Lost Gardens of Heligan

The Lost Gardens of Heligan are one of the most popular botanical gardens in the UK. The gardens’ style is typical of the nineteenth-century Gardenesque style, with areas of different character and design styles.

The gardens were created and enhanced by members of the Tremayne family over a period from the mid-18th century up to the beginning of the 20th century, and today still form part of the family’s Heligan estate. The gardens were neglected after the First World War and restored in the 1990s.

The gardens now boast a fabulous collection of rhododendrons and camellias, a series of lakes fed by a ram pump over a hundred years old, working flower and vegetable gardens, an Italian garden, and a stunning wild area called “The Jungle” filled with sub-tropical tree ferns. The gardens also have Europe’s only remaining pineapple pit, warmed by rotting manure, and two figures made from rocks and plants known as the Mud Maid and the Giant’s Head.

The gardens surround the house, with the northern part, which includes the main ornamental and vegetable gardens, slightly higher than the house and sloping gently down to it. The areas to the west, south, and east of the house slope steeply down into a series of valleys and are much wilder, including The Jungle and The Lost Valley.

Dogs kept on leads are welcome at Heligan all year round, making it ideal for walks with your four-legged friends.

The gardens include a gift shop, multiple options to eat and a plant shop.