Cornwall saw a spike in interest from property buyers last week, with four of its towns in the top ten locations seeing the biggest rise in searches nationally.

Property website Rightmove has listed the ten places in the UK that have seen the biggest weekly percentage increases in buyer searches – and almost half are in the Duchy.

Looe comes in second place, with a 59 per cent rise in searches, while Callington is in seventh place with a 23 per cent rise, Camborne is ninth with a 21 per cent rise and Newquay completes the top ten with a 20 per cent rise.

However, it is Morecambe in Lancashire that has seen the biggest rise, with 71 per cent more searches between January 18 and 24.

Rightmove has suggested this could be down to viewers of ITV police drama The Bay, which recently started a new series, browsing to see what is for sale in the town where the show is set and filmed.

The beach in Looe. Picture: David Davies/PA

The beach in Looe. Picture: David Davies/PA

Cornwall has also seen a surge in programmes about it in recent weeks and months, with Rick Stein's Cornwall starting a new 15-part series on January 4, series three of Devon and Cornwall also beginning this month, Cornwall and Devon Walks with Julia Bradbury airing weekly and two series featuring our emergency services – Cornwall Air 999 showing the work of the air ambulance and Saving Lives at Sea the RNLI – shown recently, while Cornwall with Simon Reeve aired in December, showing a more 'real' look at life in the Duchy.

All these are apart from the worldwide phenomenon that was the latest BBC adaptation of the Poldark books.

Andrew McKnight, managing director of MAP estate agents in Cornwall, told the Press Association: "There are so many things that you can do down here that are hard to find elsewhere.

“Whenever I turn on the TV there is a programme about Cornwall. Whether it be a fishing show or a cooking show, or Poldark, there is national interest in the county and TV companies wouldn’t be making these shows if people weren’t interested in the way of life down here.”

Rightmove’s director of property data Tim Bannister agreed: “There’s a number of Cornwall-focused lifestyle shows on TV at the moment and it’s hard not to get swept away dreaming about a life in the South West.

"We already know that rural and seaside areas are rising in popularity, so it’s a trend that bodes well for sellers in these locations.”

The top ten locations with the biggest weekly percentage increases in buyer searches, according to Rightmove, are:

1. Morecambe, Lancashire, 71%

2. Looe, Cornwall, 59%

3. Ilfracombe, Devon, 43%

4. Saxmundham, Suffolk, 34%

5. Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland, 32%

6. Motherwell, Lanarkshire, 24%

7. Callington, Cornwall, 23%

8. Prudhoe, Northumberland, 22%

9. Camborne, Cornwall, 21%

10. Newquay, Cornwall, 20%