(^82) Cornwall Life: August 2019
Best for
Grandparents
GLENDURGAN GARDEN
Many grandparents find
themselves tasked with
entertaining children during the
summer holidays. Glendurgan
ticks all the boxes – for grown-ups
there are the beautiful gardens
packed with camellias, magnolias
and rhododendrons and lots
of local history and wildlife
information. Children will love
activities aimed at them, the
valleys that run down to
the Helford River and beach
and the laurel maze with
child-sized hedges.
nationaltrust.org.uk/glendurgan
LANHYDROCK
Children have their own special
trail to follow around Lanhydrock
and can discover all about
life upstairs and downstairs
on this impressive country
estate. Learn how the land and
Victorian kitchens served the
Agar-Robartes family and explore
more than 50 rooms including a
special suite of children’s rooms.
Outside there is lots of parkland
and ancient riverside woodland
to let off steam, cycle trails and a
popular adventure playground.
There’s a sadness in the effects
of young Tommy Agar-Robartes,
sent home from the front after he
was killed by a sniper in France
during World War I.
nationaltrust.org.uk/
Lanhydrock
BEST FOR QUIRKY
EXPERIENCES
Bodmin jail
Cornwall has its fair share of unusual
places to visit. A good place to start
is Bodmin Jail, originally built for King
George III in 1779 by prisoners who
hauled 20,000 tons of granite from
the nearby Cuckoo Quarry.
The imposing building spans six
levels and reveals the reality of life
for prisoners. The Execution Shed
features a fully restored Victorian
hanging pit where the last man to be
executed in Cornwall died.
Exhibitions detail the hard labour
carried out at the jail and the gory
history but also reveal fascinating
snippets from the past. During World
War I the jail held the Domesday Book.
and once hid the Crown Jewels.
bodminjail.org.
Shipwreck centre
There are more than 3,000 wrecks
around the Cornish coast and this
collection of artefacts has taken
nearly half a century to amass.
As well as items from local wrecks,
there are also exhibits retrieved by
vessels that date back to ancient
Egypt and Roman times as well as
more recent sinkings such as the Scilly
Isles disaster of 1707, the Mary Rose
and wartime casualties including
Royal Oak which was sunk by a
German U-Boat in 1939 at Scapa Flow
with the loss of 833 lives – one of the
worst tragedies in British Naval history.
shipwreckcharlestown.co.uk
Minack Theatre
This open-air auditorium sits on the
cliffs at Porthcurno overlooking
the sea. The incredible Rowena
Cade owned a house at the top of
the headland and, alongside her
gardener, created an amphitheatre
for performances from the rocky
landscape by hand.
The very first performance here
was The Tempest in 1932 and today
more than 110,000 a year will see
shows here.
minack.com
PENDENNIS CASTLE
Pendennis Castle was built by
Henry VIII overlooking the river
and sea at Falmouth has played
a role at key moments over the
centuries from Tudor times to
World War II.
In August there’s six days of
the Grand Medieval Joust when
armour-clad knights compete
to prove their superior power.
Discover the secrets of their
armour and weaponry and hear
medieval executioner’s most
gruesome and gory stories.
Would-be young challengers can
compete in their own battles.
There’s a feast of medieval
entertainments and treats with
Jester Peterkin and birds of prey.
english-heritage.org.uk
LAPPA VALLEY
RAILWAY
Who doesn’t love a steam train?
At Lappa Valley at St Newlyn East
near Newquay, you will arrive
and depart the leisure park by
steam train. Once in the park,
there are two more steam railway
lines – this time miniature tracks.
A single admission includes
train travel, canoeing lake, crazy
golf, pedal cars and indoor play
carriages. There’s beautiful
Nature trails and a brick and turf
maze for toddlers inspired by
Cornishman Richard Trevithick’s
railway locomotive of 1804 which
was the first in the world to run
on rails. Reach the middle to ring
the bell.
lappavalley.co.uk
ABOVE LEFT:
Bodmin Jail is
a fascinating
destination day
or night
ABOVE RIGHT:
Children exploring
the Victorian
kitchen at
Lanhydrock
‘Pendennis
Castle was
built by
Henry VIII
overlooking
the river
and sea at
Falmouth
has played
a role at key
moments
over the
centuries
from Tudor
times to
World
War II’
©National Trust Images/John Millar
barry
(Barry)
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