When the Atlantic hurls the full weight of its weather against the granite ramparts of Cornwall, you get walking at its most elemental and exhilarating. From fog-bound mining tracks and swallowing sand dunes to secret turquoise coves, here are six classic coastal circuits that celebrate the wilder edge of our maritime kingdom.

Martin Hesp finds a hidden part of West Cornwall away from the madding crowds - and watches two suns descend toward evening at the magical Merry Maidens