As expected we woke to grey skies this morning but at first the rain held off. However,by the time we collected Erin and set out on our drive the rain started to fall. The traffic heading out of Falmouth was just as bad as it had been heading in so it took us over an hour to reach the Lost Gardens of Heligan. Neglected and overgrown after the First World War, The Lost Garden of Heligan’s restoration was one of the most ambitious of the century. It is now considered one of the most extraordinary gardens in the country. A thriving country estate that had been in the Tremayne family since 1569, and preceding the arrival of the First World War was manned by 22 gardeners, it was neglected and ultimately, ‘lost’ when the young male workforce headed to the battlefield. 16 of the gardeners died and the owner left the estate to “escape the ghosts”. In 1990 a descendant of the Tremaynes rediscovered the garden and began the restoration process.
the rain was comin down when we arrived but we didn’t hold us back, with raincoats and an umbrella we set out to explore.
We dried off in the cafe with a coffee and then set off for our next stop, the Eden Project. The Eden Project is a global garden, educational charity and social enterprise all in one. There are two huge biomes housing a Mediterranean garden and a rainforest garden as well as another large space devoted to Microbial life called “The Core” as well as extensive outdoor gardens. Today the site was packed with people looking for an indoor activity! The first thing we found in the Core was an enormous ceramic sculpture that “breathes” scented smoke rings into the air around it. It celebrates the creation of the atmosphere, and was very popular with several school groups visiting the site.the kids loved chasing and breaking the smoke rings.
We made our way through the biomes which are absolutely spectacular.The size and scope of the gardens inside is extraordinary. It was also nice to enjoy them while the rain bucketed down outside!
after grabbing a late lunch in the cafe we made tracks to the north Cornish coast to Padstow .the drive was, as usual for this part of the country, made a little lively by narrow roads and traffic diversions . However we finally arrived around 4.30 and dropped Srin at her hotel. Neil and I had to park at a field up the hill and call our hotel to be transferred down, parking is not easy in Padstow! However, it was lovely to arrive at Rick Steins Seafood Restaurant, his premier location in Padstow (he owns several properties in the town) Our room was nice and spacious and once we’d settled in we went down for a drink before Erin joined us for our much anticipated dinner. It lived up to our expectations! The restaurant was packed, as hotel guests we were guaranteed a table, but otherwise people need to book very well in advance to be guaranteed a table. My seafood soup was delicious and we all enjoyed the waiters “ performance” when he skilfully deboned Erin’s Sole at the table.
We all expected to sleep well after our delicious dinner and our busy, damp day.