Tremenheere Sculpture Garden

We left Newquay late morning in grey breezy drizzle and drove to the outskirts of Penzance to visit the Tremenheere Sculpture Garden.  As we were cold, we decided to have an early lunch in their delightful restaurant (highly recommended).  By the time we finished, the sky was blue and the sun was intense :-)

A Penzance GP bought a 22 acre block of woodland and agricultural land from a local farmer in 1997, and has spent the last 27 years creating an amazing garden. Many hundreds of years ago it was the south facing slope where the monks of St Michael's Mount had their vineyard, so it's a favourable spot.  Many mature trees were left but glades were also created.  There is a stream running through the site so good places for tree ferns and shady damp loving plants.  But there are also dry, open banks that are planted with succulents and plants from deserts all round the world.  At one point we felt we could have been in Cape Town Botanical Gardens on the side of Table Mountain.

As if that wasn't enough, the garden also has a collection of contemporary sculpture.  You can see a couple of pieces in the image.  And there is a Gallery which hosts local artists and the Newlyn Art Club. We spent hours there and were sorry to leave.