England: Summer Gardens of Cornwall 5214

We depart by coach from our pick-up points (London, Reading, Swindon and Bristol) and head for Cornwall, breaking our journey with a visit to Hestercombe, one of Gertrude Jekyll and Sir Edwin Lutyens’ greatest masterpieces. The garden is home to a round pool in a circular walled garden filled with wintersweet and roses, a Dutch garden of lamb's ears, lavender and the most beautiful orangery of the 20th century. Everywhere there are details of design and plantings from which even the most experienced gardener can learn.

Following our visit, we continue to our comfortable 3* Penmorvah Manor hotel. This Victorian country manor hotel was built in 1872 and is set in 6 acres of tranquil gardens and woodland. All rooms are en-suite with TV, Wi-Fi, direct dial telephone, hairdryer and tea and coffee making facilities.

After breakfast we depart for the garden at Tregrehan where we will be privileged to have a guided tour with owner Tom Hudson. Tregrehan is a 20-acre woodland garden created in the early 19th century and developed by the Carlyon family, concentrating on genera from warm temperate regions. It is now an important green gene bank of known source plants including camellias bred by the late owner. In the more formal walled garden there is a fine glasshouse from 1846, which is 128 feet long.

We continue today with a visit to Marsh Villa, situated in a former tidal creek made famous by Daphne du Maurier’s book ‘The House on the Strand’. This 3-acre garden is the result of years of hard work by the enthusiastic owner – not to mention several lorry loads of manure. The main feature of the garden is the magnificent pond. The water table rises in winter and so marginal planting consists of reed mace, filipendula, lythrum and the ubiquitous flag iris. A passion for perennials brought about the construction of a secluded, rather formal garden set within escallonia hedges. Here there is colour from the tulip season right through to the heleniums and eupatoriums.

This morning we visit Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, near Penzance.  This major attraction opened in September 2012 and is set in a beautiful sheltered valley, surrounded by woods, a stream and dramatic vista to provide a perfect setting for this 22-acre sub-tropical and exotic garden. The garden is filled with high quality contemporary art installations from renowned artists such as David Nash RA and James Turrell RA. You will also have the opportunity to visit the Gallery to view paintings, ceramics and sculptures by renowned artists, all available to buy. 

We continue to the gardens at Trengwainton. Intimate and closely linked to the picturesque stream running through its valley, the garden leads up to a terrace and summer houses with splendid views across Mount’s Bay to The Lizard. The walled gardens contain many rare and unusual species, which are difficult to grow in the open anywhere else in the country.

Following our full English breakfast, we begin today with a visit to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, The award winning gardens, asleep for more than seventy years, are the scene of the largest garden restoration project in Europe.  In the spring of 1991, the Gardens of Heligan lay under a blanket of bramble, ivy, rampant laurel and fallen timber.  A year later the restoration team opened the gardens to enable the public to share in the excitement of their discovery.  We will enjoy a guided tour of the garden by a member of staff.

Following this visit we transfer to to the remarkable Pinetum Park and Pine Lodge Gardens, which has consistently received rave reviews over the years, not just from the gardening press but also from a great number of Brightwater Holidays’ passengers. Set in 30 acres of parkland, Pine Lodge boasts a pinetum, a marsh garden and many rare and tender plants, some of which result from those legendary plant-hunting expeditions. One flower which always draws a lot of attention is the very unusual Grevillea, a wild flower of Australia belonging to the Protea family - Pine Lodge holds the National Collection. All the plants are labelled for easy identification, making a visit here a most rewarding and illuminating experience.

After breakfast we will begin our day with a sail up the River Fal to visit Trelissick, a modern garden which was created within shelter belts planted 200 years ago. The garden is constantly evolving, with new planting and fresh ideas. Trelissick has seen trees grow to maturity, the tide ebbing and flowing, but over the course of time it has become a dynamic, forward-looking estate. The iconic Water Tower was built for irrigation and fire-control; now the lavatories are flushed with rainwater stored underground in modern reservoirs. Heat is extracted from kitchen appliances and the sun to provide hot water and heating.

Following our visit, we travel to the garden of Lamorran House, where we will have an introductory talk before viewing the garden.  Lamorran House overlooks Falmouth Bay, which has been designed by the owner in an Italianate style, although there are also Japanese influences here. The intention was to create an intimate garden very much in the mould of Mediterranean gardens but with water ever-present, both as a backdrop to the garden and with running water featured in the many pools and streams. Many elements are included to divide the garden into intimate compartments which the visitor can explore. Hence there are areas of woodland, a water garden in Japanese style as well as temples and archways in the steeper parts of the garden and a small bridge creating wonderful views over the bay giving a distinctively Venetian feel.

Following breakfast the day is free to relax in the hotel or explore the surrounding area. Alternatively we offer an optional excursion to Tresco:

Optional Excursion - Tresco in the Isles of Scilly - £250 per person

After an early breakfast we depart for Land’s End Airport from where we will fly to St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly. On arrival you will be taken to the quayside for a short boat transfer to Tresco, where we visit the unique Abbey Gardens, home to more than 3,000 species and magnificent vistas, colours and scents. The head gardener will be on hand to answer any questions.  Lunch is available in the café here after which you are free to explore the garden further or take a wander round this tiny island. Later in the afternoon we return to St Mary’s for the flight back to Land’s End and the transfer back to our hotel (please note this is subject to minimum numbers).

Following breakfast, we begin our return journey which we will break with a detour into north Devon which takes us a little out of our way but is well worth it, as we visit RHS Garden Rosemoor. At this time of year the roses which grow in abundance here will be at their peak, providing a kaleidoscope of colour and filling the air with fragrance. As we will discover on our guided tour, there are two gardens here, the first an intimate woodland garden dating from the 1960s, which has an excellent collection of trees and shrubs which relish the acid soil – dogwoods, eucryphias, maples, pieris, rhododendrons and vacciniums. The other is a more ambitious affair, which has been developed since the RHS became the owner in 1988, with rose gardens and giant borders, a lake and stream garden and a Mediterranean garden.

There will be time for lunch (not included) before continuing our journey to our original departure points.