Coast to Coast: Cornish Homes & Gardens

Check in to our hotel in the afternoon. Later, we enjoy a welcome drink reception hosted by our tour manage, followed by dinner.

If you are arriving early, please note that you may not be able to check into your room until the late afternoon.

After breakfast we depart for the garden at Tregrehan where we have a guided tour with the head gardener*. Tregrehan is a 20-acre woodland garden created in the early 19^th century and developed by the Carlyon family. It is now an important green gene bank of known source plants including camellias bred by the late owner. In the more formal walled garden there is a fine glasshouse from 1846, which is 128 feet long.

Translated as ‘house of the trees’, it’s no surprise that Trewithen boasts exquisite grounds, which we discover on a guided tour. The 17^th-century mansion is surrounded by acres upon acres of peaceful parkland, spectacular specimens and beautifully landscaped gardens, which we discover this afternoon. Developed during the time of plant hunting expeditions in the early 20th century, a wide variety of seeds were sent back to Trewithen to establish an enviable botanical reputation that remains today.

*Please note: Owner-led tours are subject to availability

This morning we head to St Michael’s Mount, one of the most iconic of Cornwall’s sights. The little sister of Brittany’s Mont St Michel, this craggy island features a medieval castle, which has been home to the St Aubyn family since the 17^th century, a harbour and village with a close-knit island community. Depending on tide times, we either enjoy a boat ride over to the island or a 15-minute walk along the ancient, cobbled walkway.

Our next stop is Roswarne House, once an ancient farmhouse and extended in 1810 by landed gentry. Nestled in six acres of picturesque parkland, the property has now returned to its former glory, after an extensive restoration project, and highlights include a delightful Orangery, Ballroom, Library and Drawing Room. We find out more about its history on our guided tour with the current owner, followed by a Cornish cream tea (jam first, of course)!

Before dinner this evening, we enjoy an interesting themed talk from a guest speaker.

A warm Cornish welcome awaits at Pencarrow House, nestled on the edge of Bodmin Moor and the family home of the Molesworth-St Aubyns for almost 500 years. Our guided tour uncovers the secrets of this magnificent house, along with hidden passageways, glorious portraits, fine porcelain and marble busts sporting a variety of hats upon the wishes of the Lady of the Manor! There is plenty to explore outside too, from a colourful Italian garden and wild woodlands to walking routes, an Iron Age hill fort and a grotto, believed to have once been a secret meeting place.

We continue with a guided tour of Prideaux Place on the north coast, located close to Padstow and the home to fourteen generations of the Prideaux-Brunes. Completed in 1592, this Elizabethan manor house has changed little over the last four centuries and the magnificent rooms offer a captivating slice of history and plenty of unique treasures, including Italian paintings, elegant antiques, an ever-growing collection of teddy bears and you can also find England’s oldest cast iron canon in the armoury. The author of Poldark, Winston Graham, became a great friend of the family and regularly visited the house, and part of the estate was used for dramatic clifftop scenes in the 2015 BBC adaptation of the popular novel. Outside, the grounds are gradually being restored to their former glory with an 80-tree lime avenue and a remodelling of the Victorian formal garden.

After breakfast, check out of the hotel for the journey home.