Old folk in Cornwall aren’t what they used to be. They are younger, for a start. And they don’t sit wrapped up on the beach, munching sandwiches from a Tupperware box. These days they are more likely to be in a Michelin-starred restaurant, picking at a warm salad of seared monkfish and tiger prawns. They might even be out surfing.

The county is as popular as ever with retirees, and in the Penwith district around Mousehole and Penzance, 28% of the population is more than 60 years old. With baby boomers quitting work as soon as they can and the advent of the new “cool” Cornwall of Tate St Ives, Rick Stein and Newquay surf, there has been an influx of the semi- retired in their fifties. The grey pound is not only stronger than ever, but it now comes with blonde highlights.

Thanks largely to these “youthful” retirees, the price of Dunrockin’ By Sea has practically quadrupled in the past 10 years. A Halifax survey released earlier this month revealed that Cornwall has seen the biggest rise in average house prices in Britain during that period: from £53,081 in 1996 to £195,388 in 2006. It’s a boom led by an influx of 80,000 second-home buyers in Cornwall and the southwest, with a high proportion of these new arrivals planning to retire early or do a little freelance work while enjoying a change of pace, before retiring completely.

A report by Liam Bailey, head of residential research at estate agency Knight Frank, shows that 27% of UK second homes are in the southwest, which has a population of some 5.09m, forecast to rise 7% by 2021, against a national average of 4%.

Nigel Stubbs, of estate agency Miller Countrywide, which covers Cornwall, says: “A lot of people we sell to are buying a second home with a view to making it their main residence in the fullness of time. They have not hung up their work boots totally. We just sold one significant house to somebody who is still abroad, driving a big company in Switzerland, who will ultimately come home to roost.”

Semi-retired buyers often start with a home that provides an income. Michael Lamoureux, 62, and his wife Kim, 48, moved to Cornwall from West Sussex five years ago. “We loved it there but it got more and more hectic,” says Michael. “Kim and I knew we were going to have to move out at some stage, so we decided to do it earlier. We started looking for a holiday complex, but we also wanted a home that we could retire to eventually.”

It didn’t take long. “We soon found a place near St Mawes that was ideal,” Michael says. “The Roundhouse Barn is a beautiful three-bed house, low-slung like a hacienda, with a large round reception room and three one-bed holiday cottages.” It cost them £675,000.

Michael continued to run his business from home, marketing protective clothing for fire- fighters, while Kim, a former personnel officer, ran the holiday venture. Michael now has health problems, so the couple are moving on.

“I need to slow down and rebalance my life,” he says. They have bought a bungalow three miles away and have had it extended. It was important for them to remain on the Roseland peninsula.

“We have the best day-sailing in Cornwall on the estuary of the Fal. The climate is mild, we love the coastline and the light, and the fields are awash with daffodils, even before Christmas.”

Bungalows have always been popular here. As Josephine Ashby, of John Bray estate agency in Rock, says: “Buyers like to be on the flat and they like their gin and tonics.” Rock itself is fashionable and prices are high: a three- to four-bed bungalow with a good garden and views, she says, will cost £250,000-£500,000. With exceptional sea views, the price could exceed £1m. She says two-thirds of the people walking into the John Bray office are looking for a holiday home, a third are retirees, and there’s a lot of overlap.

Dr Martin Brooke, 53, is a GP who understands those who move to the area, released from the shackles of children and their careers. “The newly retired come down here with all their toys,” he says. “They are sixty-ish and they have shrimpers, vintage cars, golf clubs and skis. A lot have holiday homes that they retire to. They know the area, they know people to play bridge and golf with, and their children want to come and stay.”

He has built a small retirement complex, consisting of two bungalows and four houses with stair lifts, at the end of his garden in Rock, which he manages with his wife, Maureen, 43.

“We think of ourselves as professional good neighbours,” he says. “We are the wardens and we take care of all outside maintenance and gardening, and we communicate with their children. They are all very happy with the arrangements and they love the fact that there are no massive supermarket queues, no traffic, and that there is generally less pressure on life here.”

Brooke’s residents buy a licence to live there and pay a monthly service charge of £155. Monica Pethybridge, 91, has lived there for three years. “We are a contented group, all rather old and rather similar, and absolutely amicable together,” she says. “There’s always somebody about, and we do little jobs for each other. The shops deliver, and on a rainy day, a neighbour will bring your newspaper.”

The pace of life is undoubtedly slower in the southwest, but Cornwall has another big selling point: it’s fun. Its economy is geared towards holidays, but the season is just three months long. For nine months, the retired get the county to themselves. No wonder they can’t wait to get there.

The Roundhouse Barn, www.a-cottage-in-cornwall.co.uk, is on the market at £1.2m with Miller Countrywide, 01326 270 744, www.millercountrywide.co.uk Dr Brooke, 07887 556 147, dr.brooke@freeuk.com

On the market

This three-bed house with 0.3 acre, in Helford Passage near Falmouth, is on sale for £725,000 with Lillicrap Chilcott, 01872 273 473, www.lillicrapchilcott.com

In Polzeath, seven miles from Wadebridge, this three-bed detached house is on sale for £450,000 with John Bray, 01208 862 601, www.johnbray.co.uk

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