Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Caerhays Castle
West of Mevagissey, overlooking the gentle crescent of Porthluney Beach is
Caerhays Castle
( 01872-501310;
www.caerhays.co.uk
; gardens adult/child £7.50/3.50, incl house tour £12.50/6; gardens
10am-5pm mid-Feb-mid-Jun)
, a crenellated country mansion originally built for the Trevanions
and later remodelled under the guidance of John Nash (who designed Buckingham Palace
and Brighton Pavilion). The house is still a private residence, and is open for guided tours
in spring, while the gardens are worth visiting for their wonderful displays of camellias,
rhododendrons and magnolias.
A WWII pillbox can still be seen on the right-hand side of the beach. The house is on a
narrow road between Portholland and Gorran Churchtown; it's reasonably well signpos-
ted, but you might find a map comes in handy.
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Lost Gardens of Heligan
Before he embarked on his Eden adventure, Tim Smit's pet project was the
Lost Gardens of
Heligan
( 01726-845100;
www.heligan.com
; adult/child £11/6; 10am-6pm Mar-Oct, 10am-5pm Nov-Feb)
.
During the 19th century, Heligan was the family seat of the Tremayne family and one of
Cornwall's great country gardens, but following the outbreak of WWI (when most of its
staff were killed) the garden and house slid into disrepair. Since the early 1990s, volun-
teers have restored the garden to its full splendour, complete with kitchen garden, fairy
grotto and a 'Lost Valley' filled with palms and jungle plants.
Heligan is 1.5 miles from Mevagissey and 7 miles from St Austell. Western Grey-
hound's bus 526 runs regularly to Mevagissey, Gorran Haven and St Austell.
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Eden Project
The space-age domes of the
Eden Project
(
01726-811911;
www.edenproject.com
;
adult/child £23.50/
10am-6pm Apr-Oct, to 4.30pm Nov-Mar)
scarcely need any introduction: since their open-
10.50;
