Hills, Tides and no Ferry

Monday 6 August

Today we went on a recommendation from our friends Linda and Ashley to Helford on the Helford River. But first, we decided to use the National Trust card again and visit Glendurgan Gardens. The advantage being that we can park Campy at the gardens and walk down to Durgan and walk to Helford passage to get the ferry over to Helford.

We arrived at Glendurgan at about 10.30am they had not long been open so we easily found a great place to park Campy. It turns out as a good move as later the car park was full to capacity. 

Glenduran is described as a ‘Steep Valley Garden’ and it is. At no time during the day were not either walking up or down hills. Some of them never ending. The gardens are described as a typical cornish valley garden which enjoys one of the mildest climates in Britain. Because of its sheltered position, it misses most of the strong cold winds, and because of its proximity to to the sea it is usually frost free. It is made up of three well-watered valleys, which are near sub-tropical - so growing here is a range of plants not seen anywhere else in the country. 

The Gardens have developed over the last 180 years and is renowned for its trees and shrubs, which provide foliage and flowers for an ever changing view of colours and texture. Throughout the garden you can catch glimpses of the beautiful Helford River and the Village of Durgan. It has always been a family garden, and the maze provides amusement for all.

We really enjoyed our time in Glenduran and really is a must see. Although the walking is hard and the climbs steep in places, it is very doable and well worth the effort. In a way it is a garden paradise.

Pause for pic’s

We made our way back to Campy and had our lunch watching the cars go round and round looking for parking places. Back into the gardens we made our way back down the valley garden and in to Durgan. Durgan really is a beautiful village and used to be a fishing village. You can rent one of two of the cottages on the river front for holidays as these are owned by the National Trust. One of them we especially liked was the old school house.

We followed the sign to to ‘Helford Passage’ and the ferry that would take us to Helford. The walk is 3/4 mile and very pleasant with open spaces and fantastic views of the River. As we arrived the Ferry was just coming on to the jetty. Quick hop skip and jump and we on the boat and off. It was now about 1pm but it wasn’t till we were nearly there that we were told that the ferry stopped operating at 2.30pm and would not start again till 4.30pm. This gave us a bit of a dilemma as we wanted to have a good look around but we also needed to get back to Campy for 5.30 as that’s when they lock the gates to the gardens. We decided to throw caution to the wind and go exploring. Helford is a lovely village but we didn’t think we saw quite at its best as the tide was well out by the time we got there and there was no water left in the estuary whatsoever. We found the Shipwrights Arms (not hard as it is the only pub in the village) and made a note to come back if we had any time left. If you walk to the end of the estuary, there is a ford for vehicle crossing and a collection of delightful cottages and even a village store.

We then walked along the paths to Frenchmans Creek. This was a lovely walk and again gave us some great views. Why it’s called Frenchmans Creek is a mystery to us but nevertheless it was a nice walk. It is a fact that if you are not walking up a hill around this area then you are certainly walking down one so by the time we got to the pub we were in need of liquid refreshment. Looking at the clock we saw we now had an hour and a half to wait for the ferry to return. It turns out this is on the account of the tides and the boat not being able to get to the jetty that was to blame. Nothing for it but to sit in the pub and watch the Olympic sailing on the TV. This is only the second segment of the Olympics we have seen.

At 4.30pm we got on the ferry and made the dash back to Campy via the gardens, tired but pleased with the day.

Moving campsite tomorrow to Marazion, Nr Penzance.