My coast: Kirstie Allsopp

'I have been all over the country and travelled extensively but I still think Welcombe Cove is one of the most beautiful places in the country – on earth, in fact. It has a waterfall that starts in Welcombe village and runs down to the beach, which has these incredible jagged rocks. It’s a stony beach with small stretches of sand and I like the fact that it’s pretty deserted. That’s because it’s difficult to get to, down a very narrow, rugged road. Few people make it down there because they think they’ll wreck their cars! We mostly walk down.

'We holidayed a lot in north Cornwall when I was a child, travelling down from our family home in Hampshire, but I’ve only actually known Welcombe for about four years. We first discovered the house, Meadowgate (our holiday home and the property I renovated in "Kirstie’s Homemade Home"), which is just half a mile away. The village is surrounded by meadows and woodland, all nature reserves, and is near the Devon and Cornwall border, between Bude and Hartland.

'What I love to do is to go to the beach at low tide and surf. I don’t stand up, I boogie board. I have a wetsuit, though, and am very happy to swim in the sea pretty much from May to November. We often have a barbecue on the beach and just sit there and wait for the tide to come in completely.

'There are so many rockpools and places to climb that the children – Bay, five, and Oscar, three – are totally fascinated by it. It doesn’t matter that there is very little sand. They’re completely occupied. You can just sit there and find that a long time goes by without you even noticing.

'I love being by the sea more than anything else. For me, a holiday really has to involve some sea. Everyone just relaxes – there’s something about it. There’s no mobile reception and so you’re forced into a slower pace of life. I love to go to The Old Smithy, the village’s brilliant pub that serves delicious food. I like calling in at the village shop, too, and I always enjoy doing a lot of really lovely walking.

'I think that when houses are on the coast they should have a strong element of the sea inside. We have shells everywhere, and driftwood. Including the colours of blue and white is hugely important. I also like to bring in pottery from local craftspeople. There’s a pottery in the village and it’s the home of The Yarner Trust, which is all about sustainable and creative living. The area attracts artists, craftspeople and writers. We’re knee deep in them.

'Adding a personal touch to a coastal-style interior is easy, really, when you’re in a location like this. You sift your way through it. When it comes to shell pictures and driftwood, we tend to make those ourselves. You’re not supposed to take mementos from the beach but sometimes the children grab things and it’s quite hard to tell them they’re not allowed to take them. Having said that, we are very careful and certainly don’t want to deplete the beach. We are in Welcombe for life.'

Watch Kirstie’s new series, Kirstie’s Handmade Britain, currently airing on Wednesdays on Channel 4.