Lost Gardens of Heligan

It’s a sad state of affairs in the Mad Wicca household that, due to illness and financial commitments, Mr. Mad Wicca and myself have been unable to take regular summer holidays for some time. But don’t feel sad for us dear Dooyoo-er, we don’t really mind; well, not that much. We get the occasional day away to tramp through the countryside looking for stones all standing in a circle, at which we ooh and ahh, while our dog, Molly, runs around sniffing things. Sometimes we all pile into the car to go and look at that wet, brown thing that surrounds our country, stick our feet in it, then go back home. We console ourselves with the fact that we ...  Read the complete review

Judging by another opinion, I have just read, not everyone appreciates the Lost Gardens for what they are. But I guess this is what makes life interesting - we all see things differently. I think the gardens are fascinating and so must many others as this is now the most visited gardens in England. It's a story of discovery and of recreating something from our past. It's bringing history to life if you like. How can this not be of interest? The gardens were created towards the late 1700's and early 1800's by the Tremayne family. The actual manor house (now apartments) dates back to the 1600's. During the first world ...  Read the complete review

Having spent a whole day wandering around the Lost Gardens of Heligan, I'm afraid that I left with mixed feelings. The first feeling was relief, the second was that I personally would have much preferred it had they stayed lost. Not that there weren't parts of the day which I enjoyed.I loved the 'homemade' ice-creams on sale at the garden's entrance, so much so that I forced myself to eat two of them.I found the walled vegetable garden with its neat, weed - free rows of every vegetable and soft fruit you can think of, a delight. I was fascinated by the pineapple houses and the glasshouses growing cucumbers and melons - not that we could ...  Read the complete review

The story of The Lost Gardens of Heligan is compelling. In 1790, the Tremaynes developed 57 acres of their property as a series of wonderful gardens. During the 1st World War however the home was converted into a military convalescent home and most of its twenty plus gardeners enlisted. Along came World War II and the house was used by American soldiers, it was later converted into flats. Although the Tremaynes still owned the gardens, by now nature had taken hold, the gardens neglected and finally "lost". In 1990 the estate was inherited by John Willis who together with archaeologist Tim Smit, his business partner John Nelson and a dedicated team ...  Read the complete review