HISTORIC HOMES and
GARDENS IN NORTH CORNWALL.
Besides
the drama of the coast and moors. North Cornwall has yet another trick up
its sleeve - in its great houses and gardens. Here you'll see a different
kind of dramatic grandeur, and you'll be stepping into the upstairs-downstairs
world of the Cornish gentry.
Walk along the grand avenue at Lanhydrock, for example, and through the pinnacled gatehouse. When the view of the house emerges, take your time and drink it in. You're looking at one of the most impressive mansions in the south west, built in the 17th century, rebuilt after a fire in Victorian times, and now owned by The National Trust.
At Pencarrow, the National Heritage Award winner for the country's best historic house, you'll be the guests of the Molesworth-St Aubyn family, who still live in this Georgian mansion. Amidst beautiful woodland gardens, the house has magnificent collections of pictures, china, furniture, and antique dolls.
You may have already seen Prideaux Place at Padstow, without realising. The Elizabethan house and ancient deerpark, overlooking the Camel Estuary, has been used as a spectacular backdrop for films starring Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham-Carter and Ben Kingsley.
Stroll around the Longcross Victorian Gardens near Port Isaac, and you'll see how the Victorians fashioned intriguing floral displays in a superb coastal position. And during the spring Cornwall Gardens Festival, visit North Cornwall's other gardens at Tremeer, Lancarfe, Watergate and Penheale.
If you time things right, you might be able to catch an opera or concert staged at one of the houses, and spend an evening out in serious style.
Historic Homes and Gardens
Tel:(01208)73320
House: 1 Apr - 31 Oct: 11.00am - 5.30pm, Tuesday - Sunday.
Parks, Gardens and Restaurant: from 1 Mar: 10.30am - dusk.
Tel: (01208) 841369
11 Apr - 31 May. 1.30pm - 4.30pm.
1 June - 15 Oct: 11.00arn - 4.30pm.
Closed Fridays and Saturdays.
email: pencarrow@aol.com
Prideaux Place
Tel: (01841) 532411
Easter Sunday - 27 April
Sunday 28 May - 5 Oct
Open Sunday to Thursday 1.30pm - 5.00pm
Longcross Victorian Gardens
Tel: (01208) 880243
All year: 10.30am - dusk.
North Cornwall 2002 - Atlantic Heritage Coast