Take the foot ferry to Cremyll (from Stonehouse) and land on its doorstep - or drive onto the Torpoint Ferry at Devonport and drive the 10 miles or so of lovely countryside and you get to Mount Edgcumbe Park. Apart from entry into the House, which, (surely) nobody ever does, then the whole glorious 865 acres of formal gardens, temples, a ruined folly, woodland walks parallel to the coastline and glorious, fabulous views are all FREE!
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The house, just by the way, dates from 1547; was gutted by incendiary bombs (German) in 1941 - and rebuilt in 1958-60. |
But the house is totally unimportant! To see the mile upon mile of daffodils during the Spring (I have a photo somewhere; but cannot find it) is wonderful. And to walk amongst the woods past the beautiful azalea and rhododendrum bushes is wonderful too! And to walk around the coast on the beach on a cold, winter's day (when there are no crowds) is bliss! The views from the woods out across the river to Plymouth - and out over the Sound, are absolutely out of this world! And you might even catch sight of a deer! Added to this there are several delightful formal gardens. The following photographs illustrate these and I am deeply indebted to the person off of whose website I nicked them! I am sorry mate - if you find these then give me a shout and I'll take them off should you wish! I was just so delighted to find them! (By the way, I think you might well live just up the road from me!! :)).
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Many a time I've sat outside here, sucking a lolly! |
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On the road back to Torpoint, you pass through the village of Antony. Antony House is where Richard Carew (you know!) wrote his "Survey of Cornwall" in 1602. Furnishings, books and portraits bring to life the Carew family. |
| But if you leave Mt Edgcumbe and continue along the coast, then you come to some beautiful beaches, Whitsands being just one of them (a long, hard slog down the cliffs to get to them though!). |  |