Latest news with #PaulAinsworth
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
How the BMW X7 elevates everyday life for families
As most busy families will understand, a car isn't just about getting from one place to another. It's a moving extension of the family home. It has to be safe – a buffer between loved ones and the elements outside. But it also needs to be a place of calm, particularly for younger kids who might need to nap or mellow out. It should present distractions for longer trips, preserving parents' sanity as the miles clock up and also have the flexibility to accommodate the bulk of everyday life, be that buggies and food shops or surfboards and pedal bikes. Acclaimed chef and BMW 'friend of the brand' Paul Ainsworth knows this as well as any busy father. Based in Cornwall, where long drives are standard practice and the weather is unpredictable, his BMW X7 M60i has become the lynchpin of both family life and work logistics. First and foremost, the focus is on safety. 'My daughter's school is 30 miles away, so we're on the A30 a lot,' Ainsworth explains. 'You need to feel the car's solid, that it's got you covered – and the X7 gives you that. It feels strong and sturdy. You just know your family is secure.' The X7 is full to the brim with safety-first features, such as Lane Control Assistant, Frontal Collision Warning with City Collision Mitigation, and the optional Driving Assistant Professional, which includes steering and lane control support. For those who regularly drive longer distances, especially with children in the car, these features are invaluable. Add to those the Surround View and Parking Assistant Professional – letting you spot even the smallest obstacle and manoeuvre accordingly – and it's easy to see why the X7 offers peace of mind. Then there's the matter of keeping the screeching down and everyone entertained. 'In terms of how they travel, we definitely had them in the right order,' Paul laughs. 'CiCi, my elder daughter, is quite chilled and goes with the flow. She always has. Audrey, my younger one, is completely different. She's all about the routine. If that routine gets disrupted, you know about it.' Keeping the whole family happy on the road has never been so easy or pleasurable. The X7's third-row seating gives space for up to seven people in comfort, which is a boon for the Ainsworths. With two kids in the back, the rear entertainment screens are also a lifesaver. Plus, the four-zone climate control, the eight USB-C ports and generous storage compartments throughout means everyone can settle into their own comfort zone. The optional panoramic Sky Lounge sunroof is another road trip hero. On the A30 school run, it turns early morning drives into a visual experience. 'It's a long drive, and often we're doing it while it's still a bit dark, but we get sunrise over the moorland and that's a real favourite of Cici's,' Ainsworth says. And then, of course, there's the space. Living in Cornwall means loading up the car, which isn't just during a once-a-week grocery shop. 'I need a big boot,' says Ainsworth. 'You've got the wetsuits, the dog, Cici's skateboards, bikes, buckets – all the stuff. It just gets loaded in.' The BMW X7's electrically split tailgate and height-adjustable air suspension makes it easier to load heavy gear. The third row of seats folds away at the touch of a button, freeing up more than 750 litres of cargo space when needed. 'When I'm not filling the boot with produce for the restaurants, I'm filling it with all the stuff our life demands,' Ainsworth says. 'I think it's almost a prerequisite of living in Cornwall – you have to have hobbies that involve a lot of kit.' His wife Emma, he notes, is the only low-maintenance one in the household. 'She just needs a pair of fully charged AirPods and she's off for a long walk along the coast with her favourite podcasts.' His daughter CiCi, on the other hand, is constantly levelling up her interests. 'If it's not surfing, it's skateboarding. And now her surf coach has recommended surf-skateboarding, so adding yet another board to add to the pile.' The flexibility of the X7's boot space, combined with its thoughtful family-first features, makes it uniquely suited to this kind of lifestyle. Whether it's heading to school, the beach, or London for a work meeting, the car adapts seamlessly. What stands out about the BMW X7 is its ability to merge performance, space and comfort in one attractive package. 'It's really everything,' Ainsworth says. 'You've got the height, the views, the comfortable seats – but also that family-friendly flexibility. It doesn't feel like a compromise. It works for us.'
