Trebartha Estate
We already knew the area where the Trebartha Estate is, to the south-east of Bodmin Moor. Some years ago we had walked from North Hill, taking in Hawke's Tor and Trewortha Tor. In winter 2006 I had passed through, and admired, Trebartha village, whilst walking the Copper Trail. So, when we heard that Trebartha's landscape garden was to be open for charity one day in September 2006, we jumped at the chance of a visit. Trebartha Hall was built by the Spoures around 1500, destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1720. Trebartha then passed to the Rodds. After use in the 2nd World War as a military hospital, the hall was almost derelict and new owners, the Lathams, demolished it to build a modern house. Near the car park is a fenced-off well, inside the fencing several old crosses and a direction stone. A path then leads along the River Lynher, past the Swan Pool and into fine mature woodland where a stream casacades down the hillside. Approached separately from the car park, a series of medieval fish ponds form another garden, the pools gradually being restored and planted. We found Trebartha enchanting though not outstanding and we enjoyed the home-made tea and cakes served in the old laundry. We returned in May 2007 to enjoy the spring shrubs.
1 mile NW of North Hill, on the E side of Bodmin Moor
The Cascades in the hilly woodland
More in Gardens
Tregothnan, a great estate on the River Fal
The Boscawens acquired the estate in 1335 when John of Boscawen Ros in West Penwith married the Tregothnan heiress. The original manor house here, probably built by him, was severely slighted by Parliamentary forces in the English Civil War but had been rebuilt by 1652. What you see now is a result of an 1820s remodelling by William Wilkins. The upper part of the 100 acre garden is fairly level and geometrical. To see the very best, though, you need to head for the far corner to access the wilder sloping garden below. Throughout there are fine rhodos, camellias, azaleas and magnolias. You will also find a tree fern avenue, a series of ponds below a tea-house, a young Australian 'dinosaur tree', South American and South African collections, Cornish palms, hebes and masses of primroses. This is not a perfect place - restoration and replanting is under way - but it is sheer delight. We visited in April 2006.
Tregrehan Garden
An under-rated and under-visited garden, close to St. Austell, Pine Lodge Garden and Heligan, Tregrehan is the ancestral home of the Carlyons. It is a garden of two main linked parts. A large formal walled garden has well-stocked Victorian glasshouses, lawns, trees, a central fountain and herbaceous borders. Beyond is a long yew walk which feels like the dark nave of a gothic cathedral. So far, so good, but then you come to Tregrehan's best beyond this, a twenty acre woodland garden with great specimen trees, an old pinetum, an abundance of superb camellias, rhodos and other exotic shrubs, a valley with bog plants and Dicksonias, a recently planted collection of southern hemisphere trees and a blanket of bluebells in May. We visited in late April 2004 and were astonished by the rhodos, many in tree rather than shrub form - we had never seen such a range of colours. It was a very dull day but we returned in 2007 and enjoyed better weather. We recommend Tregrehan as a delightful garden which deserves many more visitors than it gets. It is signed off the A390 at the western end of St. Austell. There is ample parking and simple refreshments.
Trelissick Garden
Developed by half-a-dozen families over 200 years, Trelissick is now in the care of the National Trust. Though best known for rhododendrons, magnolias, camellias and hydrangeas, it is also very much a summer garden. There is a fig garden, an aromatic garden, a dell with ferns, climbers, shrubs and exotic species, luxuriant herbaceous beds, a Cornish orchard and walks in the park and through woodland above the river and, since August 2004, you can arrive by ferry from Truro or Falmouth. As ever, National Trust maintenance is entirely immaculate. In the stable yard is a harness display and exhibition, nearby are an art and craft gallery, caf�, restaurant, plant centre and shop. Cottages on the estate (one is in a converted water-tower - on four floors!) are for holiday rental.