Mevagissey and The Lost Gardens of Heligan

Another very wet week ended in a Saturday where the rain graciously held off for most of the day to allow families to get out and about!

This week we headed south and west to Mevagissey. It was not so picturesque as Polperro or Looe, not having the same steep slopes of houses wending their crooked way down to the river. It still had nice little winding streets and pretty boats. However, it was very much a working fishing village with two harbours. Behind our photographer here is a large wall with a lot of unattractive plastic boating containers. It still had a go at the tourist thingo - here is Jack in front of a 'pirate' shop...

We got here very late, and thus had a pub lunch without walking first. It felt like cheating, really. I had the most wonderful fresh mackerel, just off the boat I think. I had two huge fish, plus spuds and greens. I did not eat for the rest of the day, I can tell you. Wayne had a Ploughman's Lunch which included smoked mackerel, also very tasty he assured me.

After lunch we went off to the 'Lost Gardens of Heligan'. Luckily they were quite easy to find! They are magnificent Victorian working gardens in an old manor grounds. They were 'lost' because they fell into disrepair and disuse after World War One, when most of the staff went off and were killed, and 'The Family' drifted out of the place... it got all overgrown until the last 15 years or so. Anyway, it is now all fixed up and of great historical interest, as well as rather beautiful to walk around.

We were given a map and little plastic compasses to get our bearings, which were great fun. We saw an absolutely huge old magnolia in full bloom, maybe thirty feet tall and really thick, and the ground a pink carpet underneath it. There were lots of rhododendrons, but only one or two flowers out at the moment.

There were walled gardens with espaliered fruit trees, and large vegetable patches. There were home-made green houses and melon patches - even a place to grow pineapples, heated up with manure in surrounding boxes. There was a 'jungle' walk. There was a bird hide, where we saw all sorts of finches and other small birds, with a handy bird book provided. There were the ubiquitous daffodils, of course... (see Annie nobly posing on the wet ground). There were some strange wicker models of our children, exactly their height - how did the gardeners know?!

There were walks in 'wilder' countryside, near ponds, with all the primroses coming out.

Wayne tried taking some close-ups of plants. The primroses look good, and these odd fungi, but I will spare you some of the others!

And here is a picture of another, smaller, magnolia behind Eleanor and me. I may have to come back here, when the weather warms up and more things are in bloom. I wouldn't mind living here, if I had about 25 gardeners...