A Morning at the Lost Gardens of Heligan

We first went to Cornwall when I was pregnant with LP, again when LP was a year old and again when she was nearly three – and Little man was nearly one. In all those visits I longed to go to the Lost Gardens of Heligan but we just didn’t find the time so on this trip to Cornwall I knew there was one place we had to go to – Heligan.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan are one of the most well looked after tourist attractions I have ever seen. The car park, toilets and reception all give really great first impressions and the minute we stepped into the gardens we felt like we were in another world.

The gardens are huge. We were there for about three hours and I don’t think we even really scratched the surface. Each garden had a different feel or theme to it and some of the gardens were big expanses of land and field overlooking Cornwall below.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan are quite hilly and steep in places but there are routes that are more accesible or better for pushchairs but as we were with Stevie we took her lead and she guided us around the gardens, showing us all the bits the children might enjoy.

The part they were most excited about was the rope bridge where you go in single file across, with the gardens stretching beneath you. You have to be at least five to go on the bridge mainly so you can reach either side as you walk along but the children were absolutely fine. The main issue was other children bouncing the swing up and down – not the best when it’s so busy and rocking from side to side anyway. But it was fun and a definite highlight of the trip.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan also had animals – which I wasn’t expecting. They had a farm with pigs, goats and ostriches as well as a hut to spot birds from and a barn to meet owls and find out more about chickens and other eggs that different birds lay.

We then went to the formal gardens which were lovely, walled gardens and smaller quiet gardens hidden through archways and gates. The whole of Heligan was so lovely to explore and the perfect day out with adventurous children.

There were so many places to play too but some of them were closed due to the wet ground. But, the children loved the woodland walks and if nothing else there were plenty of puddles to splash in, water features and even the tiniest streams for games of pooh sticks!

The Lost Gardens of Heligan is the sort of place you can go to every week and never see all of it. It’s huge and each time you walk down a path you spot something new. The children loved exploring and it was such a lovely family day out – especially with a cafe for lunch or just tea and cake. I know that we’ll be going to Heligan again on our next visit to Cornwall.