Cornwall Post 2 Helford, Charlestown, Lost Gardens of Heligan

Following our stay in Marazion, described in my last post, Battleaxe and Philosopher said goodbye to our Brummie friends and set off on our own. We have been to the far west of Cornwall so many times, and not at all to the rest of it – except Boscastle – see last year. We had both wanted to see the Helford estuary, which is reputed to be so beautiful – so we did. Then on to a little hotel on the edge of the historic Charlestown Harbour – see Poldark – and another place we had both wanted to see, the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Then home – still over 2 days with a night in the New Forest. Here is one of the photos I took at Heligan.

Unfortunately, the day we had planned to go to the Helford Estuary was wet, cold and foggy – just right for appreciating the beauties of nature! I had thought that we’d go to Helford village, which is supposed to be one of the prettiest in England. Oh Lordy me. The narrow access road to the village went on for what felt like ever, culminating in a long, hairy descent where there was scarcely space for even our one car. Then, when we finally got there, it was so misty you couldn’t see much, the tide was way out, and worst of all, everything in the village appeared to be closed. There was a cafe right by the car park which looked sort of open, but when we approached we were met by a large woman standing arms akimbo in the doorway, who announced abruptly that the cafe was shut until tomorrow. I asked if there was anywhere else in the village we could get a coffee. ‘No’ she snapped. However, we wandered through the village in the drizzly rain and found a village shop, where a much nicer woman kindly made us a coffee.

 

We did see some swans though…

I have no doubt everything would look beautiful on a sunny day – but imagine that access road in the summer – noooo. We thought it all looked a bit like the Dart estuary, which is much more accessible.

We drove on, feeling somewhat grizzled, and after I turned to my National Trust app on the phone, we headed for the nearest likely property, Trelissick, near Truro.  Well, that was a relief. A lovely art gallery, an excellent caff, one of the largest second-hand bookshops in the country, good loos, a lovely garden – not that we saw much of it – and a fabulous tea-room in the old house. Phew. Here is a bank of spring flowers in the gardens, and a lovely azalea.

Then, on to Charlestown. Watchers of the recent TV Poldark will recognise it as the harbour in which much of the action took place. It is an original eighteenth century harbour, and a World Heritage site.

Here’s Aidan Turner at Charlestown. For a while, back then, he was every woman’s fantasy… not any more, I guess.

Anyway, I read that usually there is at least one tall ship in the harbour, but when we went? Noooo – the lock gates were being repaired and the place was largely closed! Our hotel, Pier House, was built in 1794 and has very recently been renovated by the St Austell Brewery – just like the Godolphin in Marazion! Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice place – our room was quiet, quirky and comfortable, the staff were lovely and there was a good restaurant and bar, but Battleaxe wouldn’t go for total recommendation because it was a bit too expensive for what we got. Basically, it was a pub/restaurant with rooms, charging 5 star hotel prices…

 

Anyway, the next day was bright and sunny, and off we went to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, just up the road. Now, Battleaxe would totally recommend this day out! Admission was quite expensive, but well worth it. The gardens are historic, beautiful and full of well-explained history, from lovely old glass houses to thunder-boxes,bee skeps and rare breed animals. One thing I would say though, there is a lot of walking involved. We stomped about for getting on for four hours, up hill and down dale, and were knackered. There was a really good cafe, and a huge, excellent shop. Here are some photos:

Phew. Next day, we did the first bit of the journey home, as far as the Premier Inn at Ringwood, where we also stayed last year. It is fine. Then, back to Hastings….