Charlestown: the Georgian harbour where Poldark was filmed

On the south coast, on the edge of St Austell, Charlestown is an unspoilt Grade II-listed Georgian harbour — and a proper atmospheric day out from the valley.

You may recognise it. Charlestown stood in for 18th-century Cornwall in the BBC’s Poldark, with Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark, and it’s been used for Doctor Who, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and plenty more besides.

Its real draw is the home fleet of historic tall ships, employed in film projects all over the world. They’ve brought life to the quays and harbour buildings, and they make the place feel like a film set even when the cameras have gone home. There are bars, restaurants and gift shops around the harbour, with the view out over St Austell Bay.

It sits close to the Eden Project and St Austell, so it’s an easy one to combine into a full day.