The Lost Gardens of Heligan

Have been trying to come here for quite a while now and finally managed it now and was not disappointed.

Spent a few hours here and walked as much as we could manage with some areas closed.

Was a lot larger than I actually thought.

I would've rated 5 stars except I did think the entry fee was a little bit too high.

A fine day out exploring a beautiful place. Fascinating history, a great cafe and a lovely shop/garden centre. Pop up roller skating rink & farm means there's something for everyone regardless of age.

At last after 3 years of living in Cornwall we visited the light show at Heligan !! Well worth the wait, what a fantastic show of well lit creatures and flora & fauna !! From parking stewards, to route stewards, to bar/food staff.......worth every penny.....so much effort has been put in to making this a must see attraction !! Thank you......🎄🎅

The entrance fee is pretty expensive for a walk around some gardens. That was our first impression not really knowing anything about the place. However the more we explored the vastness of these gardens (over 4 hours, it’s a big place), the more we came to appreciate that to maintain these gardens to the incredible standard they are they probably need to charge even more…

The gardens do fantastic work with wildlife and plant conservation which is a strong theme you can feel throughout and is great to see.

A personal highlight was “the jungle” - which was nothing short of extraordinary!

We experienced the magical Heligan Night Garden which is a separate ticketed event to the standard Lost Gardens entry. All the stewards from the parking attendants, those on the trail and those when we departed were knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. The accessible parking was close to the entry and this and all the usual parking is free for night garden customers. There are a few ridges from rain in the car park and some trails so take care in a wheelchair or mobility scooter. The night gardens were pretty from the entrance and of course we took far too many photos of the beautiful and creative installations. One super bonus that doesn't appear to be advertised until you check the small print on the back of the leaflet you are given on entry, is that your entire party have a complimentary daytime entry for the gardens until 31st January after you attend the night gardens. The one-way layout of the trail was really well thought out. The accessible routes did not miss any of the installations. The refreshment facilities had queues but plenty of space to sit outside and in the undercover areas (the weather was kind) to enjoy a drink or snack. The Stewards House was serving more substantial meals and warmer inside. The timed entries seemed to allow space for everyone to see the installations and manoeuvre about. The barn was open for goat & donkey petting and taking festive photos in a sleigh or with cuddly polar bears and we toasted marshmallows over a large firepit and enjoyed a created snow shower in one area. We really enjoyed the evening and the families with children around us seemed to be doing so also. The exit is through the gift shop of course.

Lovely safe place to go with the kids, lots of amenities, lots of different things to do. The way the trees are trained in the garden area is stunning. The rare breed of farm animals are cool to see, the jungle is amazing (but not suitable for everyone because of how steep slopes are), and the children's play area is enormous.

Great place to visit with something for everyone. We choose to visit here over The Eden project as its dog friendly in all areas and we didn’t want to leave our dog all day. There were acres of beautiful gardens, sculptures and tropical jungle. There’s a farm animal area and wooden play park for the kids. Brilliant day out and cherished memories made.

Only issue is paying for parking when you still have to pay for entry. Not a big issue but it would have been nice to expect this prior to turning up and knowing you will be required to park in the farm shop premises next door. This is not very clearly communicated and it made parking more complicated than necessary.

Definitely worth a visit!