The Lost Gardens of Heligan

...sounds. Its restoration was the subject of several television programs and books. From being quite literally 'lost', Heligan was rediscovered and has been restored to its former glory with both passion and expertise.

Having visited the Eden Project the day before, and having been told by a friend that Heligan far surpassed the former I thought I was well prepared for our day trip. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Lost Gardens ...
...to speak, unable to verbalise the sheer emotion that such a remarkable place can arouse.

Let me take you on a journey…

Once past the ticket office, we’re faced with a choice – to the Northern Gardens, or to the Jungle and Lost Valley? We follow the Woodland Walk towards the Jungle. The path winds gently through the trees, a wonderfully peaceful area of native planting and rural beauty which serves a practical purpose ... more

A fully restored Victorian garden, Heligan (nr. St. Austell, Cornwall) is much more than it sounds. Its restoration was the subject of several television programs and books. From being quite literally 'lost', Heligan was rediscovered and has been restored to its former glory with both passion and expertise.

Having visited the Eden Project the day before, and having been told by a friend that Heligan far surpassed the former I thought I was well prepared for our day trip. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Lost Gardens of Heligan are beyond simple vocabulary – even a wordsmith such as myself can be rendered unable to speak, unable to verbalise the sheer emotion that such a remarkable place can arouse.

Let me take you on a journey…

Once past the ticket office, we’re faced with a choice – to the Northern Gardens, or to the Jungle and Lost Valley? We follow the Woodland Walk towards the Jungle. The path winds gently through the trees, a wonderfully peaceful area of native planting and rural beauty which serves a practical purpose as part of the estate’s shelter belt. Almost immediately we come upon one of Heligan’s surprises. Rising out of the earth is the head of a giant, formed from mud, and other materials, and covered with moss and a healthy ‘head of hair’ comprised of flowers and their foliage. Have we come across a giant emerging from centuries of sleep beneath the earth? No, it’s merely a stunning sculpture made for Heligan by a local artist, but it adds to the mystique and magical feel of the woodland.

Further along the path we come across the Giant Head’s counterpart: another sculpture, this time of a giant maiden lying recumbent at the side of the path. The Mudmaid is another stunning piece of artwork, and the sight of her fires your imagination as to what you might find further along your journey.

We continue onwards.

The path eventually leads us to the Top Lake of the Jungle area. An air of serenity surrounds you as you stare out at the vista of water, obscured in places by lily pads, bordered by impressive plantings of rhododendrons, bamboo and exotic tree ferns. You can see a small wooden bridge crossing the lake, and your curiosity leads you to proceed along the path towards it.

You follow the wooden boardwalk, going down a short flight of steps, and eventually find yourself on the bridge. The feeling of being in a jungle intensifies as you look beyond the bridge and see the landscape falling gently away, a seemingly impenetrable mass of exotic vegetation. Clumps of ‘Giant Rhubarb’ (Gunnera manicata) crowd against the bridge upon which you stand, these plants look as though they stem from a time when dinosaurs walked the earth.

You continue along the boardwalk, again the feeling of being in a foreign environment enhanced by the branches overhanging the path, constant vigilance is needed to avoid walking into low hanging limbs, and bamboo and other plants crowd in and rustle with every passing breeze. Magnificent specimens such as the Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo biloba), Phoenix Palm (Phoenix canariensis) and Blue Cedar (Cedrus atlantica glauca) punctuate the landscape. The planting seems to increase in density the further you progress, following the winding, and often steep, path past the Bamboo Pond, the Third Pond, and finally leading you to take a rest by the Bottom Pond. A bench has been placed on the small bridge that crosses it, and as you sit and look back at the area which you have just traversed a sense of tranquillity, as well as that of achievement, washes over you. Being, as you are, at the lowest point of the Jungle, the light is somewhat gloomier, and the sense of isolation is acute. The boardwalk is so unobtrusive as to fade into the background, and you cannot help but admire the work that both went into creating this little world, and the painstaking effort to restore it to its former glory.

Having caught your breath sufficiently, you proceed up the incredibly steep path back towards the top of the jungle. You reach a plateau where you can again stop to regain your strength, and are assaulted by another incomparable view across the mid-section of the Jungle. Your appetite for the tropics temporarily sated, you start to wind your way back past the Bamboo Pond and towards Butler’s Path which will take you to the Lost Valley.

Butler’s Path turns into the Georgian Ride – you find yourself following this pathway, which leads you down a gentle slope. The views of the Lost Valley from this vantage point are delightful, and you can imagine what pleasure the original owners of the estate took in riding their carriage along this route.

When you reach the floor of the Valley you see evidence of charcoal burning, a practice being continued by the new ‘caretakers’ of Heligan. Once again you reflect on how this once, in the past, was a self-sustaining estate. Production of charcoal on-site would provide fuel for the main house and other dwellings. Timber felled within the woodland would provide timber for various uses, and coppicing of hazel, alder and willow would have provided regular supplies of poles and wattles.

