Mount Edgcumbe Gardens and Country Park
Edgcumbe Gardens and Country Park
Mount Edgcumbe is something of a paradox. On the one hand there is the House and Earl's Garden, comparatively little visited. On the other hand there is the country park and 'formal gardens' which act as a lung for the somewhat unprepossessing city of Plymouth which lies across Plymouth Sound. We have enjoyed (and reviewed) the house in September 2004. The Earl's Garden, by the house, includes a parterre, shrub borders, sweeping lawns and a shell house. Previously we had enjoyed the 'formal gardens' and walked the coast path through the park to lunch in Kingsand. The almost 100 acres of park, all overlooking the water, includes formal gardens in the English, French and Italian styles, informal Rose, American and New Zealand gardens, a National Collection of Camellias, woodland with a variety of mature trees, classical and gothic eyecatchers - Milton's Temple, Lady Emma's Cottage, a folly, an arch and several 'seats' with views. It also includes nine miles of Cornish Coast Path, from its beginning, where Cremyll ferry disgorges its foot passengers from Plymouth, way past Rame Head - topped by an 11th century chapel - and on into Whitsand Bay. Three car parks, one in Cremyll, two on the estate, one free. Good pub in Cremyll, the Edgcumbe Arms, another in Kingsand, the Halfway House. Tearoom in the Orangery, another near the house. Park and formal gardens are free; fee for House and Earl's Garden.
The Italian Garden seen from the Orangery
A38 Plymouth-Liskeard, A374 (Torpoint), follow brown signs
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Moyclare Garden, Liskeard
The name may seem a little unusual and somewhat un-Cornish, but for a good reason. The name derives from the original owner, Moira Read, and her Irish origins in County Clare. it is now in the care of Elizabeth and Philip Henslowe. The garden at Moyclare was established in 1927, and hosts a fine variety of plants, shrubs and trees in one acre of sheltered flat ground around the house. Many are unusual and some are quite rare. After touring the garden, we enjoyed a cup of tea and a piece of cake while talking to owner Elizabeth. Public opening is April to August inclusive, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, 2 to 5 p.m. Groups may book at other times. We enjoyed our visit in late May 2019; here are a couple of the many photos I took.
Northwood Farm Water Garden near St. Neot
This is a most surprising place. The last thing you expect to find at around 700 feet, on the windswept heights of Bodmin Moor, is a luxuriant water garden filled with exotic plants. But, if you can read a map, and don't mind risking your car on the tiny blind lanes to the north of St. Neot, you will be rewarded with a couple of hours of delight. Artist Mackenzie Bell and his partner Justin Stubbings acquired the house, a converted former china clay dry, in 2004. There was a garden with pools but it was then a wilderness. Now, after taking in a further 2 acres of boggy pasture, there are 8 pools, one with a colourful island, several with sculptures and glorious water lilies. Planting is eclectic. The expected marginal plants are mixed with exotics that you might not expect to grow on Bodmin Moor. The striking blend - and sometimes clash - of colours must owe much to Mack's artist's eye, as must the sculptures, some found pieces, dotted around. In the main water garden you will also find a great bank of hydrangeas, a bog garden and a wild area. And don't miss the garden behind the house. Above a grassy terrace, where we enjoyed a cream tea, are two former granite-walled clay settling tanks, now colourful walled gardens. In front of the house is Mack's studio where his land and seascapes are on sale. In the former stables is what must be the 'Loo of The Year'.
Old Mill Herbary at Helland Bridge
Herbary at Helland Bridge