Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
River,
its creeks and woods seemingly unchanged since the days when it was the
haunt of smugglers.
Truro
is a lively city with a long history. Fine Georgian and Victorian buildings,
built by wealthy mine owners and merchants, give its streets an elegant air. The most
striking building is the magnificent
Truro Cathedral,
St. Mary's Street (
&
01872/
276782;
www.trurocathedral.org.uk; Mon-Sat 7:30am-6pm, Sun 9am-7pm; free
admission), built in soaring Gothic style in late Victorian times and finally completed
in 1910. There is some fine stained glass, and organ recitals are frequently held
here. The
Royal Cornwall Museum,
River Street (
&
01872/272205;
www.royal
cornwallmuseum.org.uk; Mon-Sat 10am-4:45pm; free admission), is also worth a
visit with its displays of both Cornish and non-Cornish fine art, photographs, archeol-
ogy, and minerals.
FALMOUTH
National Maritime Museum
MUSEUM The busy port of Falmouth has
been much redeveloped in recent years. The excellent National Maritime Museum
is set in a striking contemporary building on the quay-side, with a Lookout Tower that
makes the most of the sea views. Boats hang suspended above the main atrium, and
there are displays on everything from shipbuilding to great survival stories. Sir Ernest
Shackleton's string vest, interactive displays on the weather, and a pool where you can
try your hand at “sailing” a remote controlled craft make this a great place for the
entire family.
Discovery Quay.
&
01326/313388.
www.nmmc.co.uk. Admission £9.50 adults, £7.75 seniors, £6.50
full-time students and children 6-15, free for children 5 and under, £27 family ticket. Daily 10am-5pm.
ST. AUSTELL AREA
The Eden Project
GARDEN Looking rather like giant spaceships, the
vast “greenhouses,” or geodesic domes of the Eden Project—set in a former china
clay quarry—reproduce climates from different parts of the world, allowing you to
wander through a “rainforest” and see how chocolate grows; or see cork trees in the
Mediterranean biome. You'll learn about conservation, as well as have a chance to see
thousands of different plants and learn about their importance as medicine, food, and
fuel. There are outdoor gardens, too, plus trails and play areas for the kids—it's easy
to spend a full day here. Go early to avoid waiting to enter.
Bodelva, St. Austell.
&
01726/811911.
www.edenproject.com. Admission £18 adults, £6 children 5-16,
free children 4 and under; reductions available if buying online, or if arriving by public transport (show
ticket). Late Mar-late Oct daily 9:30am-6pm (last admission 4:30pm); Nov-mid Mar daily 9:30am-
4:30pm (last entry 3pm). Note: Winter hours can vary, so check website before visiting. The project lies
6 miles from the St. Austell train station, to which it is linked by bus.
Lost Gardens of Heligan
GARDEN It was in 1990 that these extraor-
dinary gardens at Heligan, once the seat of the Tremayne family, were discovered,
slumbering and overgrown, having fallen into neglect after World War I. Visiting
them is rather like traveling back in time to Queen Victoria's day. Europe's largest
garden restoration project sprawls over 81 hectares (200 acres) of pure enchantment.
There are wild areas, a subtropical “jungle,” and, most moving of all, the Victorian
kitchen garden where gardeners scrawled their names in August 1914—almost all
of them were soon to die in the war. Heligan is close to the fishing village of
Mevagissey,
which is worth a visit too—but allow the best part of a day to explore
the gardens.
10
