DESTINATION:
Cornwall
Located in the country’s southwestern tip, Cornwall offers not only a wealth of cultural treasures but stunning coastal scenery and picturesque harbour villages. Artists, inspired by the simplistic charm, beauty and tranquillity of the area, formed a unified artistic movement known as the Newlyn School. Our tour will include Penlee House Gallery which boasts a fine collection of their works. The micro climate and heavy rainfall has given rise to a number of exotic gardens the most renowned being the Eden Project, a dramatic tropical garden housed in imposing biomes.
Recommended duration - 4 nights/5 days minimum
KEY VISITS (Recommended)
- TATE GALLERY (St Ives) – offering frequently changing displays from their collections of British and modern art, as well as exhibitions of new work by contemporary artists.
- BARBARA HEPWORTH MUSEUM – located in her house and studio, many of her magnificent works are displayed in the Sculpture Garden.
- PENLEE HOUSE GALLERY (Penzance) – built as a private house in 1865 and completely refurbished in 1997, Penlee House Gallery and Museum offers a modern gallery set within a gracious Victorian house, surrounded by an attractive park.
- LANHYDROCK (National Trust, Bodmin) – the original 17th century building was devastated by fire and rebuilt in 1881. The ensuing renovations have resulted in 49 rooms rich in atmosphere and affording a taste of Victorian country life.
- THE LOST GARDENS OF HELIGAN – an award-winning 80 acre superb pleasure grounds with a magnificently restored complex of four walled gardens and a kitchen garden, as well as a 20 acre subtropical jungle valley, fern ravine, crystal grotto, Italian garden, summerhouses, lawns, and planted gardens.
- TREBAH GARDENS – first laid out as a 26 acre pleasure garden by Charles Fox in the 1830s and today rated among the 80 finest gardens in the world. The gardens wind down to a private and secluded beach on the Helford River.
- COTEHELE (National Trust, Saltash) – built between 1485 and 1627 from mostly granite and slate and home of the Edgcumbe family for centuries. The enclosing walls contain intimate chambers adorned with sumptuous tapestries, original furniture and medieval armour, surrounded by magnificent formal gardens. The property includes COTEHELE MILL, which has been restored to working condition, and COTEHELE QUAY.
- EDEN PROJECT (St Ives) – one of Britain’s millennium landmarks, presenting the whole world in microcosm. One of the two gigantic conservatories recreates a tropical rainforest environment with plants from the Rainforests and Oceanic Islands, while the other is host to the Warm Temperate Zone with fruits of the Mediterranean and flowers of South Africa and California. A third area, roofless and thus thriving on the climatic advantages of Cornwall, represents the Temperate Zone with a range of plants from India to Chile to Cornwall.
ALTERNATIVE VISITS
- NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM (Falmouth) – located on Falmouth’s waterfront, this award-winning building has been designed to bring to life the stories of boats, maritime themes and Cornwall’s heritage, with an array of small and large galleries.
- CHARLESTOWN SHIPWRECK and HERITAGE CENTRE – located in an historic china clay building, the centre houses the largest collection of shipwreck artefacts and treasures in the UK, and one of the largest underwater diving equipment collections in the country.
- TREWITHEN HOUSE – an architectural gem, the exterior of which has not significantly changed since 1715 when Philip Hawkins first bought it. Since then, ten generations of the same family have lived here. The rooms boast architectural features unlike anything else in Cornwall. Trewithen means ‘house of the trees’ and with 30 acres of surrounding woodland gardens and over 200 acres of parkland, the name could not be more appropriate.
- PORT ELIOT – lived in for over 1000 years and believed to be the oldest continually inhabited dwelling in the UK. The house was originally built in the 10th century as a priory for Augustinian monks and in the 18th century, Sir John Soane remodelled the Grade I listed priory and house, while Humphrey Repton created the gardens and park. Port Eliot is full of treasures amassed over its long history, including works by Sir Joshua Reynolds and van Dyck.
- TREGOTHAN – a living and working private Cornish estate with a rich history dating back to 1334 and home to the Boscawen family. It is the largest historic botanic garden in Cornwall, its character having been formed by the 6th Viscount Falmouth and his brother, who brought rhododendrons, rare trees, shrubs and ornamental camellias into the arboretum 200 years ago.
- PRIDEAUX PLACE – combines Elizabethan architecture with 18th century gothic. Sitting in splendour on a hill overlooking Padstow and still lived in by the family for whom it was built, the house has 81 rooms, and may of the finest rooms are included in the tour.