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Why you don't have to sacrifice luxury when you choose an SUV
When it comes to family SUVs, it's sometimes hard to discern upfront if off-roading credentials will meet reality, but the BMW X7 meets every expectation. Built with the same attention to engineering precision as its performance-focused siblings, the X7 blends comfort, versatility and genuine off-road capability into one luxuriously appointed package. Chef Paul Ainsworth knows the value of this duality. Running a spread of successful businesses across Cornwall, he juggles the demands of his high-level hospitality venues with a lifestyle that pulls him away from paved roads almost daily. If he's not heading down muddy lanes to suppliers, he's loading the car up with all the kit required for a family day at the beach. 'Quite often my job takes me to places where I'm meeting farmers, fishermen and suppliers,' Ainsworth explains. 'You could be going down to a farm, onto a beach or into woodland – it's really important to have a vehicle that's just as good off-road as it is on the tarmac.' One of those locations is the Porthilly oyster farm. 'We're often pulling onto the beach, following the old tractor tracks,' he recalls. 'There are big rocks and silt if the tide has just gone out. But with the BMW X7, I've never once thought, 'We're going to get stuck here.' It just goes straight over it.' The X7 M60i xDrive is equipped with BMW's intelligent all-wheel drive system, but for those wanting a bit of extra off-road confidence, the optional xOffroad Package adds four specific driving modes: xSnow, xSand, xGravel, and xRocks. Each of them optimises traction, torque and stability based on the terrain. Ground clearance can also be increased, thanks to the height-adjustable air suspension, which is controlled via a physical button, rather than buried in menu screens. 'That's what I love,' Ainsworth says. 'You just press the button and lift it up – it's so simple.' The suspension system also includes Executive Drive Pro with active-roll stabilisation. This means the drive will still feel seriously smooth and safe even if the ground is uneven. Plus, the Integral Active Steering makes low-speed manoeuvring on tight trails a doddle. But the X7's off-road strengths aren't only about helping Ainsworth while he works. They're just as essential for his personal pursuits too. 'For me, going down onto the beach is really important,' he says. 'It's my happy place. When I first moved to Cornwall, I loved the landscape, but now, with my daughters, it's everything. That connection to the coast, the outdoors – that's where I feel most grounded.' A favourite family destination is Port Quin, a remote Cornish cove that's accessible either by Rib from the sea or by quite a challenging drive. It's worth it when you get there though. 'It's a real paddleboarding kind of place,' Ainsworth explains. 'You've got this amazing crystal-clear water, and it's like this secret, tucked-away spot. Getting there by car isn't easy as it's quite out of the way, but the X7 makes it completely doable.' If it's not beach days as a family, Ainsworth is taking off for a solo cycle. 'I'm a keen cyclist,' he says. 'Sometimes I start from home, but I've also driven to Dartmoor with the bike in the back to get a good starting point for a longer route. It's brilliant for that.' Dartmoor's varied terrain and remote tracks might present a challenge for the average car, but then, the X7 is anything but average. The xOffroad Package and adaptive suspension are perfectly designed for tackling unsealed roads and gravelled parking spots. 'There's a lot of stuff involved in cycling,' Ainsworth adds. 'Shoes, helmets, fixing kits… I'm quite organised with it all. It's all sorted in tubs, so the space and layout of the X7 really help.' For families who want a car that can genuinely keep up – on and off the beaten path – the BMW X7 is an impressive proposition. From ferrying produce back from a farm, navigating a soft-sand beach at low tide or pulling into a trailhead for a day in the saddle, it's adaptable. 'It just does everything,' Ainsworth says. 'You can go off-road, load up the back, take the dog, the kids, whatever. It looks beautiful, feels amazing to drive and it gets you where you need to be – no matter what the road looks like.'
