Springtime Gardens of Cornwall

DAY 1

If travelling by train relive the happy days of childhood holidays, as we travel the route of the old "Cornish Riviera Express", clinging to the sea wall at Dawlish before crossing Brunel's mighty Royal Albert Bridge into Cornwall, and onto Bodmin Parkway, from where we transfer to stay for four nights at the lovely Lanhydrock Hotel.

DAY 2

We stay local today as we visit the neighbouring Lanhydrock House and Gardens with the chance to explore this lovely Victorian house with its extensive gardens filled with Magnolias and Rhododendrons. Following our visit, we transfer to Bodmin for a wonderful journey of nostalgia on the Bodmin & Wenford steam railway, a time-capsule of yesteryear train travel.

DAY 3

Today we board our coach for the short journey to the Eden Project for an unforgettable sensory journey of breathtaking beauty, as you step from steamy tropical rain forest into Mediterranean-type climates of the world. We then head to Pinetum Gardens, a woodland garden which is at its most colourful in Spring, when snowdrops arrive, followed by bluebells, primulae, and crocus.

DAY 4

Today we make our way to the magically reclaimed Lost Gardens of Heligan. The original 19th Century gardens were amongst the finest in England. Now after more than a decade of restoration, you can again enjoy the gardens at their finest. Our final garden of the tour is the magnificent Caerhays Castle Gardens which is home to the National Collection of Magnolias and one of the finest displays of spring flowers in the UK.

DAY 5

After breakfast it's time to bid farewell to the Lanhydrock and journey homeward.

B=Breakfast, D=Dinner