Old Mill Herbary at Helland Bridge
Herbary at Helland Bridge
This is an odd one which, while we enjoyed it greatly in May 2006, we are a little reluctant to recommend without more than a few reservations. The location is an interesting one. Before the present house was built, a water mill had stood here for centuries, fed by a leat off the River Camel, which flows along the lower side of the garden. The Whurrs began creating a garden here in 1984 and have worked on it ever since. We have the feeling that they may have lost heart a bit as maintenance is somewhat less than you might hope. Old Mill Herbary garden comes in five parts. By the house are a small water garden and bog garden. Alongside the river is a long lawn, lightly planted as a young arboretum, all the trees named. Beyond this is the 'island', an area of light semi-wild woodland, where you wander among birches, crossing many small bridges. Alongside the lawn is a stream garden, created from the former mill leat. Above this a steepish bank is terraced with casual beds of shrubs, flowers and herbs - some might be offended by the distinctly erotic sculpture dotted around it. We may sound a little critical but, in fact, we found it a very enjoyable, tranquil garden. There is a small car park but no teas or toilets.
Medieval Helland Bridge seen from the garden
The Whurrs forbid internet photos; this is of Helland Bridge
More in Gardens
Pencarrow Garden and Estate
We have been fans of Pencarrow - house, garden and estate - for so long that it surprises me that it is only after a visit in mid-May 2006 that I have got round to posting an item about it. Our visit was almost accidental. We had been to see the Old Mill Herbary garden at Helland Bridge, had been unable to get a cup of tea there and decided to get one at the Peacock Tearoom at Pencarrow. We were glad we did because the bluebells, beneath beeches near the house, were superb.
Penjerrick
In April 2008 we took advantage of a Western Morning News '2 for the price of 1' offer to visit a couple of spring gardens near Mawnan Smith in the general area between Falmouth and the Helford River. Neither Carwinion nor Penjerrick could be said to rate anywhere compared to nearby Glendurgan and Trebah. Carwinion is perhaps an acceptable 1� hour visit for its �4 entry charge. Penjerrick is appalling value even at its lower �2.50. And yet we had had quite high expectations. A visitor to my web site (I think his name is Tilo) was so taken by Penjerrick that his son Georg created a Penjerrick web site which raves about it and quotes expert Patrick Taylor and a Western Morning News reviewer doing the same. We don't. We suspect that the present owner, a descendant of the Robert Were Fox and Barclay Fox who created Penjerrick in the mid 18th century, is resentful that the National Trust refused to accept it in 1990 and wonder whether the present regime of 'benign neglect' stems from that. The result reflects her 'jungle' philosophy but means that ponds are clogged, paths are deep in mud and few shrubs bloom. Even by the house, which was the best-kept part of the garden - with bluebells, azaleas and tall firs - it was thick with dog mess. We fear that Penjerrick's underlying philosophy is less benign neglect, more contempt for the paying visitor.
Pentillie Castle near St. Mellion
We learned about Pentillie Castle when we watched the Channel 4 TV series Country House Rescue. The Coryton family were advised about using their house and estate for a wedding and corporate entertainment business, something that they have now got under way. What little we saw of the estate on the programme made it look interesting so in mid March we attended their second garden open day. Pentillie was built by James Tillie in 1698 and was remodelled for the Corytons by William Wilkins in 1810 (it was again remodelled in the 1960s), at which time Humphrey Repton had a hand in landscaping the grounds. This is definitely not a garden in the conventional sense of the word. It is rather a scenic landscape with eyecatchers and an awful lot of scenery to enjoy. As at March 2009 a lot of clearance work has been done but there is a long way to go. There are four major features. The American Garden has too much laurel, ample rhodos but little sign of camellias, azaleas or magnolias. The Walled Kitchen Garden was badly overgrown and hardly worth seeing. The riverside is a delight with its cottage and bathing hut. And the walk to the mausoleum offers some of the finest views over the River Tamar. Despite the run down aspect of so much, we spent several most enjoyable hours wandering around free of restriction. As long as you are not expecting to see much in bloom, and enjoy walking, this is well worth a visit on one of their rare opening days.