Telegraph
06-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
How chefs stay slim and fit (despite long hours and leftovers)
Between the pace, the pressure, the rich food and the late nights, the life of a chef is not for the faint-hearted – or the health conscious. The 2021 film Boiling Point, set in London's hottest restaurant on the busiest night of the year, got its name for good reason. Around 41 per cent of UK chefs say their job impacts their wellbeing negatively and almost three-quarters admit to calling in sick because of stress, according to a survey. And we all know that regular stress plus irregular sleep plus high calorie foods is a recipe for obesity. The saying goes: 'If you can't stand the heat, get out the kitchen.' But now, as more chefs are looking at the longevity of the career they love, they're taking a new approach: a healthier one. Tom Kerridge is power-lifting. Gordon Ramsay has run 15 marathons and five ultras. Michel Roux Jr swears by yoga and Pilates. Here, the three top chefs explain how they are leading by example in their restaurants, prioritising their careers by looking after themselves and putting their health first. 'You only change when you're ready' Paul Ainsworth In the last two years, Michelin-starred Paul Ainsworth, 45, has overhauled his diet and become the fittest he's ever been. All while managing his restaurant empire in Cornwall. He's also a veteran judge on Great British Menu. He ran the London Marathon this year, having competed in Zurich Ironman last year. What did life look like before your health kick? I was always overweight as a child. I grew up surrounded by 1980s diet culture and I remember Mum packing me off to school with a Slim Fast. It probably wasn't the best thing to do, but I don't blame her. Then, in my 20s in London it was all 18-hour days and stubbies of lager. I wasn't overweight because I was working so much. I don't regret any of my path, but I'm not going to put that on younger chefs and say: 'That's what you need to do to get to the top.' People want to have a quality of life now and that's correct. When it comes to dieting to manage my weight, where I always went wrong was going to extremes. I'd say, 'Right, no carbs, I'm just eating meat.' It might work for some people, but then I find you crave bread and potatoes. With all the exercise I was doing to train for the London Marathon, if I didn't eat properly I would get horrible fatigue from the exercise. Last year I was 110kg and when I went into Iron Man I was 93kg. I'm currently 83kg, and I still enjoy a good pizza. I think for me, eating well comes down to making better choices, saying: 'I don't need that dessert.' When were you at your most unfit? In 2015, I had a lot going on. We were expanding the business and I'd taken on the restaurants Caffè Rojano and the Padstow Townhouse. My wife Emma was pregnant with our daughter Cici and I also found out my dad had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. When we got to the really horrible bit with Dad's cancer I was just in this rut of bad eating. I didn't want to cook. I was numb. I'd just order takeaways. Seeing pictures from back then is quite traumatic. I just look lost. I had one pair of jeans I felt comfortable in. What do you eat at home? Two years ago, my diet was completely different. But now, I wake up and have an electrolyte drink and a black coffee. I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting; I will try and stop eating at 8pm. I'll usually have my first meal at midday. I'll have four or five fried St Ewe eggs with good sourdough, which is just flour, water, and ferment. One of my favourite things growing up was my Granny Ainsworth making me eggs and soldiers and it reminds me of that. In the evenings it's steak, new potatoes – steamed and roasted in a bit of butter – and a feta salad. I will eat steak five or six times a week. We like the marinated roast chicken thighs our butcher Philip Warren does too. I only have two meals a day, apart from on Sunday when I get my run done nice and early and then make Cici pancakes. That's our day as a family. Tell us about your weekly exercise regimen and why it works My aim for the London Marathon was to be able to say I did it in sub four hours. As the weeks passed, I thought I could get near to 3.46 but I had to pivot on the day, the heat was brutal. At mile 21 I changed my plan and went back to sub 4. I was hurting and the places you go in your mind is extraordinary. I managed 3.56 officially, and 3.54 by my watch. Leading up to the marathon I was running 50k a week, doing one 2,000m swim and two indoor Zwift cycles. I also have a gym at home. After the London Marathon, I had a rest week then will start training for an Iron