2025 - Lost Gardens & Beautiful Bodmin
- Duration: 5 days
- Board Basis: Half Board
- Tour Ref: D2TCRU9179
Holiday Summary
- Travel Type: Coach
5 days
New for 2025!
Staying at the smart Lanhydrock Hotel, overlooking a golf course, on the outskirts of bijou Bodmin, this terrific tour takes you through the rural heart of Cornwall, showcasing the very best of this wonderful region. Experience the beauty of quintessentially English landscapes and the spectacular nature of Bodmin Moor as well as a pretty coastal resort, a heritage railway and of course, the enviable mild climate. With so many included visits, who can resist the Charm of the West Country?
PLEASE NOTE: Price is per person and based on two people sharing a twin/double room. Single room supplements and upgrades are not included.
Itinerary
Tour Inclusions
- Hotel for 4 nights with breakfast & dinner
- Porterage
- Tea / coffee after dinner
- Three included excursions as stated
- Entrance to Lost Gardens of Heligan with introductory talk
- Return ticket on Bodmin & Wenford Railway
- Entrance to Lanhydrock House & Gardens
- Entrance to Bodmin Jail
- Entrance to Jamaica Inn Smuggling Museum
- Scenic Bodmin Moor drive
- Visit to Megavissey
Discover Cornwall's Charms
Day 1 - After joining your holiday coach, head south to Cornwall. Check into the 3* Lanhydrock Hotel for 4 nights with breakfast & dinner
Day 2 - 4 At leisure in Bodmin with three included excursions
INCLUDED EXCURSIONS
Out & About around Bodmin
Head to Lanhydrock, a magnificent late Victorian country house with extensive gardens and wooded estate. The Lanhydrock estate has a fascinating history that encompasses wars, political scandals and a fire that devastated large parts of the house. Discover two sides of Victorian life from 'below stairs' in the kitchens and servants' quarters to 'upstairs' living in the luxurious family areas, elegant dining room and spacious bedrooms. The Long Gallery ceiling at Lanhydrock is a masterpiece of Jacobean plasterwork and is undergoing conservation work to restore it. Take a stroll through the gardens with their year-round colour, beautiful herbaceous borders and fabulous formal parterre. Then take a leisurely ride through the Cornish countryside on a 13 mile round trip on the Bodmin & Wenford heritage railway, (may be steam or diesel) evocative of a 1950s branch line. Bodmin General, the principal station, retains much of its Victorian charm.
Lost Gardens of Heligan & Megavissey
Experience one of the most unique and fascinating attractions in Cornwall, The Lost Gardens of Heligan - a genuine secret garden which was lost for decades and rediscovered from the brambles of time back in 1990. Today it is the largest garden restoration in Europe, home to a National Collection of camellias and rhododendrons and an incredible 200 acres of gardens and estate to explore, bursting with romance and intrigue around every pathway and corner. You will be welcomed by a member of staff who will give you a brief introduction to the history of the gardens along with the magnificent success story of its restoration. Heligan is truly a garden for all seasons - with the hazy buzz of mid-summer, the Estate is a haven for wildlife and insects creating the perfect habitat for butterflies and bumblebees. The Flower Garden will be in full bloom with highlights including echinacea, cosmos, sweet pea, love in the mist, cleome, larkspur and The Jungle is spectacular at any time of year. You are sure to discover a paradise for the explorer, plant lover, history buff or garden romantic - The Lost Gardens have it all!
Finish the day with a stop in lovely Megavissey where narrow streets lead down to the old centre and the distinctive twin harbour provide a safe haven for local boats. Once the centre of Cornwall's pilchard fishing, many of the old buildings, constructed of cob and slate, bear testimony to a time when the large shoals of pilchards were the livelihood of the whole village.
Bodmin Jail and Bodmin Moor Scenic Drive
Built in 1779 Bodmin Jail is a landmark historical site which showcases the dark and fascinating legacy of Georgian and Victorian crime and punishment. Entrance is included to the jail, an immersive and world class experience. Bodmin Jail is fully accessible with mostly level surfaces together with ramps and platform lifts (if required). After the visit and time in Bodmin to find some lunch, head off to Bodmin Moor, one of Cornwall's designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is a remote, bleak heather covered moor dominated by dramatic granite tors which tower over the sweeping expanses of open land, still grazed by moorland ponies and home to the mysterious beast! Make a stop at Cornwall's most famous smugglers' inn, Jamaica Inn, built in 1750. Made world-famous by Daphne du Maurier's, the atmosphere of the hostelry and the wild moor inspired her to write her famous and compelling novel, Jamaica Inn. The Smuggling Museum brings alive the myths and legends of wreckers and smugglers over the past 300 years) - entrance included
Day 5 - Homeward bound after breakfast with many happy memories and after interchange head back to your home towns mid-evening
Accommodation
Golf Hotel on the outskirts of Bodmin 3*
Lanhydrock Hotel & Golf Club
This smart, low-rise, family-owned 3* hotel is located on the outskirts of historic Bodmin town and is known for its beautiful 18 hole golf course which is set in mature parkland. Tastefully decorated guestrooms are spacious and comfortable and offer all mod cons including hairdryers, complimentary WiFi, HD flat screen TVs and tea / coffee making facilities. Many have views over the golf course or putting green. Singles are doubles / twins for sole use. There is a lift. The hotel has a bistro-style restaurant and bar with views over the golf course.