Pencarrow House and Gardens less than 10 minutes from Butterwell Farm were an unexpected delight

We’ve been incredibly lucky with the weather in Cornwall recently and all of our guests have been out and about making the most of it.  We managed to head out ourselves recently and visited Pencarrow House and Gardens which has been on my list of places to visit for a long time as it is so close to Butterwell Farm.  It was so much better than I anticipated.  Even the mile long drive up to the house on its own is spectacular and I think we were lucky to be there at this time of year when the camellias and rhododendrons are in bloom and the grounds are a carpet of bluebells and wild garlic – much like our woodland here.

 

 

Jack and I enjoyed a lovely walk around the grounds with my parents taking about 40 minutes which we could have extended to take in more of the grounds but it was heavy going with the buggy.  Pencarrow is set in 50 acres of formal and woodland gardens.  Dogs are welcome in the gardens and even allowed off the lead in the extensive woodland areas.  There are various points of interest as well as fantastic views along the walk and the Pencarrow map clearly marks these.  We then left my parents to take a tour of the house.  Pencarrow house has been in the same family since the 1500s and if you are interested in history, nature and gardens it’s a great place for all the family, and even dog friendly around the gardens.

There was a lovely cafe set around a beautiful courtyard with a fantastic play area for children, even featuring free roaming chickens and peacocks, and a Cornish slate Wendy house!

 

 

I was interested to learn that Pencarrow house is where the “monkey puzzle” tree name was coined.  in the 19th century the owner of Pencarrow house collected many specimens of conifer from all over the world including the Araucaria araucana (Monkey Puzzle) and barrister Charles Austin remarked upon touching its prickly leaves, “It would be a puzzle for a monkey”.  I couldn’t resist purchasing one myself from the collection of interesting plants they have for sale at their shop.

Pencarrow house, gardens, cafe and shop are open Sunday to Thursday (closed Friday and Saturday) from April to September.

 

For more ideas on things to do on your visit to Cornwall, please check out our Things to Do page.

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