One of the things I was most excited to do on our recent trip to Cornwall was to visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan. It’s a place I’d read about lots and seen lots of pictures, so I really wanted to see it in the flesh. Located near Megavissey, the gardens had been a hugely impressive part of the Tremayne estate, producing fruit and vegetables for the household, as well as the formal gardens themselves. But they fell into disrepair after WWI when most of their gardeners were called up to fight in the war.

In 1990, an old small building was discovered under fallen masonry in a corner of the garden, and inscribed on the wall along with the date 1914 were the names of all those gardeners who headed off to war, so many not to return, and the inscription “Don’t come here to sleep or slumber”. The gardens have been restored in their memory, and the unique climate on the Cornish coast allows for a display of really unusual plants.

 

The Mud Head and The Mud Maid

As soon as you enter the gardens you’re greeted by the giant Mud Head - hugely impressive and fascinating for Max (as well as me!). We followed the Woodland Walk which took us to see the sleeping Mud Maid - I managed to capture a shot of Max’s face as he saw the Mud Maid for the first time, suffice to say he was quite excited!

 

 

I was really impressed at the number of activities laid out on the trail - every 100 yards or so there was another fallen tree to climb along, or tree bark stepping stones to walk across, so it took us quite a long time to get through the woodland. Particularly when Max found a cute new game of ‘collect the best stones’.

 

 

As you come out of the woodland the path winds round towards the jungle, which is really impressive. Full of plants that you wouldn’t expect to see rounding a corner in the UK! Unfortunately we didn’t get to fully explore the jungle as Max was keen to plough on in a different direction!

We visited in April, so the gardens were full of blossom and colour - magnolias in bloom and apple blossom everywhere.

 

 

I’m a bit of a sucker for a glasshouse and I came away from The Lost Gardens of Heligan with a severe case of glasshouse envy! There were so many glasshouses, crammed with fruit, cacti, and pelargoniums, and cold frames crammed with all kinds of veg.

 

 

Max loved exploring the gardens - every corner you turned there was something new to investigate. One of my favourite parts was the Italian Garden - a walled garden with a long rectangular pond and fountain. Small but perfectly formed and so peaceful.

 

 

I always love a grotto - it feels like you’re discovering something that no-one else has ever found!

 

 

We had such a lovely time exploring The Lost Gardens of Heligan - it’ll be right at the top of my list if we return to Cornwall and I can imagine that it would look completely different at different times in the season. Plus, I need to get to see the jungle at some point! The recommendation for a visit length was 4 hours to get a sense of the gardens and the jungle and I remember thinking that was going to be too long for Max, but I couldn’t have been more wrong! We were there for just under 4 hours and didn’t even touch the jungle area really - and we took home an exhuasted toddler who’d worn himself out running around.

 

Eating and Drinking

Heligan have a large kitchen at the entrance to the gardens producing food made from home grown and locally sourced ingredients. It’s very large and has plenty of seating.

There is also a cafe within the gardens where we grabbed a drink and an ice-cream (and received a compliment on how well behaved Max was - win!)

 

Information

The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Pentewan, St.Austell, Cornwall, PL26 6EN
Tel: +44(0)1726 845100

Open every day (except Christmas Day) from 10:00 - 18:00 throughout spring and summer

Adults: £13.50

Children: £6 (under 5’s free)

Website: http://heligan.com/