Man. I need goals so I'm not just training in the dark. Exercise is now my form of meditation. It has absolutely changed my life. I feel calmer, have more energy. I can work out problems better than I've ever done. I'm the fittest I've ever been in my life. What changed your attitude towards food and fitness? When I moved to Cornwall in 2005, I got into running and body boarding, but I just couldn't find the consistency with it. Work always came first. Even when I ran the marathon in 2019 to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK, training was going well until I got the call asking us to take on The Mariners restaurant. At that point it went out the window. As a result, at mile 18 the wheels came off. Then in 2022, I went to London and had a health MOT. The doctor said you do need to change your lifestyle. I had a good heart rate, but I was overweight. You only change when you're ready. In 2023, something just clicked and changed. I realised I was never going to be less busy with work and I was in my prime to change. Gordon Ramsey, whom I'd worked for and is a great friend, recommended Chris Dominey to me, an Iron Man and triathlon coach he trains with when he's in Cornwall. Chris did some reverse psychology on me. He said: 'I'm not a drill sergeant. If you don't turn up, that's your call.' That was like a red rag to a bull. I thought, 'After everything I've built, you think I can't commit to some sessions?' What is the most demanding aspect of your job? One lesson I was taught early on is that it's all about the people. The team builds the success of the business. We now employ over 250 people, and that's a massively demanding aspect. While I'm a chef at heart, I'm not on a section day in and day out now. I'm running a collection of businesses at the highest standard. I have to be my best. Now, I feel like I'm advocating looking after yourself for my whole team. That puts out good energy to look after yourself. 'I eat so clean in the week, I can eat what I want at the weekend' Tommy Banks Chef director Tommy Banks, 35, owns the The Black Swan, The Abbey Inn and Roots. He earned his first Michelin star at 24 and is a veteran judge on BBC's The Great British Menu, having won the competition in 2016, 2017, and 2020. A sporty child and a keen gym-goer, he has navigated a chronic illness, a back injury as well as a high-pressure job as a chef to find a health regime that works for him. What was life like before your health kick? I was actually really into cricket growing up and I played other sports as well. Then I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis when I was 18 and needed major operations. My bowel was removed and my cricket career ended. I fell into cooking after that. Working ridiculously hard and working all hours kept me quite skinny. Then about five years ago I got really into the gym, until I got two herniated discs in my back. My wife was having to push me around on my office chair. I had a one-year-old daughter that I struggled to pick up. My diet was also not the greatest and I put on weight. I was probably 108kg. I got to a point where I was told I needed surgery. But then I went to see a physio who said I didn't need surgery, I just needed a proper rehab plan. He reckoned in 12 weeks I'd be pain-free. At that point I'd been in pain for 15 months; taking tramadol at night so I could sleep. My wife said I needed to treat it like work and put it into my calendar. It was an intense programme, building leg, core and glute strength. The majority of people get herniated discs because of wear and tear, what you need to do is make yourself strong in other areas so you're bullet proof. This was two years ago. I marked the one-year anniversary by doing a Hyrox. Since then, I've kept training, running and doing weights. I feel good. I'm now 96kg and have a lot more muscle. I'm in good shape, feel super healthy and use the InBody scales at the gym to measure my weight but also my fat and muscle. I've got the York Ten race coming up. I'd like to do another Hyrox event but I keep missing out on tickets. It's a really cool occasion. I love the fact that a fairly middling fit person like me can compete at the same time as some really high level guys What do you eat at home? I have eight eggs for breakfast in the morning and maybe a little bit of bacon. They could be scrambled, in an omelette or poached. That's 56 eggs a week. A lot of our businesses are spread across North Yorkshire and I spend a lot of time in the car, knowing I'm not going to eat very well. If I eat eight eggs in the morning I know I had something nutritionally perfect that fills me up and gives me energy. When I have carbs I crash and I can't concentrate. I don't see any value in