Walking in Cornwall

Following a healthy breakfast we transfer by coach to Padstow, the starting point of the 28-mile Saint’s Way, which is a well walked,  signposted  trail marked fully on the OS maps that follows public footpaths, quiet back lanes and leafy tracks (‘green lanes’) and unlocks the atmosphere of the fascinating Celtic past and traditions of the region. We will walk the first section, Padstow to Withiel, a distance of 10 miles.

After an opportunity for lunch we continue by coach to Pencarrow Garden, a 50-acre country house garden that has such diverse features as a Victorian rockery, Italian gardens, an ice house and an Iron Age fort. We return to our hotel where dinner will be served.

Today, following breakfast, our coach will transfer us to Withiel and we will walk the section from here to Lanivery, a distance of 10 miles.

In the afternoon we transfer by coach to Lanhydrock Gardens, which feature a formal courtyard garden, beds of modern roses and a woodland garden, rich in flowering shrubs and trees, especially rhododendrons and magnolias (best in April). We then return by coach to the hotel.

Following breakfast our coach will transfer us to Lanivery for the final section of the Saint’s Way from here to the coast at Fowey, a distance of 8 miles.

In the afternoon we can relax with a visit to the privately-owned garden of Marsh Villa, situated in a former tidal creek made famous by Daphne du Maurier’s book The House on the Strand. This three-acre garden is result of years of hard work by the enthusiastic owner – not to mention several lorry loads of manure. A passion for perennials brought about the construction of a secluded, rather formal garden set within escallonia hedges.

Later we return to the hotel for dinner, a little foot-sore and weary perhaps but with happy memories of 28 miles of glorious Cornish countryside and some wonderful gardens to boot.

Following breakfast we are free to return home independently. Extended stays can be arranged on request.