Globetrotter: Garden of Eden (From Oxford Mail)

Globetrotter: Garden of Eden

6:00pm Saturday 3rd December 2011 in Travel Reviews By Esther Browning

My father’s maternal grandparents were the end of a line of Cornish seafarers from the Falmouth area, and I have long had a romantic notion that they were smugglers wintering in warmly lamp-lit inns atop craggy cliffs, rather than hardy fishwives shivering in poverty-stricken dwellings battered by bleak seasons.

And so it was with great excitement (and a mad optimism) that I took three generations of the 21st century family for a week in a big Cornish farmhouse nearby.

Our first stop over the Cornish border, to the north of St Austell and Charlestown’s pirate ships (with adjoining Shipwreck and Heritage Centre), was the teeming biomes of the Eden Project.

These are the world’s largest greenhouses, a giant’s bubble wrap discarded in a hidden valley.

Unbelievably the high point of this eco-attraction had closed for a lunch hour so that, after a half-hour trek through densely populated rainforest, we weren’t able to reach the much-acclaimed upper viewing platform.

Having followed the botanical trails of coffee and bananas from over the ocean, we had to make do instead with organic soup and super-sized scones in the beautifully-appointed organic cafe, and a trip to their winter skating rink.

It was a relief to leave the holiday highways for the relative quiet of the Lizard peninsula and discover, with sat-nav perfection, Trelease Farmhouse down a leafy country lane nestled amidst green fields lush enough to rival the Eden Project.

With plenty of space to absorb four children, grandparents and other adults amongst its beams and rafters, this farmhouse was both within range for a Sainsbury’s delivery vehicle (why push a trolley laden with provisions for 10 when a friendly man will deliver on schedule to your holiday door?) and just 10 miles from Lizard Point, the southern-most tip of England.

The Lizard peninsula has more than its fair share of sites of scientific interest, both natural and geological, alongside the Earth Satellite station on the Goonhilly Downs.

The area, I am told, provides sanctuary to one of England’s rarest breeding birds, the red-legged red-billed Chough, and is home to 15 of Britain’s rarest plant species which are encouraged by the warm local micro-climate.

And indeed the temperature was mild, although we experienced a whole adventure of autumnal weather with scudding cloud wrapped around treasured moments of sunshine, the view from our warm window changing faster than any picture on the TV.

We wrapped up and set off to explore this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which is separated from the main drag to Lands End by the Helford estuary. We discovered a striking coastline and ancient coves, tiny thatched fishing villages and tide-swept beaches.

We found the village of Coverack buffeted by age-old elements, wolf grey waves topped by the occasional surfer under blue-black clouds, and a harbour full of bright bobbing boats. Kennack Sands meanwhile was enticingly deserted: we splashed in the rivulets flowing across the beach until our clothes were soaked, and explored rock formations beneath the single house where the novelist Daphne du Maurier once lived.

Helford’s riverside paths were made famous by her romantic novel Frenchman's Creek (1941) in which Lady Dona St Columb flees London searching for peace of mind and instead finds a dashing buccaneer. I feel an affinity to Du Maurier because we both married a Browning, but could appreciate the seaward lure of an adventurous rogue.

Just along from the excitingly named Devil's Frying Pan, a massive rock cauldron of bubbling seawater that can be seen only from the top of the cliffs, Cadgwith Cove could be reached only by a steep winding road. It was picture postcard pretty, laden with lobster pots and, late at night I am sure, French brandy smugglers and 19th century Customs and Excise Officers.

The Lizard's coast has long proved hazardous to sailing vessels and the channels around the peninsula are historically known as the ‘Graveyard of Ships’. While this now provides continuous pleasure to many divers, a landmark lighthouse was built in 1751 to minimise mariner misery, and it is still in action and open as a museum today.

The sun shone bountifully for our excursion to Lizard Point where there was traditional serpentine stone working and souvenirs and seals on the beach (though normally you’d need to visit the National Seal Sanctuary at nearby Gweek to see these). And excitingly, for just a moment, I was closest to the equator than any other person in Britain.

On the afternoon where incessant rain was trying to drown local livestock, we took refuge underground in Poldark Mine.

Historically tin mining was important in this part of the country and, armed with protective headgear, we ventured deep underground to put our postcards in the only underground postbox in the UK and see the slippery damp and cramped working conditions of this 18th century mine.

It was a pleasure to retreat back into the toasty farmhouse for a hot dinner from the Aga and flowing wine around the great kitchen table.

This was a great place from which to explore Cornwall’s top attractions. The picturesque St Ives, its beaches lined with boutiques and art, buzzed with holidaymakers stripping to their pants (the children I hasten to add) in golden sunshine.

To the south, Saint Michael’s Mount rose majestically from the sea silhouetted against a blue sky, a storybook castle on an island reached by a wellied stomp across the sand, and followed later by a speedy retreat over the causeway, chased by the rising tide.

And in Penzance, along the High Street, we found the most amazing milk-shake shop with every imaginable flavour on offer. And with local fare like this, it’d almost be worth becoming a Cornish tin miner if these were waiting for you at the end of the day.

No wonder pirates braved this coastline and my ancestral smugglers made these Cornish coves their home. And because this time we walked only a little of the South West coastal path, I wake with the call of my roots, and I know I’ll be bringing the family back.

A week at Trelease Farmhouse costs from £640 (sleeping 12). Book with Farm and Cottage Holidays: www.holidaycottages.co.uk or call 01237 459889 Farm and Cottage Holidays is a family owned and run UK holiday cottage rental specialist with over 30 years experience and more than 1,500 properties covering Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, The Cotswolds and Dorset.