The Jungle and rope bridge
A steep subtropical valley of tree ferns and palms crossed on a swaying Burmese rope bridge of about 30 metres.
Charles J. Sharp — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charles J. Sharp — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charles J. Sharp — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charles J. Sharp — CC BY-SA 4.0
In August 1914 the Heligan gardeners pencilled their names on the wall of a small room in the yard of the walled gardens and went off to war; most never came back. Without them the gardens vanished under some seventy years of bramble, until Tim Smit and John Willis cut their way in during 1990, and the wall can still be read today. This is not simply a pretty garden but a resurrection you walk through, and it wants half a day rather than a stop-off. The estate runs to roughly 80 hectares, about 200 acres, in three grades of effort. The Victorian walled gardens are flat and easy, with glasshouses and a pineapple pit still warmed by manure as it was in the nineteenth century. Then comes the Jungle, a steep valley of tree ferns, bamboo and palms crossed on boardwalks, steps and a Burmese rope bridge of about 30 metres, reckoned one of the longest in Britain, which sways pleasingly underfoot and is hopeless for a toddler, a pushchair or tired knees. Finally the Woodland Walk, where the Mud Maid, the Giant's Head and the Grey Lady lie asleep among the trees before the path drops into the Lost Valley and its quiet ponds. For families: about 13 acres of even paths suit a pushchair and older relatives, manual wheelchairs are lent free from reception and all-terrain mobility scooters can be hired, but the Jungle and the valley are muddy and steep in every season, so closed shoes are a condition rather than a tip. There is a restaurant, a cafe and a small farm with animals that keeps young children happy. Adults pay £28.80, children 5 to 17 £10, students £15.70, under-fives go free, and there is no senior discount. Booking ahead is advised rather than required, except in July and August when the car park fills: the complimentary spaces in the main car park are limited and first-come, and the neighbouring overflow car park charges by number-plate recognition. By car it is about 20 minutes from St Austell on the road towards Mevagissey, following the brown tourist signs, roughly 40 from Truro and about 15 from the Eden Project; many pair the two in a day, though with children that is a long one. Without a car, a bus from St Austell railway station stops inside the car park itself. The gardens open daily all year except 24 and 25 December. March to June is the show, when the magnolias and camellias go off; September is quiet and mild. In winter closing comes earlier, and on selected dates the daytime visit is cut short for separately ticketed evening events, but the Jungle stays green and you will have the place nearly to yourself.
A steep subtropical valley of tree ferns and palms crossed on a swaying Burmese rope bridge of about 30 metres.
Living sculptures asleep among the trees of the Woodland Walk, among the most photographed in Cornwall.
Glasshouses, a manure-heated pineapple pit and the wall the gardeners signed before leaving for the 1914 war.
Pentewan, St Austell PL26 6EN
With small children or a wet forecast, choose Eden: its biomes are under cover and the paths are level. Heligan is far lovelier on a clear day for anyone who likes to walk, and the story runs deeper, but it is mud and slopes with only a small pushchair-friendly section. Doing both is possible as they are 15 minutes apart, but put Heligan first in the morning and allow at least three hours.
Yes if you are already in Cornwall and have proper boots: the Jungle stays green and you will have it nearly to yourself. But closing comes earlier, and on selected November and December dates the daytime garden shuts early for a separately ticketed evening event, so check the website calendar before you drive over.