Day 3: Mevagissey to Par (via the Lost Gardens of Heligan)

N.B. This is the last of four posts about my trip to Cornwall to walk a portion of the South West Coast Path. 

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I am happy to report that the Lost Gardens of Heligan are no longer lost; in fact, we were able to get there by bus from Mevagissey.  (We were going to walk there, in a big detour from the South West Coast Path, but our hostess came up with this very enjoyable alternative.)

The name of the gardens of course reminded me of the immortal words of the great poet:

A wonderful bird is the pelican;
His beak will hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Food enough for a week,
But I'm damned if I see how the helican!

We began our walk around the Gardens on a path marked with dire warnings of steepness.  We commended ourselves to heaven, and braved it.  

The trail began through some trees, and soon took us by a very cool mixed-media mud sculpture:

Mud Maid

We circled around and approached the Jungle area from the far side.  There were giant rhubarb plants (far taller than a person) and lots of jungly and exotic looking plants in the area.

In other areas, we saw more typical plants and animals, including a very chubby and seemingly quite tame robin and rabbit.

They have a "hide" shelter, where you can watch birds right outside the windows (we saw lots of finches, some with a cool red spot on their head) and through strategically placed remote video cameras.  Yes, you can move the cameras and pan around and feel kind of stalker-ish.

 Some of the flower gardens were just spectacular:

In the vegetable garden, we saw this nice scarecrow named "Diggory" -- a name familiar to me mostly from British literature (Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden [1911] [gardener's son]; C.S. Lewis, The Magician's Nephew [1955] [headstrong hero - but spelled with one 'g']; J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire [2000] [the bona fide Hogwarts champion in the TriWizard Tournament]).

Meet Diggory

If they were in fact inspired by literature, I would assume that they were thinking of The Secret Garden, which was published during the time that the Gardens were initially developed and maintained (1766-1914).  

According to the official  timeline, the grounds and house were conscripted for the war effort in 1914, and many trees were felled.  The gardens fell into neglect and were "lost" until 1990, when the derelict gardens were (re)discovered by two men (one of whom was a descendant of the aristocratic family that had lived there).

Water Lily in the Italian Garden

Another mud sculpture

Before we left, we enjoyed some of the local produce and home cooking in the garden cafe.  A delicious vegetable tart (like a really deep-dish quiche, without the crust).  They grow some of their own produce, including fruits and vegetables and honey.  I was disappointed to see that the apples on sale in the gift shop had stickers indicating they were imported from New Zealand.

Finally, we began the day's walk: back to the South West Coast Path and on to Par.  We went kind of the long way, as it turns out, because we missed a turn-off to continue on the pedestrian path and ended up on a cycle path.  Oh well.  It was still a pleasant journey, and we got to the official Path in the end.  There were a few steep ascents and descents to welcome us back.

I took fewer pictures on this stretch, but a few things stood out.

After yesterday's roasting, it was nice to have the clouds back for atmosphere

I fell far behind while I was watching a few of these spiders.  They were so cool!

Waterfall

We got to a place called Black Head (why not "Acne", one wonders), an optional spur away from the official path.  I decided I must see the sights.  What if it was really super-amazing?

Sarah wisely decided to go to the half-way point, a nice grassy area that is entirely flat (no climb!) and has a nice view.  She stayed there with the map, resting, while I trudged up to see what I could see.  The climb wasn't steep, but it was longer and higher than it had looked!  Oh well.

The map!!!  (Or rather, one of two maps needed for the Walk)

We had hoped for a seasonal beachside refreshment stand at Porthpean, but a guy who was three sheets to the wind explained that the stand had been closed years ago.  He also told us that it would take us 45 minutes to walk the one mile to the next town, where there was a pub.  We verified the accuracy of his first statement, but found ourselves somewhat skeptical of the second.

The beach itself is perhaps not quite as welcoming as one might hope for:

The sign also warns, in large letters:
Caution
There is no lifeguard
service operating

There were several families there nonetheless attempting to enjoy the beach despite the tides, falling rocks, slipway, and other dangers.  The children were very young, and half-clad (tops only).  Older families (without children) tended to be further back from the water, taking advantage of a sloped concrete wall as backrest.

Fortunately, it didn't take us an entire 45 minutes to go the remaining mile between us and the next pub, in Charlestown.  After some refreshments, we skirted the harbour, where we saw

tall ships

patriotic shipwreck & heritage centre

View out from the Charlestown Harbour

(Unfortunately, Dr Who was not filming in Charlestown today.  That happened in 2011 for the Space Pirates episode.)

We continued on to Par from Charlestown.  More climbs, and more blackberries, awaited!!

More blackberries!!!

Finally, as we got to the "home stretch", I saw the most extraordinary flowers I've ever seen.  Sarah knew what they were, and was not impressed.

The passion flower, I believe.
The bizarre cut-out configuration of the pistil and stamen
made them look like an alien species to me.

Sure enough, Sarah had reserved the best accommodation for the last night.  Very luxurious.  My room was quite nice, and I was very happy with it.  Sarah got upgraded to a room that would have been suitable for a party of five -- but the greatest thrill for her was a beautiful deep bathtub to soak in!  The owners were very kind and thoughtful, and I wish them the best of luck in their endeavors.

We enjoyed a curry at a local Indian restaurant, located in a former diner.  Our cab driver was very snarky about it (apparently he likes the "feeling" of being in an Indian restaurant, which he gleans from particular decor and the appearance of the waitstaff, etc.), but the food was good.

Although we made our last day a bit easier with a bus ride to the Gardens in the morning and a taxi to and from the curry place, we still managed a respectable 15.7 miles on foot over the course of the day (including about 3 miles of exploration within the Gardens).

The following morning, we packed our bags and caught a train heading toward Paddington.  It was a really fun trip, though all too short!

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