Having reached the end of the Georgian Ride, and had your soul soothed by the gentle beauty of the native flora which fills the Lost Valley, you proceed up the steep slope of Horsemoor, across Steward’s Meadow and towards Steward’s House. Here a little light refreshment is in order, having just walked a good couple. You purchase something to drink, and sample the local produce in the fresh air, sat at a picnic table surrounded by beds filled with a selection of cultivated flowers and shrubs – a strange contrast to the natural splendour to which you have just been exposed. Once fed and watered, your journey continues onto the Northern Gardens.

You stroll along Orchard Walk, which is bordered on one side by the Poultry Orchard; the day is warm, but a gentle breeze keeps you cool as you wander along. This path brings you to a stone gateway, and once again you are faced with a choice – should you go towards the more productive areas of the garden, or should you continue on a stroll through more beautiful gardens and woodland, and the surprises they can bring? You decide to take a quick peek into the Flower Garden.

Home to the glasshouses in which are grown the more exotic fruits (The Citrus House, Vinery and Peach House), the Flower Garden is more than simply an area for growing cut flowers. As in the past, this area of the grounds is used to cultivate both flowers and vegetables and salad leaf that crop earlier in the year – the sheltered, and very warm (designed, as it is, to catch as much of sunlight each day as possible) area is an ideal place to grow early crops. Colourful rows of flowers, love-in-a-mist, clarkia, cornflower, marigolds… these are grown in single rows, their beautiful and often scented blooms swaying in the slight breeze. You can picture in your mind’s eye the gardeners of the past cutting blooms with which to brighten the ‘big house’, and gathering early vegetables to grace the dinner table of the Tremayne family. Just beyond the Flower Garden lies the Sundial Garden, but you decide to save that pleasure for a little later and return back to the stone arch which leads to Orchard Walk.

Now you follow the path known as the Eastern Ride. There are many little paths leading off the main ride, and you meander along them as your fancy takes you. You first come across the area dubbed ‘New Zealand’, planted densely with yet more bamboo, tree ferns and other sub-tropical plants, this little path ends at a hut built in a traditional New Zealand style. You sit for a moment in the shady interior of this quaint structure; in the near silence you could well believe yourself in another part of the world.

You return to the main ride, via another small path, and come immediately upon another romantic location – the Crystal Grotto. Although in the present day, as restoration has not yet taken place on this particular feature, it seems like a simple rocky cave, a sign informs you that it would have appeared differently in the past. When created, the rocks on the interior of the cave were faced with a myriad of local crystals – the intended effect being to reflect candlelight back onto the main path, as well as creating a superbly romantic meeting place. There is a low stone seat built into the grotto, and a slab juts out from the wall in place of a table – you sit upon the seat, lean your head against the cool rock, close your eyes and dream of a distant past…

When your wistful imagining has run its course, you continue along Eastern Ride and come across another fork in the road. You take the left-hand path, which runs along the edge of Flora’s Green and leads you into the Vegetable Garden.

This would have been a hive of activity in the original days of the gardens, and thanks to the restoration, and ongoing work, remains so. A huge area, trapezoid in shape, it has been faithfully restored to its former glory. The central avenue, which will lead you to the Melon Yard, features cast-iron arches above the path, upon which are trained espalier apple trees (of tradition Cornish varieties). The fruit hanging above and around you as you walk down the path is incredibly tempting, despite not yet being ripe. You reach a junction; the path you are on is bisected by another main pathway. You wander for a while, up, down and around the various paths, admiring as you go the range of crops (and varieties therein) grown. Eventually your curiosity your curiosity leads you towards the gateway into the Melon Yard. On the way you pass a sign which states that Peter Rabbit is somewhere in the garden…

The Melon Yard is a walled garden which is home to the Pineapple Pit, a range of small buildings (Tool Shed, Potting Shed, Fruit Room, Equipment Shed) and, naturally, the Melon House. Although each of these structures has its charm, and uses, the Pineapple Pit is probably the most impressive of the lot. An ingenious design, which relies on the heat generated from tons of fresh horse manure, meant that the Tremaynes could savour the luxury of having these exotic fruits cultivated on their own land. The current key-holders of Heligan have succeeded, using the traditional method, in producing fruit on these plants (after many a barren year), but the labour and amounts of manure involved have led them to postulate whether they were “perhaps the most expensive pineapples ever grown?” (The Lost Gardens of Heligan Handbook: Essential Guide to The Gardens & Wider Estate).

