Houses & Gardens
Lovers of magnificent country houses, exotic gardens and mysterious castle remains will find themselves completely at home in Cornwall. The grand manors and estates reach back in time to the 15th century and beyond; the gardens are the legacy of the great pioneering seed and plant collectors of the Darwinian age.
The National Trust has restored and maintained a fine collection of great houses in Cornwall, as well as managing large areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and miles of scenic coastline.
There is far too much to see for us to describe here - it would take a book or three! Our own favourites, though, are Lanhydrock, near Bodmin, St Michaels Mount, at Marazion near Penzance, and the Lost Gardens of Heligan near St. Austell.
The milder climate and clean air of Cornwall have enabled the cultivation of more exotic species than can be grown elsewhere in the U.K., and the county is home to several National Plant Collections.
No visit to Cornwall can be considered complete without discovering the internationally famous and unforgettable Eden Project, where the vast high-tech "bubble-wrap" domes provide Mediterranean and tropical micro-climates for plants from around the world. There is a strong theme of sustainability and education about food production in a changing world. If the weather is inclement you may need to time your visit, bearing in mind they receive over a million visitors a year!