Koru Kayaking offers a downriver adventure through the mysterious Frenchman’s Creek, where you can gaze at the wildlife, swim at secluded beaches and drift past shipwrecks. It’s also where du Maurier spent her honeymoon, sailing around with her new husband, Tommy Browning. It’s not hard to see why Du Maurier was compelled to write about this mysterious inlet of the Helford River, where her heroine, Lady Dona St Columb, falls for French buccaneer Jean-Benoit Aubéry. View our collection of holiday cottages in Fowey here. Here’s an idea for next year: the Fowey Festival of Words and Music, organised by two du Maurier experts, will be running from 7-, promising arts events for all. Make time to pop into Fowey Museum – small but perfectly formed in just one room, the focus is on Fowey’s history and there is an entire exhibition dedicated to Daphne du Maurier. The centre of town is home to the Daphne du Maurier Literary Centre, chock full of books and displays dedicated to du Maurier’s works – a quiet sanctuary amid the hustle and bustle of Fowey’s busy cafes, pubs and restaurants. For stunning views of Fowey Harbour, try the National Trust’s Hall Walk – a spectacular circular coastal walk, which includes two ferry rides: from Fowey to Polruan and Fowey to Bodinnick. Not much has changed in the picturesque fishing village – wander through to get a real feel for the town as it would have been through du Maurier’s eyes and you can see how it would have fired her dark imagination. ‘Fowey would be my salvation’ wrote du Maurier of the riverside town – and it is easy to agree with her. Swim in the crystal clear waters and gaze through du Maurier’s eyes (and Rebecca’s) towards St Austell, as well as east towards Fowey. The cottages in the area could well have inspired Rebecca’s boathouse. Just below Menabilly House is Polridmouth Cove, a secluded beach where du Maurier loved to swim. You can, however, visit the beach where the first mistress of Manderley, Rebecca, entertained her lover in her cottage. But perhaps some mysterious places are best left to the imagination: ‘a jewel in the hollow of a hand’. Sadly for us, like Manderley, Menabilly sits deep in its own estate, hidden from view. The abandoned Menabilly had entranced du Maurier since her early twenties, and she began a life-long love affair with the house, eventually moving in as a tenant in 1943 and remaining there until 1963.

The gothic setting was inspired by Menabilly House, which has been the seat of the Rashleigh family since the 16th century. ‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.’ The immortal first line of Rebecca conjures up spine-tingling images of the novel’s secretive mansion, its eponymous ghostly mistress and the creepy Mrs Danvers. From left to right: Bodinnick, Fowey estuary, Jamaica Inn Menabilly, near Fowey, and Polridmouth Cove

Lady dona daphne du maurier