Lanhydrock

Not far from the town of Fowey in South Cornwall is one of the most beautiful National Trust homes I've yet seen. Lanhydrock is the large former estate of the Agar-Robartes family that dates back to the 1600s. It's is now a magnificent late Victorian preserved country house with extensive servants quarters, beautiful gardens and a wooded estate. The rooms are set up as it was when it was the home of Thomas, the 2nd Lord Robartes, his wife Mary, their ten children, and a staff of 80 at the beginning of the 1900s.

One of the reasons it is such an impressive Victorian home is that In 1881 there was a large fire which damaged much of the house. It was quickly rebuilt as it was before the fire so it preserves the original strict Victorian code which segregated public from private areas, master form servant, young and old, male and female. It is as if Downton Abby or Upstairs/Downstairs has sprung to life again.  It is both glorious in its beauty, decor, and excess, and fascinating in it's history and recreation of a lost world, of life both upstairs and down. The house and the gardens are well worth a visit. 

The original estate was acquired in 1621 by Richard Robartes, the wealthiest man in West Cornwall at that time. Richard's father had amassed a fortune supplying fuel for the tin industry. He and his son, John, continued to build on that wealth through money lending and speculation. Sir John, the grandson, substantially altered Lanhydrock to be an impressive mansion and home for his family.

Sir John married twice. First in 1630 to Lucy Rich who was a staunch puritan. She bore him 5 children. His second marriage was to Letitia, in 1647. She was 17 and he was 42. They had 14 children together.

Several generations later it eventually was inherited by Thomas Charles, the 2nd Lord Robartes, who married Mary Dickinson. The home we see today is furnished as it was when Thomas, Mary, and their 10 children and staff of 80 lived here at the beginning of the 20th century. This was the golden epoch of Lanhydrock house, fortunes were strong and the house was packed with activity, children, and entertainment.

Their good fortune did not last long, though. Of the 10 children born to Thomas Charles and his wife Mary, the oldest son and heir died fighting in France at the beginning of WW and another son never recovered from "shell shock" fighting in the war and eventually killed himself. Of the surviving eight children, only two married and from those marriages only one child was born, a daughter Rachael.

In 1953, the estate was given to the National trust however, the last surviving 8th Viscount continued to live there with his two spinster sisters until his death in 1974. Rachael, the 8th Viscount's only surviving daughter still lives locally and continues to farm in the area.

The house is huge, with 50 rooms open to the public.  What follows is just a sampling of all the rooms that are open to view. 

The Dining Hall

The Kitchen Quarters - a dozen rooms make up the kitchen quarters

The Bakehouse

The Kitchen Scullery

The Dairy Scullery

The Meat Larder

The Smoking Room (early Arts and Craft) 

The Steward's Room

A bedroom

The Playroom

The Nursery

The Nanny's Room

The Nursery's Bathroom

The Luggage Room

Her Ladyship's Bedroom

The Chamberpot Room 

The Boudoir

The Drawing Room

Ghosts in the hallway!

Immediately behind the house is the 15th-century church of St Hydroc.

There are 900 acres of woods and parkland that run down to the Fowey river with walking and bike trails throughout.  

The grounds and gardens are spectacular, especially in late May and in June.

For more information

Address: Bodmin, Cornwall, England, PL30 5AD
Location: 2 m SE Bodmin, off A38 or B3268
Website: Lanhydrock
Email: lanhydrock@nationaltrust.org.uk Phone: 01208 265 950
National Trust - see also: National Trust memberships (official website link)
Location map OS: SX085 636

Lanhydrock House and Gardens

National Trust's Lanhydrock

Boscastle to Port Isaac - along the coastal path

With Tintagel as our base camp, we first headed about 5 miles north to Boscastle, a tiny port with a natural harbor, set in a gentle valley. The village has winding roads, thatched-roof and white-washed cottages, and an interesting natural harbor.  Be sure to stop at the National Trust visitor's center for information on the many walks you can take from the harbor.  

From the harbor we walked a lovely path that follows along the stream that feeds into the harbor, leads through fields and woods and past several tucked-away churches, then up to the top of the valley and back down to the village.  

We also walked out to a blow hole not far from the harbor but the sea was so calm on that day that there were no waves and so, no blowhole. 

From Boscastle we headed south, past Tintagel, to Port Isaac.

Port Isaac is a fishing village best known now as the film site of the British series Doc Martin staring Martin Clunes. Before it became famous it has been a fishing village since the early fourteenth century. It's naturally sheltered harbor, narrow winding streets, and old white-washed cottages and traditional granite, slate-fronted Cornish houses, make it truly picturesque and film worthy. It is easy to see why it was chosen as the site of the beloved TV series. 

We were there at low tide so most of the boats were out of the harbor. As such, it made for great tide pools. 

