Heligan, seat of the Tremayne family for more than 400 years, is one of the most mysterious estates in England. At the end of the nineteenth century its thousand acres were at their zenith, but only a few years later bramble and ivy were already drawing a green veil over this "Sleeping Beauty". After decades of neglect, the devastating hurricane of 1990 should have consigned the Lost Gardens of Heligan to a footnote in history.

But in 1990 the derelict gardens were discovered by Tim Smit, John Nelson and John Willis (A Tremayne descendant) and work began clearing the gardens. Heligan are now a internationally acclaimed award-winning garden restoration project, and makes for a very interesting day out.