counting calories because not all calories are equal. It's a rubbish metric. My thing is protein. I have over 200g of protein a day easily. My fat will be well over 100g but I will only have 30g of carbs. I use Chat GPT if I want to figure out where I'm at. It gives me a macro nutrient breakdown. I have a theory that I can have what I want for dinner. If I'm home, I'll have steak and veg. Every weekend we go out. I still love nothing more than going to our pubs and having a full Sunday roast, pints of beer or a pizza. Because I eat so clean in the week, I can eat what I want at the weekend. I get to enjoy the craft side because I'm looking after myself the rest of the time. Tell us about your weekly exercise regimen and why it works A typical exercise week is three strength gym sessions a week. Sometimes it's only two because that's life. I also run twice a week. If I'm away for a week with work I will train every day, because I'm away from my family. Previously I would have gone and got drunk. I like big movements like bench pressing, that's my favourite because you get to lie down. Blocks of weight training mean you might get a personal best. I find running training more frustrating. My personal trainer might say, 'I want you to do a really slow zone 2 run'. And I can't be bothered with that. I just want to always run as fast as I'm able to. Which isn't very fast. I'm quite a big guy so I don't really do distance; I like doing between 7-10km. I'd like to run a marathon at some point but I just think I find the training really boring. Exercise is part of my holistic approach to looking after myself. If you feel healthy and you're not hungover, overweight, or tired, you deal with the stress so much better. What is the most demanding aspect of your job? The hours and travel mean the lifestyle of hospitality and being fit and healthy are not always aligned. We do a lot of events that involve long days and sleeping in hotel rooms and that makes it hard to have a routine. Some nights I have tea with my family and the next night I'm working until 1am in the morning. I do think that if you'd talked about this five years ago it would have been very different, but younger chefs are more health conscious. We used to drink every night. Young chefs don't. They're more likely to finish work and go to a 24-hour gym. You see protein shakes in the kitchens all the time. The culture has changed a lot. How do you stay disciplined with food? The nature of being a senior chef means you have to try everything, which could mean a lot of desserts. There's no real pattern to your eating. Now on a typical day I try to eat very low carbs. I'll have my eggs for breakfast. Then if I'm on the go, I chuck something super convenient in my bag like a tin of fish, high fat cottage cheese or Greek yogurt with some nut butter. That will be my lunch. Now I only eat things that are really unhealthy if they're really good versions. I'm never going to eat a Kit Kat, but if you offered me an amazing piece of chocolate gâteau from a French patisserie, I'm going to eat it 100 times out of 100. It's not healthy but it will be absolutely delicious. That's my rule. I won't eat Domino's, but I'll have a beautiful Neapolitan-style pizza. The same with alcohol. Previously I would drink socially. If someone offered me a bottle of lager, I'd drink it, even though I don't really like lager. I drink a fraction of the wine I used to, but I drink better quality. 'It's easy to lose count of what you're eating as a chef' Jack Croft When Jack Croft, 32, opened London restaurant Fallow, he reached 'another level of unhealthy'. Then when the UK went into lockdown, the chef who also owns FOWL and Roe, as well as a viral cooking social platform @ took his health into his own hands. What was life like before your health kick? My dad was a chef so my whole childhood was around good quality food. It was amazing, our Sundays were filled with cooking and making desserts and french dishes like coq au vin and tarte tatin. But obviously, it was also not great for your health. When we opened Fallow that was another level of unhealthy. We were working 18-hour days until the early hours, six days a week. My wife and I say that was my ugly phase. There was a lot of Pret sandwiches, anything convenient really, for a solid year. I was only 29 and my posture was bad from work and my knees hurt. It was the lockdown that made things change. I'd always had an interest in fitness, but it was lying dormant. I'd been very into the gym when I was 17 and even did a personal training course before deciding that I did want to be a chef. When the lockdown happened, it came at a point when we'd been working so hard. Then suddenly I had this 30-minute window to