Trebah and Glendurgan can be visited by ferry but only from Helford passage, i think, and you won't get there very easily without a car. but the Western greyhound no 500 bus goes to Trebah from Falmouth, and Glendurgan too I think.

there is a very nice walk that you can do from Glendurgan along the footpath that follows the estuary round to Helford. you can have lunch at either of the pubs [one each side of the water] then either walk back or get the ferry, if it's running [depends on the tides].

Trelissick OTOH CAN be visited by ferry easily from Falmouth - the Falmouth to Truro ferries stop there.

Then Trelissick is the one for which I brought information and didn't manage to see. Glendurgan is the one with the fantastic maze that interests me from the pictures I've seen. Must go back.

joannay - you're right about the maze at Glendurgan. it's particularly interesting because it's "built" on a slope so when you're above it, you can see the patterns the hedges make and people going through it and getting lost.

although i was surprised when we visited recently with a friend how interesting Glendurgan is in the summer, it's really a spring garden, like most Cornish gardens. the best summer garden IMHO is in fact Trelissick which has some great late summer borders full of dahlias and cannas as well as more exotic stuff, and a lovely apple orchard full of cornish varieties, though the Lost Gardens of Heligan are also well worth a summer visit.

i try to get to each of them once a year at different times so i don't get bored! most of them are National Trust so it's not too expensive if you're a member.

I would not advise St Ives if you want to go out by train - it's only a branch line and I've fallen foul of restricted times a couple of times.

Generally Cornwall has pretty good public transport. I've had a couple of holidays where I stayed inland and moved around by bus/train. Just pick anywhere with good links!

annhig, thanks for the personal take on the gardens. I'm a member of Royal Oak - same benefits as NT membership and I try to make the most of it.

nona1, please don't discourage those who use the train from staying in St. Ives. It's a unique place and perfectly doable by train as it was for me.

joannay

St Ives has always been a poisoned rose for us. It has some of the most stunning light of anywhere in the UK but....

it also suffers from mass tourism that at times, whilst isn't as down-market as say Newquay, can be a little annoying. (sorry not wanting to sound like a snob but had a few too many unwanted sights in St Ives.

Yes, certainly St. Ives has suffered for it's beauty. I was there in May, it wasn't yet overrun by high season visitors and I was able to enjoy it.

I may have mentioned that next trip I'll stay in Penzance, larger and able to absorb the visitors. But I'm not sorry for a moment that I stayed those days in St. Ives and as I was out on the edge it was quiet. Also, as I'd gotten there by train my local transport was by foot and footpaths are always less crowded than roads with the added advantage of not having to park. And if you're staying in a place the crowds tend to thin in the late afternoon and return it to the ambiance one has been looking for.

bookmarking

Bookmarking. Everyone else from the Midlands seems to go to Cornwall on holiday -- I guess I should as well!

St. Ives in May [apart from bank holidays] heaven.

St Ives in summer school hols - hell.

it is easy to get there by bus if you are staying in Penzance, I think, or by train - you have to change from the mainline trains at St. Erth.

Newquay [apart from the fabulous Headland hotel where the film "the Witches" was filmed] - hell all year.

Everyone else from the Midlands seems to go to Cornwall on holiday -- I guess I should as well!>>

indy-dad - and lots of them stay. THere are loads of midlanders living in in Cornwall [and Devon] because they used to come here on holiday and when they retire, or get made redundant, they move here.

like us!

Wow, you've really given us some great advice and plenty to think about. Thanks to everyone who responded.

TTT
for my faves

On 20th August on the M5 motorway it felt as though all those Midlanders were trying to return home at the same time :))

annhig - as a kiddie we only visited Cornwall the week before Whitsuntide, the prices were cheaper and no crowds,

There was one the time we visited Whitsuntide before they expanded the A30 and we were walking faster than the cars :( So many hippies arond - am I aging my self ? :) It took over 12 hours from Yorkshire to St Ives. Most of the problem in Cornwall

We camped so many times with our 3 little ones on Hayle Towans - my Dad's ashes are there .

i want to get on the King Harry Ferry and see BIG ships and go to Mevagissey (sp)

Homesick? yup :(

i want to get on the King Harry Ferry and see BIG ships and go to Mevagissey (sp)≥≥

nothing wrong with your spelling, alya - did you know there is a new KHF? only the third one since it started. i love the journey across Carrick roads on the ferry - it must be one of the shortest ferry journeys in the world.

now the A30 has been expanded the queues are not as bad as when we first moved down here, but Saturdays in the school summer hols can still be grim on the M5 around and south of Bristol as I found to me cost last summer when i somehow managed to find myself stuck on it several times. would you believe that I'd forgotten it was Saturday?

but the WORST day ever was the day after the eclipse in 1999 - remember that? friends we had to stay ignored our advice and spent 7 hours in the traffic before they gave up and went and found somewhere to spend the night on Dartmoor. I think it took them well over 24 hours to get home.

best advice - travel on a Sunday if you are coming to Cornwall or Devon in the summer.

The eclipse? Yes I remember, we stayed on Hayle Towans the week before and saw the traffic coming into Cornwall as we left for home. YIkes!

With my parents (travelling from Yorkshire) we always set off at 2am Saturday morning and hit Gordano just in time for breakfast. When we lived in Hampshire we generally used the back roads because we lived just off of the A30 and we found that it wasn't any quicker using the M4, M5 and if we hit traffic it was easy to find a pub and wait for the traffic to die down.

Gotta love pubs with beer gardens and playgrounds :)

I was there for the eclipse too! Something I'll always remember.

bookmarking :)