The Great Gardens of Cornwall: June 1-11, 2025
About this trip
Cornwall is well known for its beloved television characters, Doc Martin and Poldark, but it’s also famous for its gardens. Enjoying the warmth of the Gulf Stream, it has a unique microclimate (subtropical in places) resulting in gardens that are home to some of the most exciting, rare and beautiful plants and trees in the British Isles.
On this 11-day tour you’ll visit a wide range of properties: from the formal to the informal, from woodland retreats to historic rolling-parkland, all with the beautiful Cornish coast as a backdrop. We will have a private guided tour at each garden. Complete itinerary details are below.
Cornwall is also a culinary treasure trove of the freshest daily caught fish, pasture raised beef, pork, lamb, cheeses and eggs. A full Cornish breakfast includes free range eggs and cream from the cows you hear lowing in the next field, and your dinner comes straight from the sea.
The tour is currently being finalized so pricing will be available sometime in September. Space on this tour is limited to 12 guests. There will be a zoom meeting on October 6 at 11:00 AM CDT. If you would like to join in, please click the button (below/right) and add your name to the list.
Please note: This tour is designed for people who lead active lives. You should be able to comfortably participate in up to five hours of physical activity per day (with breaks!), Some places will have steep and/or uneven paths. If you have any questions about the tour before the zoom, please feel free to contact me.
DATES & PRICES
JUNE 1-11, 2025
Cost of the tour is being finalized. Please check back soon or contact me with any questions.
St Ives
Sample Itinerary
Caerhays Estate
Day 1: Arrival in Cornwall & Welcome Dinner
Upon arrival at Newquay, we will be met and taken to our hotel near St Austell, Cornwall. En route, we’ll visit our first garden, nestled in a sheltered valley on the south coast, the world famous Caerhays Castle and Spring Gardens. We start our visit to Caerhays with a delicious lunch (with coffee!) served in the castle itself. After we are fully refreshed, we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the main rooms on the ground floor of the Castle, followed by a garden tour given by the owner, Charles Williams. Caerhays has a magnificent 140 acre woodland garden and is famous for its magnolias, rhododendrons and azaleas.
Afterwards, we will travel through the beautiful Cornish countryside as we make our way to our hotel and check-in. Take some time to enjoy the spa or just relax before our welcome dinner at the hotel.
Lanhydrock
Day 2: Lanhydrock House and the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery
After breakfast, depart for Lanhydrock House. This beautiful National Trust property was built in the 1600s. After a devastating fire in 1881 the Jacobean house was refurbished in high-Victorian style, with the best in country house design and the latest modern conveniences. The garden has beautiful herbaceous borders, a fabulous formal parterre and colorful higher gardens After the garden, there will be time to visit the house.
The Royal Duchy of Cornwall is the private estate of the Prince of Wales. This afternoon we’ll visit the Duchy’s nursery which is a showcase for Cornwall’s abundant native plants. We’ll enjoy a flower arranging class, complete with a vase and bouquet to enjoy during your stay in Cornwall.
Head gardener's office, Heligan
Day 3: Lost Garden of Heligan and Tregothnan
Heligan was once one of Cornwall’s finest estates, whose exotic gardens were “lost” in 1914 when the estate’s workforce of gardeners marched off to war – only four of the 13 ever returned. Heligan was re-awakened in 1990 to become Europe’s largest garden restoration project. The goal of the restoration became to tell the story of those who worked there and re-discover their knowledge and methods. Today Heligan’s 200 acres are a paradise for the plant lover and garden romantic. Free time for lunch (and the shop!)
Afterwards, we’ll drive to Tregothnan Garden & Arboretum which is unique in its diversity of plants and trees, rare collections, sweeping vistas and peaceful secluded groves. We’ll be immersed in the history of tea at Tregothnan, discover their tea garden, and find out about the rare kea plum. Afterwards, we’ll enjoy a tasting of some of their blended teas.
Tregrehan
Day 4 Tregrehan and Lamorran Gardens
This morning we will visit the nearby Tregrehan Garden, a family estate since 1565, but it feels like it came out of a Jane Austen novel with its formal walled and sunken gardens, a greenhouse, and much more. Expansive views from its Parkland, across sheep meadows, to neighboring estates suggest rambling walks. After lunch in St Mawes, a charming seaside village, we’ll continue to Lamorran Gardens.
A deep passion for the gardens of Japan and the Mediterranean inspired this idyll, envisioned 40 years ago by a pair of renowned London landscape architects. Stroll through dense alleyways of native and exotic specimens to emerge at stunning views of the Roseland Peninsula and the English Channel. From its perch above the beautiful seaside town of St. Mawes, this garden truly represents the Cornish tradition of gardening “on the edge.”