Having looked thoroughly around the Melon Yard, and enjoyed the glimpse into history which it affords, you move onwards. Backtracking a little, you return through the Vegetable Garden and emerge beside Flora’s Green. You turn right and head towards Beacon Path, another winding path surrounded by lush woodland planting. Your first stop along this path is the Northern Summerhouse – designed to allow the Tremaynes to enjoy the sunrise along the coast, this small area has (due to lack of information regarding the original planting) been redesigned as a hard-landscaped area, with a central pond, with period-correct shrubs that they hope will withstand the sometimes harsh easterly winds they suffer from each Spring. Apparently one of their more eccentric members of staff has been known to enjoy champagne breakfasts in the Northern Summerhouse – you can’t help but envy her.

After one last look out over the hedge to the surrounding countryside you leave this area and continue along Beacon Path.

Your journey now is fairly uneventful, the path meanders through the trees, the dappled light and occasional glimpse into Flora’s Green providing interest enough. You continue your walk, until on the left-hand side you spot a large hummock of earth covered with ferns and grasses. The Mount, as it is known, is thought to have once been outside the boundary of the garden, and it is likely that it was used as a look-out point during the Napoleonic Wars. Overgrown as it is, it retains a romantic and somewhat mysterious air.

The next stop on your journey, somewhat further along the path, is the Dovecote Lawn – which is exactly what it sounds. It’s a small patch of grass which is home to the dovecote of it’s name, which usually houses fan-tail pigeons these days. The other feature of note, excluding the fine arboreum rhododendrons which border the lawn, is the Magnolia campbellii which takes centre-stage.

Following the path again onwards, you find yourself coming almost full-circle when you reach a junction that offers you a choice between the Vegetable Garden, the Ravine and the exit. You follow the path into the Ravine.

Constructed by one of the previous incumbents of Heligan, the Ravine is a man-made attempt to recreate the spectacular scenery of the mountains he had seen abroad. The pathway leading through the Ravine is uneven and unnerving even for the sure-footed and agile. The walls rise around you gently (up to a height of around 10 ft in places), creating a craggy, if artificial, landscape. A mixture of alpines and ferns, together with the inevitable moss, makes for a breathtaking effect. A small stream trickles over the rocks, leading down this miniature valley, and culminates at a small pool which has a certain rugged elegance. This man-made valley, in all its beauty, is a wonderful example of Victoria artifice – those who could afford it, had the luxury of bringing the foreign to their own back yard.

Once you leave the Ravine, the path leads you towards the final stop on your tour- the Italian Garden. Another attempt to recreate a foreign atmosphere, the Italian Garden is a sumptuously elegant and provides a perfect place to enjoy the afternoon sun. The rectangular pool in the centre of the paving is home to a variety of small fish and frogs – you see signs alongside the path which read “BEWARE OF FROGLETS! (They are very small and squashable). Please look out for them and take care not to step on them. Thank you.”

Carefully watching where you tread, you leave the Italian Garden behind.

Emerging from this little piece of the Mediterranean, you follow the Western Ride back towards the exit. Your tour has by no means been complete, you’ve missed several notable areas which include the Sundial Garden, Pet’s Graveyard, Sikkim and the Wishing Well – but it just gives you a reason to come back another day.

Exhausted, yet exhilarated, you return to your car and start the long journey home, your mind full of pleasant memories and lingering thoughts.

Heligan is a superlative example of what can be achieved by man. The scope of it takes you from formal splendour to lush wilderness in the blink of an eye. When one considers that the gardens here were constructed over a hundred years ago, it really is a remarkable feat. Gardens do not spring up overnight, and the construction of this one spanned 150 years and four generations of the Tremayne family; the restoration of the gardens has been impressive, but the work done in the modern day has only cleared away the wrack and ruin of years of neglect – the majority of the credit for these truly extraordinary grounds must lay with those who created it in the past.

My one regret is that I didn’t do the gardens and grounds justice with the relatively short time I spent there. Desperately wanting to spend an entire day wandering amidst its treasures, sheer physical exhaustion from my twelve hour visit to the Eden Project the previous day was my undoing. Muscles already aching from extensive walking around the exhibits at Eden screamed defiance when faced with the sometimes arduous path through Heligan – it was very much a case of the spirit being willing but the flesh being weak. If you’re planning a trip to the Lost Gardens of Heligan, make sure that you’re thoroughly rested beforehand or you might regret it. A return trip is definitely in order, and given the opportunity I could happily spend a few days traversing the grounds, paying proper attention to all the wonderful plants in residence there, taking time to appreciate the structure and design – and more importantly, enjoying myself as much as possible.

The prices are very reasonable - dirt cheap in fact:
Adults £7.50
Senior Citizens £7.00
Children (5 - 15 yrs) £4.00
Children (under 5) Free of charge
Family (2 adults + up to 3 children) £20.00

The Lost Gardens of Heligan,
Pentewan, St Austell, Cornwall PL26 6EN.
Telephone: 01726 845100
Email: info@heligan.com  

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