Kernow on Kamera

It seems that everywhere you look these days, Cornwall is on the telly. The highest profile show is Caroline Quentin’s Cornwall (ITV, Mons, 8pm), with its familiar faces including Camel Valley Wines, Nathan Outlaw and Prideaux Place. This has been drawing a lot of comment via social media – viewers appear to be split between those who think it makes a fine shop window for Cornwall’s natural beauty, offering a pleasant and picturesque half hour, and those who find it more sugary than a Cornish cream tea. It’s certainly as light and fluffy as a meringue, but Cornwall couldn’t ask for better coverage than such a prime time slot as this.

Meanwhile, Hugh’s Hungry Boys (Sun, 7pm) reach the end of their journey from Rover Cottage to Land’s End this weekend. They have travelled on a milk float (max speed: 40mph), and are aiming not to spend any money en route, cadging, bartering and foraging everything they need. See them exploring Apsaragus Island off Kynance Cove this Sunday.

Once that’s finished, turn over to ITV1 for Toughest Place to Be… A Fisherman. Cornishman Andy Giles leaves familiar waters to ply his trade in Sierra Leone, sleeping in mud huts and experiencing the dangers of fishing in seas where humble fishermen scraping a living compete with unscrupulous foreign trawlers who will break the rules to make more cash.

Moustachioed Dick Strawbridge and son James, eco-warriors from Tywardreath, are travelling round Britain’s coast in search of top nosh in The Hungry Sailors (ITV1, daily, 4pm). They’ve already done Cornwall, and have reached Kent now, picking winkles in Whitstable.

On Tuesday, hotelier and businesswoman Alex Polizzi (whose mother, Olga, runs the Hotel Tresanton in St Mawes) attempts to turn around the fortunes of Padstow’s family-run Chough Bakery (The Fixer, BBC2, 8pm).

Further ahead, on Friday, February 24, look out for John Craven and Jules Hudson visiting Godolphin House in Britain’s Heritage Heroes (BBC2, 6.30pm).

Then there is a raft of faces, celebrities held dear because they live in Cornwall: Jenny Agutter on Call the Midwife (Suns, BBC1, 8pm) and Jean Shrimpton, recently profiled in BBC4’s We’ll Take Manhattan.

It doesn’t seem long ago that Martin Clunes’ Doc Martin walked off grumpily into the sunset, hand in hand with his beloved Louisa. And we occasionally bump into our old friend Wycliffe on ITV3.

It all goes to show how much Cornwall inspires us all – its landscapes and its traditions, the warmth of its people. These programmes have a real appeal for those who would like to visit or live here, and fill those of us who already do with a sense of pride. That said, I find that life gets in the way of watching so much TV, so I’m grateful that I can just step out of my front door to enjoy it for myself.