March 16th – Sunday

To finish up the day after deleting it last blog, after Land’s End, we headed to Porthcurno and the Minack Theatre. After browsing online about this area in the planning of the trip, I came across some info about this intriguing outdoor theatre build on the rocks near Porthcurno, Cornwall. I decided I would like to see it even if the theatre season had not started yet. We arrived at Porthcurno and first checked out the beach there. It’s stunning. Apparently it’s one of the most photographed beaches in Europe. We were so lucky to see it in its natural beauty with few people around. Give it a few months and the beach will be packed.

Once at the beach, we realized we could hike up the cliffs to the Minack. The views up top were magnificent out to the Atlantic.

When we finally got up to the theatre, much to our disappointment, it had just closed at 4 pm. We thought we might come back in the morning but we already had the next day planned. So we vowed the next time back to England, we would come back to the Minack Theatre and maybe even see a play. Here is a picture off the internet. We couldn’t get in to even take a picture as the area is secured at night.

You can see why it is a must see. And apparently the subtropical gardens on site are worth the visit in their own right. The theatre has a very interesting beginning, the vision of one woman Rowena Cade. Here’s a link that is well worth a read: https://minack.com/our-story

March 17 – Monday

We got up this morning at our idealic little campsite in Truro called Come to Good Farm. There were dogs and chickens and sheep in the fields nearby. The facilities were perfectly adequate and we had a great sleep.

Before we left, the owner of the campsite told us to check out an old Quaker meeting house across the street from 1710. It had its thatched roof redone last year and apparently is having new windows and other upgrades. Imagine, people of the Quaker faith have been meeting in that spot for 300 years or more.

We carried on that day to The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Another amazing story is at the heart of these huge gardens in Cornwall.

The gardens were developed over time since 1766. They were in their prime when WWI broke and the workforce of 13 men who tended the gardens took up the call. Only 4 returned from the war so the garden went into decline. During WWII, the manor was used as a base for American troops. After that, the property was tenanted out and later sold off. During this time, the gardens were languishing. In the 1990’s, efforts began to salvage the gardens and improvements are ongoing. The property is roughly divided into “Productive Gardens” including the Kitchen Garden, Melon Yard and Flower Gardens, “Pleasure Gardens”of a more aesthetic nature, and “The Jungle”, full of palms and ferns and banana plants to name a few. (The Lost Gardens of Heligan Guidebook).

We were at the gardens in March so very little was in bloom. Massive groves of rhodos were starting to flower. The bones of the garden are amazing and one can only imagine its beauty in the later spring and summer. We had a lovely long chilly walk through some of the 200 acres of estate.

After a good 4 hours at the garden, we made our way to Devon to the Tavistock Camping and Caravanning Club Site for the night. The winds were picking up and we were happy to be in our cozy heated van.