The name "Cornwall" comes from Cornovii, meaning hill dwellers, and Waelas, meaning strangers.

Cornwall is an area of 3,559 square kilometres, situated in the far South West of the UK mainland. It boasts the longest (697 km) and one of the most spectacular coastlines in the whole British Isles. Nowhere in Cornwall is more than 16 miles from the sea. It is a land of myth and legend with a history spanning over 4,000 years from Neolithic man to the world famous Eden Project.

In the early Stone Age there were not many people in Cornwall , but a drift across the land bridge from Europe brought settlers. The first stone tools found date from about 4500BC and there is the remains of a stone age settlement at Carn Brea near Redruth.

Mining has finished, the fish stocks are not what the were, Cornwall has little industry, but it has its scenery and the best climate in Britain. Miles of sandy beaches, coastal walks, open moorland and a benign climate that sees spring arriving early, and autumn lingering longer.

Hence tourism is the mainstay of the Cornish economy. As Cornwall tries hard to capitalise on it's geography, it is striving to attract visitors here all year round.