While we walked about the village, we saw this notice posted here and there and wondered what was being filmed.

It turns out they were filming a video of a local band called Fisherman's Friends.  This day the filming was taking place a few hundred yards out to sea, not in the village. 

From Port Isaac, we walked the Coastal path south to Port Quinn, a magical near-deserted cove with another rugged natural harbor.

From our guide book: "Local legend tells that the village (Port Quin)  has been abandoned by its population twice in its history. The first time when the pilchard shoals deserted this part of the coast and the second time, in the 19th century, when all the local fishermen were lost at sea in a terrible storm leaving 32 women widowed. The wives of the fisherman stayed for a time but were unable to eke out a living and finally moved away. There is little documentation about the desertion of the village. The villagers may have just moved on to nearby villages when mining and fishing went into decline and some of them may have emigrated to Canada but no ones knows exactly what happened. Local people still refer to Port Quin as "the village that died".

We stayed at the Penallick B & B, about a mile south of Tintagel and only 200 yards off the Coastal path.  It was clean, quiet, friendly, and the perfect home base for three days of walking this beautiful coastline. 

Along the coastal walk between TIntagel and Port Isaac, we saw a number of old slate quarry mines. Slate quarrying began here probably in the late 1400's and the last of the mines closed in 1937.  There are also remains and scars of old tin mines, although most of these are further south along the coast. 

Thirty years ago, my parents spent several weeks, spread out over three trips, walking most of the Cornwall Coastal Trail.  I had heard their stories, over the  years, of the beauty of this land and coast, the quaintness of the villages and ports, and the friendliness of the people of Cornwall. I can now vouch that it is all true.  It really is a spectacular coast line with amazing trails that cover most of the coast.  It is one of our favorite spots in England.  I can't wait to return and explore more of the coastal path. 

For more information:

Boscastle National Trust

Port Quin National Trust

Port Quin Beach

Port Isaac Essential Guide

Doc Martin's Favorite Spots

P.S. Of the wildlife we saw on the trail, my favorite were the dogs. There were so many happy dogs.  It's truly a walker's and dog lover's paradise. 

P.P.S This is proof that occasionally my husband does take a picture.  Only very occasionally, though.

Tintagel

On the northwest coast of Cornwall there is a small island rock where a path, a small bridge, plus148 steps lead to a wooden door and into castle ruins where legend says is where King Arther was conceived. Walk around this small island and you'll be treated to beautiful sea views of the castle ruins on the headland and island, the sea cliffs on all sides, and the ruins and remains of settlements from the medieval ages.  It's breathtaking!

Legend has it that Tintagel Castle was the site of Arthur's birth in the late fifth century, but there is precious little proof of this. The first mention of Arthur is from Geoffrey of Monmouth, a 12th century Welsh cleric, who gave the earliest account of Arthur's life in his book History of the Kings of Britain. He claimed that he was copying an ancient manuscript he had in his possession, but he appears to have invented most of his story, even though some aspects seem to have existed in early Celtic myth.

What is certain is that there has been a settlement on the island for at least 1300 years and that it has been a trading center at various times through the centuries.  And there are the ruins of a castle, fortress, and settlements that have been there for a millennium.

In the last couple of years there have been interesting finds in the excavations on the island. They support the idea that in the 5th and 6th centuries, the settlements here were part of a well-developed trading network reaching from the Mediterranean to the British Isles. You can read more about the recent archeology here -- it's quite interesting. 

At the highest point of the island stands a stunning 8 foot bronze statue of King Arthur gazing back at the ruins of Tintagel castle. It was installed in 2016 and created by sculptor Rubin Eynon.  I found it stunning and perfect for it's setting. It's is quite a sight to behold.

There are so many spots on the island that are enchanting.  Wooden doors that lead to beautiful vistas, fascinating ruins, cliffside paths, caves, and interesting history. Tintagel is definitely worth a visit.  

Below the ruins of Tintagel Castle, are caves that are believed to be where Merlin, the magician, lived. The caves are accessible from a footpath, but fill with water at high tide. Next to the caves is a beautiful cove with a bit of a beach. It is easy to imagine that this was a small port to many of the trading ships that came to this part of Cornwall over the centuries. 

Tintagel is managed by the English Heritage and there is a well designed visitors center near the cove with all sorts of interesting information on Tintagel and this part of Cornwall through the ages. 

Not far form the little island of Tintagel is the village by the same name. This is the Old Post Office in the village.  It's originally a fourteenth century manor house with a topsy-turvy slate roof, recently restored and now owned by the National Trust. 

For more information on Tintagel:  

The Atlantic Highway

Tintagel Castle

Dark Ages royal palace discovered in Cornwall

Tintagel Old Post Office

Tintagel one-mile loop walk