galore, all of which are perfect for a blissful break away.