From Lamorna Birch to Alfred Wallis, Cornwall has a long history of supplying the rest of the UK with creative talent. Its rugged hinterland, crumbling castles, gleaming golden sand beaches and surfeit of myths and legends have inspired generation after generation of painters, potters and sculptors. This is, after all, the birthplace of King Arthur, British hero and subject of scores of literary and painterly works, as well as of his right-hand wizard, Merlin. But it isn’t just the mythical king who has proved a muse for Cornwall’s creatives.

Look at the work of Newlyn’s 19th century impressionist, Henry Scott Tuke (below), and you’ll see depiction after depiction of rustic rowing boats rocking gently on a shimmering blue swell, dainty Cornish maids dipping a toe in the chilly Atlantic waters and glorious sunlit rural scenes, anchored in the Industrial Revolution by a towering black tin mine. It might be a long way from London, but the UK’s most southerly stretch of land was – and remains – an artist’s paradise.

Nestled in the north Cornish countryside, Wadebridge is a picturesque little town with roots in the reign of Edward I that straddles the unusually monikered Camel River. With a beautiful old bridge, rows of neat, white-painted homes and a striking grey stone clock tower, it’s an old-fashioned English country burgh incarnate. Hardly surprising, then, that its prettiness has attracted an impressively large roster of famous residents. The town also has a resident sculptor in the shape of Richard Austin, who, when not working on his own pieces, runs two-hour sculpture workshops. According to Richard, ‘everyone can be creative’; reassuring for those who, like me, find translating their ideas into art a bit of a challenge. His own work is interesting, focusing, as it does on faces rather than typically modernist abstract forms, albeit ones that have been re-imagined in a rather grotesque way. Cast in clay, porcelain and bronze, spending an afternoon casting an eye over Richard’s gallery of gargoyles – and then making one yourself – is an oddly therapeutic way to spend an afternoon.

Not far from Richard’s Wadebridge studio is the Gurnard’s Head; a cosy little hideaway that hasn’t inspired much art itself, but boasts a view that most certainly has. Perched on the rugged Penwith peninsula, the Gurnard’s Head offers a glimpse of the striking Cornish coastline from every window. A typically Cornish white-washed solid building from without, inside, the bar is rustic and warming, with worn, teak tables dotted across the beautiful, stone flagged floor, flanked by a merry fireplace in one corner. Rooms are comfortable, and come complete with large heavy wooden beds – the perfect place to recover from a hard day’s drawing. The menu too has a homely feel, made from fresh local ingredients and served up in gargantuan portions. A £15 two-course meal of grilled mackerel with celeriac and caper mayonnaise for starters, followed by a confit duck leg, white beans and kale topped off with a salsa verde was excellent value for money.

St Michael’s Mount

Not far from Wadebridge is Padstow, a pretty fishing port, made famous by TV chef Rick Stein. To the chagrin of some of the locals, the Stein empire has a stronghold over much of the town. But Padstow is also so much more. One of the most famous creative works ever to come out of Cornwall is composer Sir Malcolm Arnold’s The Padstow Lifeboat; a stirring march that brings a sense of the bustling little port to life. Padstow’s colourful waterfront has given life to painting and sculpture too, and is currently home to a 14-strong artists’ collective called the Padstow Art Group, whose seaside scenes can be seen at regular exhibitions at the Padstow Institute and St Petroc’s church.

Though Padstow has a world-famous composer to its name, it is the nearby towns of Penzance and St Ives that are at the heart of Cornwall’s modern art scene. Located at the far end of the Cornish peninsula, they are the final stop before you hit the Atlantic and the Scilly Isles. Close by is St Michael’s Mount, a striking island fortification joined to the mainland by a fragile causeway that is daily submerged by the hungry sea. Like its Caen counterpart, Le Mont St Michel, it has proved to be an irresistible draw for artists, including those whose work is displayed at the Tate St Ives.

Overlooking the beach of Porthmeor is the Tate St Ives, a rural outpost of the giant Tate group, which includes London’s Tate Modern and Tate Britain. Much of the gallery space is taken up by the work of local and British artists, whose many depictions of Cornish life remind you anew of Cornwall’s enduring fascination for creatives. The Tate is also home to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden, which contains some of the sculptor’s most important works. Although Hepworth was born in Yorkshire and spent much of her life in London, it was St Ives that gave her a home in the years leading up to her death in 1975. Hepworth was no stranger to tragedy, and should you venture into St Ives parish church, you’ll be rewarded with the sight of the Madonna and Child – a haunting piece of work created in the aftermath of her son Paul’s death in 1953.

For such tiny towns, there’s no shortage of inspiration, whether or not you’re an artist. Though Hepworth is one of Cornwall’s most famous creative residents, the county has an intriguing history that encompasses everything from sea dogs to pirates, wizards and heroic Dark Age heroes. No surprise then, that Penzance has a smattering of inns that combine both. For traditionalists, there are the quaint Admiral Benbow and Turks Head watering holes; the former boasting a literary claim to fame in the shape of an appearance in Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous pirate adventure, Treasure Island, while the Turks Head dates back to the 13th century and a little known Turkish invasion.

At the Artist Residence, meanwhile, the county’s artistic heritage is remembered by rooms that reference the likes of Belinda Moore and Mat McIvor. There’s even a blank canvas room, just in case you need the head room to put your own ideas into practice. You never know: you might just produce the latest in a long line of works inspired by one of the UK’s loveliest counties.

Rooms at the Artist Residence start at £90 per night. At the Gurnard’s Head, expect to pay around £100 per night including breakfast. For more on Cornwall and its inspiring sights, see visitcornwall.com