www.theblisspages.com - travel: Cornwall
www.theblisspages.com - travel: Cornwall
The earliest holiday I can remember was going to Perranporth, so it's always
my first stop whenever I go to Cornwall.
The Tourism Cornwall site said getting here is easy, leaving is the hardest part! Unfortunately, this was only too true as we hit huge delays getting home, partly due to traffic on the A30 near Bodmin and partly due to a serious accident just in front of us a few miles later, when a car had gone over the central reservation and into another car. A helicopter took off one poor unfortunate and others were ferried off in ambulances. It certainly put our delays in perspective.
It's amazing how little Perranporth has changed in over 40 years. The slot-racing
circuit has closed and the dunes are fenced off, but apart from that and one
street of 'grockle' shops, the rest is substantially as I remember it as a small
boy.
It has the most glorious beach, which is three miles long at low tide.
We stayed in a chalet at the Little Orchard Holiday Village.
It was quite comfortable,
but had a somewhat damp smell, which permeated all our clothes. Everyone was
friendly and the site was attractive, with only a short (but steep) walk to
the local beach, Trevaunance Cove. We also visited other local beaches such
as Chapel Porth and Porthtowan.
In a giant crater in Cornwall, England, the stories of our world are brought
to life. In the huge covered conservatories, or Biomes, you can visit the majestic
rainforests, the Mediterranean, South Africa and California and in the Outdoor
Landscape discover more about the plants and places that share the Cornish climate.
Eden is...
The Living Theatre of Plants and People, based in this stunning crater, provides us with a vibrant reminder of our place in nature. It is, in itself, a demonstration of regeneration and of what people can do once they set their mind to it. Over half of the exhibit area depicts our dependence on natural landscapes and wild plants. Into this framework are set the stories of the crops and plant products that have made our world.
I'm so pleased I got to visit and support this project. The Eden Project website contains a wealth of information and virtual tours. I bought a DVD and a book which tell the story of the project and it is fascinating.
We were worried about crowding, so we set out early and had no problems getting
in. Going at about 2pm should also avoid the crowds. I was impressed to see
that discounts for cyclists were offered, as were 'passports' for those wishing
to make regular visits.
I particularly liked the Humid Tropics Biome, which reminded me of many of
my travels. It's amazing how smells in particular can trigger memories. For
example Durian - which had a very appropriate quotation: it tastes like
heaven and smells like hell! How true...
This biome is the largest display greenhouse in the world, and it is very impressive. The signage was very informative and I loved the way that poetry, quotations and sculpture were incorporated.
There was even a field of hemp (all licensed and above-board), with a hemp rope
sculpture preserving us from temptation!
The proximity of the Gulf Stream creates a climate which supports sub-tropical plants, as well as abundant native flora, and this led to the introduction of many exotic species. There are over seventy gardens in Cornwall open to the public, and we visited a few.
Glendurgan garden is near Falmouth. It is a valley garden to Helford River and Durgan. It was planted in the 1820s by the Fox family and from 1962 by the National Trust. There is exotic vegetation, camellias, magnolias, specimen trees, wild flowers and an attractive laurel maze dating back to 1833. I'd like to go back there soon.
This was Europe's largest garden restoration project - over 80 acres of award winning gardens including: 2 acre working kitchen gardens full of exotic fruit houses, 22 acres sub-tropical "jungle" and 35 acre "lost valley".
In 2001 they celebrated the tenth anniversary of the restoration of the Lost Gardens. For many decades rampant overgrowth had engulfed the increasingly neglected gardens until the Great Storm of 1990, which appeared to put the final seal on this estate. However, during Easter 1991, a small band of enthusiasts started clearing away the veil of brambles which strangled what later emerged as the Melon Yard, at the heart of the productive gardens.
Tim Smit, who wrote The Lost Gardens of Heligan, went on to create the Eden Project.
For more information, see the Lost Gardens of Heligan website.
Trebah is a dramatic, sub-tropical 26 acre ravine garden. A steeply wooded
ravine descends 200 feet down to a private beach on the Helford River. A stream
meanders through ponds, one containing giant Koi carp, before winding through
acres of blue hydrangeas and reaching Yankee beach. Glades of sub-tropical ferns
and palms mingle with a forest of trees and shrubs beneath a canopy of century-old
rhododendrons and magnolias.
Trebah was first planted in the 1840's by Charles Fox , a Quaker landowner and inspired gardener. The rarest and most exotic trees and plants were imported from all over the world to create this lovely garden, and Fox ensured that every last sapling was painstakingly placed for maximum effect - although he knew he'd never see the garden in its mature splendour.
Future owners continued his work until the second world war, when the house was sold, the estate split up, and the garden lay neglected for the next 40 years. In 1980 Trebah was bought by the Hibbert family who began a massive restoration programme to restore the gardens to their Victorian heyday.
We particularly enjoyed wandering through Gunnera Passage, a tunnel of giant rhubarb 15 feet high.
This garden is near Madron, Penzance. It is a large woodland and stream garden with a rich collection of rhododendrons, magnolias and camellias. There was a series of walled gardens with inclined beds. These were made from bricks, which is quite unusual in Cornwall. There were also shrubs which it is said cannot be grown outside anywhere else in mainland Britain. My daughter was inspired to write a poem about the gardens and especially the ha-ha.
Cornwall
is a lovely county with many attractive features and plenty to do. It is unfortunately
too small for the number of tourists wanting to visit it and access is difficult,
with road delays endemic.
As with any holiday in Britain, one can never be sure of the weather, but if
it is sunny, there is nowhere in Britain with deeper blue skies and bluer seas.
:
: © Mike Bliss 2011