Historical and characterful townhouse with sunny garden and walk to the coast.

Adam is a retired BBC journalist and I was a teacher. We had always planned to move down to St Just when we finished work but life gets in the way and we are now looking forward to sharing our lovely house with others.

This area of Cornwall has been overlooked, not least the Tin Coast. A World Heritage Site, Cot Valley, Cape Cornwall and the Kenidjack Valley have a special appeal for someone born, as I was, in Brampton Bierlow. All three are a short walk from St Just, once the centre of mining and its associated industries. Now the most westerly town in England is the ideal base from which to explore or rediscover one of the most beautiful parts of Cornwall. Over little more than a century, Nature has reclaimed what were once industrial sites, leaving isolated ruins which seeem as ancient as the prehistoric monuments alongside them. Farmland and moors rise above the town to the hills which separate it from Penance, Newlyn and Mousehole. To the west, the Atlantic coast stretches past the much prized surfing beaches at Sennen to Land's End. From the free car park at the centre of St Just, the Scilly Isles can be seen on the horizon on a clear day. The town itself is intriguing - rows of fine granite terraces often built by the miners themselves; an ancient open space where Mediaeval mystery plays are still performed; a host of chapels - another relic of mining history; a town square which sums up the human scale of the place where passersby say hello to one another. Around the square is everything a visitor could want - a supermarket, four pubs, a butcher's, a cafe, a fish and chip shop, a wholefood store, a pizza and sandwich takeaway, a baker's, the church, an off-licence. Nearby are more cafes, a post office, the splendid gallery built by the town's internationally famous artist, Kurt Jackson, shops sellling souvenirs, art work, pottery, bric a brac.

In the past there were many more shops - our house was once a grocer's. For a decade the house has been a much-loved home from home. Once owned by an artist, it retains many of its historic and unusual features. The rear part of it was a 17th century forge, in front of which a 19th century house was added when the street was built. Much more spacious than a passerby might think, it has two sitting rooms and four bedrooms. The large kitchen is ideal for relaxed and sociable meals and it opens on to a private courtyard which traps the sun and keeps out the wind. Like most houses in the centre of St Just, there is no on-street parking - everyone uses the free central car park a two-minute walk away. The beds are comfy, the duvets mostly down and you'll not want for reading or viewing material.