On our last day in Cornwall, we had to go back to The Lost Gardens of Heligan near The Eden Project which we failed to see on our first day there. Conveniently located near our lovely hotel in Megavissey, we were there in no time. This is one of the most popular botanical gardens in UK, and we didn’t want to miss it. From what we read in their brochures, we understand that these gardens used to be estate of the Tremayne family for more than 400 years and was neglected after World War 1 and only restored in the 1990s. And that’s been their goal through these years to continuously restore what was once lost, kudos to the entire team who has made it what it is.
When walking through the gardens, there’s a feel of slight abandonment to it, a somewhat ethereal quality to it. Set amidst gardens of beautiful flowers of all kinds of species, we find lakes, as well as vegetable gardens, and even tropical tree ferns called “The Jungle”. The gardens also have two iconic and most photographed figures made from rocks and plants known as the Mud Maid and the Giant’s Head. I will let my photos below do the talking.
I was trying to look as elegant as the mud maid, think I failed.
That’s MC in front of us, as usual Y and I were lagging behind.
It’s hard not to get distracted by the gorgeous flowers, and I had to stop by to soak in the scent.
The Heligan wildlife is also a key feature of the estate and from ducks, hens to their local cows they are so cute it’s hard to resist playing with them.
There was also a gift shop which is a haven for nature lovers with seeds of all sorts of flowers and vegetables. Y bought some for her green fingers granddad and grandmother who’s great at growing anything in the gardens. Hopefully we can see some beautiful blossoms in Singapore soon in their home.
We ended our trip in Cornwall with a visit to Padstow where we had a quick lunch at Rick Stein’s Restaurant – Y and I loved the oysters, our fish pie for mains wasn’t that great though. Padstow has a slightly grittier feel and more typical of a fishing harbour compared to pretty St Ives, but it had some interesting quaint shops and eats to explore including a large teddy bear shop that was unfortunately closed when we were there!
We had a nice walk through for an hour of the surrounding area and stopped by to have an ice cream fix at Roskilly’s, a well-known brand for their ice creams in the UK. The ice cream is made from Jersey cows that produce the richly creamy Jersey milk that makes the ice-cream so legendary. Us gals could not resist the Cornish Cream tea flavour, when the lady at the shop described it as “scones, clotted cream and jam all in one” – we were sold!
Naturally, we had our last fix of Rattler’s Original Cider at the Newquay airport (remember you must get some for yourself if you ever see this).
And what better way to conclude this post then with a picturesque breathtaking view during one of our scenic drives – truly depicts Cornwall as “where the sky meets the sea”.