exercise everyday. That period was important for my mental wellbeing. It became a daily release from work. I started off going to Barry's Bootcamp and slowly took my fitness up a level. I'm on a training plan at the moment. I'm putting a bit of weight on on purpose to strip it back down. That's why I've started counting calories. It's easy to lose count of what you're having as a chef. Monitoring my meals recently has been really eye opening. What's for breakfast? I get up at 6.45am, do my black coffee and all my vitamins and tablets then I usually cycle to work, so there's an element of fasted cardio. I'll have my breakfast, usually with a banana and 120g of oats and yogurt when I get to work. What does a normal day look like for you food-wise? On a normal day I'm pretty regimented. I take my lunch into the restaurant with me. Something like pasta and chicken or mince and sweet potato. I like to eat very plain for balance. I know during service I'm going to be tasting things with butter and olive oil or rib eye steak. When I get home in the evening I'll have some yogurt or a protein shake. My wife's a good cook but we still eat relatively plain. I'm not at home to eat a massive amount. I get two days off a week and usually one of those days we'll go out for a meal to a restaurant opening perhaps, even then I'll make healthy choices. Before I would have had three servings of the bread and 'keep the butter coming'. Or a cheeseboard. Now I actively move away from those things. I still enjoy a glass of champagne or a cocktail. It's all the little extras that I now try and avoid. Tell us about your weekly exercise regimen and why it works I cycle to work every day and have done for the last 15 years. I don't even class that as exercise, it's my commute and gives me a base line of fitness. Then in the afternoon I'll do more strength stuff in the gym. Right now I've parked endurance style work outs as I don't have enough time. I've got a second child on the way. I enjoy doing the exercise because it means I can eat more. You're not a chef if you don't love food. I still like to have a drink. So it's just about balance. I've developed my routine so it works for me. I wouldn't say I'm as fit as I have been. In the past I've done a couple of triathlons and a couple of half marathons. Right now, I'm putting more effort into being stronger. I'm at a stage where I'm trying to understand my body a bit more rather than pushing it to the limits. I want to understand how it puts on and loses weight. What is the most demanding aspect of your job? Balancing it with the family is always tricky. We're still in a period of growth as a business, opening three restaurants in three years. Being in the restaurants is my dream, but I also want to be at home as much as possible. The demands on you really depend on what kind of environment you're in. If you're in a kitchen where there is a nice healthy meal laid out for the staff and everyone talks about healthy things, like instead of going for a pint they go for a bike ride, then you're going to be influenced by that. I think being more health conscious is a shift in everyone. Half the restaurants now are filled with people wearing gym gear.
The Independent
04-03-2025
- The Independent
7 of the best hotels in Padstow for coastal views and luxury retreats
It's no secret that picture-postcard Padstow is a foodie's delight. Tucked away on the north Cornish coast and enclosed within the Camel Estuary, this old fishing port has gained celebrity status thanks to resident chefs Rick Stein and (more recently) Paul Ainsworth, who have six restaurants in town between them. A stroll around the harbour lands you at some of the best places for local fare. Gourmet seafood abounds – the fish comes straight off the boats and in through the kitchen door. But you can also find traditional pasties (get them warm from family-run Chough Bakery) and cream teas (indulge at Cherry Trees cafe, loading them the Cornish way – jam first, cream on top). Fresh sea air and rugged coast path walks will build a hearty appetite, while the Camel Trail promises 18 miles of flat, traffic-free cycling between Padstow and Wenfordbridge (with bike hire available in town). For a day trip, take the ferry across the estuary to Rock and explore the surf beaches around Daymer and Polzeath or St Enodoc Church (once almost entirely buried by sand) where John Betjeman is buried. To help you plan your visit, here are the best places to stay in and around Padstow. Best hotels in Padstow 2025 At a glance 1. Harbour Hotel Padstow Perched on the hill that drops down into Padstow, this revamped Victorian hotel offers stellar views across the Camel Estuary. Its 58 guest rooms and suites are contemporary and