Royal Cornwall Show, Wadebridge
Day 5: Royal Cornwall Show and transfer to Penzance
Today we’ll say good bye to St Austell and move to West Cornwall, where we’ll be based in Penzance.
On the way, we’ll stop at the Royal Cornwall Show, a county agricultural fair with the judging of domestic cattle, sheep, horses, goats and various other domestic animals. In addition, there is a multitude of artisanal Cornish food producers offering samples of everything from gin & wine to specialty breads, clotted cream and even curries. We will also find live music and dance and a main ring with entertainment like marching bands and horseback team races! This is the largest event in Cornwall each year, and a national favorite.
Afterwards, continue to Penzance and check into the hotel. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening on your own.
Tremenheere Garden
Day 6: Tremenheere Sculpture Garden and Bronze-Age Cornwall
Today we will travel millennia, all within 15 miles.
We’ll begin the day at Tremenheere Sculpture Garden, one of Cornwall’s most modern gardens. Art and nature merge seamlessly in this stunning garden and sculpture park. Encompassing works by internationally renowned works of art such as James Turrell’s Sky Space, and thoughtful plantings of subtropical species that thrive in Cornwall’s unique microclimate.
Life in Cornwall dates back over 4500 years, and this afternoon we’ll visit one of the area’s oldest Bronze Age sites, the Merry Maidens stone circle (late neolithic), a 2300-year-old tinsmiths’ village, and a 1200-year-old church. All of this is to be found in the middle of Poldark country, so the views will look very familiar.
Tresco Abbey Garden
Day 7: Tresco Abbey & The Scilly Isles
Tresco, one of the Scilly Isles, lies 28 miles off the Cornish coast of England. A subtropical island, blessed with white sand and turquoise sea, it is home to just 150 people. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the climate is unique in the UK and makes it possible to grow rare and exotic species out in the open air. The gardens are considered of such importance they have been designated Grade I in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. This horticultural paradise hosts a spectacular collection of more than 20,000 exotic plants from all corners of the world – many of which cannot be grown anywhere else in Britain. There will be time to walk around the island and explore its beaches and wildlife.
Return to the mainland and dinner at one of the region’s top restaurants specializing in fresh fish that comes from one of the main fishing ports in England directly next to it.
Trewidden Garden
Day 8: Trewidden and a presentation by writer & broadcaster Tim Hubbard
This morning we’re going to the nearby Trewidden Estate. Mysterious “Burrows” of ancient tin mines, dating as far back as the Roman era, organize the contours of this gorgeous formal garden. Lovingly nurtured by generations of the Bolitho family and their devoted local gardeners, this sanctuary—just minutes from the historic fishing villages of Newlyn and Mousehole—is compact, gentle, and a perfect encapsulation of all the best Cornish gardens have to offer. There is a truly remarkable stand of tree ferns, said to be the finest in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Walled Garden has mixed borders to provide a riot of colour
In the late afternoon we’ll gather for a presentation by author and broadcaster Tim Hubbard about the great gardens of Cornwall, many of which we have visited on this tour. His book, The Great Gardens of Cornwall, is being reissued next April, so copies will be available. Hailed as “a glorious celebration of the finest gardens of a county whose climate makes them especially breathtaking” Tim will talk about some of the gardens on our tour and hold a Q&A session. We’ll gather for a cream tea in Solomon Browne Hall, the local heritage center based in a beautifully renovated fishing net loft in the heart of Mousehole (pronounced “Mouzel”) located just a short walk from the harbor.
Barbara Hepworth Museum
Day 9: St Ives & Barbara Hepworth Museum & Garden
St Ives is known for its pottery, boats, beaches and beatniks, and we’ll travel there by train on one of the most scenic routes in Britain. Enjoy spectacular views as the line sweeps along the coast past the golden sands of Hayle and Carbis Bay before arriving in St Ives.
Upon arrival, we’ll walk about ten minutes to the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. Barbara first came to live in Cornwall at the outbreak of war in 1939. Most of the monumental bronzes are still in the positions in which the artist herself placed them, and the garden itself was laid out by Hepworth.
Afterwards, enjoy free time to explore the shops and galleries of St Ives, or visit the Tate St Ives, an outpost of the London Tate Museum, housing modern and contemporary art by Cornish Artists.
St Michael's Mount
Day 10: Choose your Day
This is a free day. Here are some options:
Visit St Michael’s Mount, a tidal island in Mount’s Bay, near Penzance with a historic home and almost-vertical gardens!
Alternatively, take an open-air double decker bus and discover the coast from above. Stop in Porthcurno and walk along the beach and visit the unique Museum of Global Communications which tells the story how tranquil Porthcurno, is host to the past, present, and future of worldwide communications.
Enjoy free time in Penzance to visit the Penlee House and Gallery and the shops in Chapel Street, or take a relaxing walk along the front.
Train to St Ives
