Cornwall, England — In Pictures
A Giant Bee, Tropical Rainforest, Maritime Museum, Marine Aquarium and Heritage Railway. What’s not to love?
Cornwall has always been a favourite holiday destination for Brits wanting to stay at home and enjoy some of the sunshine on the south coast. With diverse attractions and amazing coastal scenery, there’s plenty of reason to head south.
The Eden Project
This horticultural wonderland is a tropical paradise with a strong environmental message. An amazing display of weird and wonderful vegetables, a giant bee, and a wee man made from waste adorn the former quarry. The world’s biggest greenhouse biomes enable visitors to see tropical plants from around the world.
Kids can see how cocoa beans are grown, and how plants are essential to modern life. The BBC filmed a science programme on photosynthesis at Eden, there’s an interactive exhibition on climate change, and a zip wire to provide entertainment during the summer months. www.edenproject.com
The National Maritime Museum
This museum for boat-lovers has interactive displays and a lighthouse exhibition. You can test your sailing technique on the mini boating lake, go inside a make-shift lighthouse, or watch wild fish swimming in the sea through toughened glass in the basement. www.nmmc.co.uk
Trebah gardens
This garden landscape is an adventure playground with bamboo mazes boasting canes thicker than your arm! Exploring beneath the giant rhubarbs is another world. There is a mini zip wire in the play area and water gardens which lead to a private beach. It’s a great place to take the kids for a run about to get rid of some energy! www.trebahgarden.co.uk
Newquay Aquarium
This aquarium in the centre of Cornwall’s surfing capital, has a giant crab, man-eating piranas, sea cucumbers, and a giant turtle. There is plenty to keep the kids entertained for a few hours. Take them out to the beach afterwards where they can take a surfing lesson or play ball games. www.bluereefaquarium.co.uk
Trerice
This National Trust Property gives you the opportunity to dress up in armour, chainmail, helmets, and period dress. You can play old-fashioned skittles, and admire a recreated Elizabethan garden. After a tour of the house it’s nice to buy a bag of apples from the orchard. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-trerice
Moseley Heritage Museum
This unique attraction in Redruth provides the opportunity to ride in a miners wagon, visit the engine shed, see model trains zipping round so fast that some of them derail, and enjoy the complex and fully operational Meccano models on display. The museum is a labour of love by local enthusiast, Colin Saxton. Find out more on Moseley Heritage Museum Facebook Page.
Godrevy
Godrevy is a haven of tranquility, popular with nature lovers and families, as well as surfers and kayakers. The long expanse of golden sand makes it a natural holiday destination for visitors.
Rocky pools that have formed naturally on the beach, create safe places for paddling, swimming, or boating when the tide is out. It’s an adventure playground for young explorers, but the real treat awaits you at the headland, where loads of seals rest on the beaches and frolick in the sea below.
The lighthouse
Godrevy Lighthouse stands guard over a reef one and half miles long, called The Stones, which presented a hazard to shipping throughout the 19th century. Nothing was done about the looming threat, until a tragic accident occurred in December 1854: A passenger steamer called The Nile, crashed into the rocks and everyone on board was killed.
The devastating news triggered an outcry from relatives of the dead, followed by a suitable response from the authorities, so that in 1858, work began on building a lighthouse — a white octagonal tower, standing 86 feet tall. Prior to construction, debates raged about whether to build the structure on the reef or the island, but the island option won favour and the lighthouse became operational in March 1959. The island, approximately 300 yards off Godrevy Point is a favourite resting spot for seals.