smart, featuring soft furnishings in bold colours, mostly in a palette of blues. High ceilings, white shutters and large windows add to the bright and spacious feel. The modern vibe extends to the hotel's waterside restaurant, The Jetty, with its canary-yellow bar stools, striking geometric cushions and neon sign welcoming you in. A contemporary menu has been created by head chef Alex Aitken with highlights that include tempura prawns, twice-baked cheese souffle (an Aitken signature) and fish soup. 2. The Pig at Harlyn Bay hotel Set high above the spectacular Harlyn Bay, three miles west of Padstow, this Grade II-listed mansion is a country hideaway bearing all The Pig hallmarks. Expect wonky rooms, flagged floors, gnarled beams and moody artwork. The decor is sultry – think dark blue walls and velvet sofas – but the atmosphere is relaxed and warm, with impeccable service and blazing fires. As well as quirky rooms in the main house and stone courtyard, there are four garden wagons, complete with roll-top baths, wood burners and outdoor showers. The lively restaurant uses seasonal ingredients from the kitchen garden, while the Potting Shed treatment rooms use products made from hand-harvested seaweed. 3. Old Custom House hotel You can't get closer to the harbour than this Grade II-listed building, which was once the home of Padstow's Revenue and Customs. When it was built in the 18th century, it sat right on the water's edge. Now this St Austell Brewery pub with 23 rooms has windows overlooking the harbour, so you can watch fishing boats go by while tucking into your Eggs Florentine. Upstairs, the guest rooms have a neutral colour scheme with splashes of blue headboards and coral cushions. Some have window seats, and shutters keep the harbour lights out all night. Bathrooms have Elemis toiletries and beds are extraordinarily comfy – even the sofa beds have proper mattresses. Dogs are welcomed with treats and cans of 'dog beer'. 4. Padstow Townhouse hotel Tucked away on a quiet street, Padstow Townhouse is a brilliant choice for foodies with a taste for luxury. It's owned by the chef Paul Ainsworth, whose cookery school Mahé and restaurants No. 6 and Rojano's are all within a five-minute stroll. Inside the 18th-century building, six individually-styled suites have mouthwatering names like 'Popcorn' and 'Toffee Apple', with clawfoot baths, Chesterfield chairs and Apple TVs. Indulgent treats await guests on arrival – along with a Kitchen Pantry brimming with cheeses, fresh bakes and a local wine vending machine. Children aged four and over are allowed (fold-away beds can be arranged) and there are two dog-friendly rooms. 5. The Seafood Restaurant Rooms hotel Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant has been a staple on the Padstow food scene for 50 years. Above the flagship restaurant are 16 unique rooms, with a relaxed coastal feel – think whitewashed walls, driftwood mirrors and Roberts radios in powder blue. 'Daymer' is one of its most popular rooms, and for good reason – as well as a four-poster bed, plush navy armchairs and marble sink in the bathroom, it features a large sun terrace with sweeping estuary views. Soft furnishings – like cushions with seaweed prints – are designed by Kate Stein while Jill Stein creates the Porthdune toiletries with that smell divine. 6. The Old Mill House hotel When Debbie Reed and Ashley Neill moved to a tiny hamlet near Padstow in 2014 and opened rooms in a 400-year-old miller's cottage, they had no hospitality experience. But the former teacher and her ex-builder partner have made The Old Mill House into award-winning accommodation, with Debbie's son Adam heading up the bistro in the evening. The seven guest rooms have a period feel, with elaborate wallpaper, antique furnishings and exposed original beams. In summer, guests can eat breakfast in the garden, feasting on Ashley's fresh omelettes and local sausages to the sound of birdsong and trickling water from the nearby creek. 7. Coswarth House hotel Privacy and parking are on offer at Coswarth House – both are like gold dust in Padstow in summer. The Georgian property features three suites, each with its own front door adding to the private feel, plus a cottage with a kitchen. Rooms blend antique furniture with contemporary touches – expect sumptuous linen, chandeliers, Liberty soft furnishings and Farrow & Ball wallpaper with lotus patterns. Owner Mark Hixon makes sure guests' stays are enjoyable, booking everything from restaurants to taxis, while breakfast is taken at Rick Stein's Cafe, two minutes' away. The main house is open between April and November, with ad hoc openings on demand. The secluded walled garden is just the place for a sundowner with views of the estuary.
