This splendid inn has been taken over by a former barrister and his wife, who hails from a family with serious experience of running pubs, so between them the landscape is changing and St Kew Inn is gently adapting to the times, a ticklish business that involves keeping everybody contented.

The food is good sturdy, mainly local stuff, with steaks that would do justice to a sound London steakhouse, and then some.  As well as a wine list of some distinction - but what else would one expect from a man of the law - there are local beers for which people are known to travel many miles to savour. St Austell comes from wooden barrels that give an extra flavour to the brew, and Hicks Special Draught has a rich, dark reputation.

With Cornwall becoming ever more popular, places like the St Kew Inn could become havens of a new approach in the county that retains the best of the old whilst encouraging fresh attitudes that blend in naturally with the fine traditions of this very independent part of the world.