Falmouth leave first approx. 1 pm for Glendurgan Garden since in the morning torrential rains fell with a duration of approx. 1 hour, the low areas were metre highly flooding up to one.

Glendurgan Garden is one of the most beautiful gardens in the region which also looked after the National Trust.

Our walk of Glendurgan Garden and again lasted back for approx. 2 hours by the garden up to the harbour.

Glendurgan Garden ( £ 6 per Person)

Glendurgan Garden - A Heaven on Earth

Glendurgan is a secret and special garden. It lies hidden from the outside-world by shelter belts of woodland in four of south Cornwall's narrow and beautiful caostal valleys.
But Glendurgan also looks outwards, with views down to the fishing village of Durgan and the broad estuary of the Helford River. The garden was created from the 1820s by Alfred Fox, who came from a properous family of Falmouth ship agents, and used his foreign contacts to collect exotic new plants from all over the world. They have flourished here thanks to Glendurgan's moist, almust sub-tropical climate.
Like most of Cornwall's famous coastal gardens, Glendurgan is at its most colourful in the spring, when the mounds of hybrid camellias and rhododendrons complement the delicate with primroses, Lent Lilies and violets that speckle the steep grassy banks. But there is much to enjoy later in the year, when the contrasting textures and shapes of bamboos, conifers, myrtles and many other evergreens come into their own.
Alfred Fox was a devout Quaker, and his religious beliefs are reflected in the trees planted on the Holy Bank. Glendurgan was meant to be a small piece of heaven on earth, and so it remains.


Glendurgan and the Fox Family

The Fox family have lived in the Falmouth area since at least the 17th century, and were among the first people to become Quakers, when the Society of Friends was established in Cornwall in 1655. With the development of Falmouth as a fishing port, mail depot and deep-water anchorage for transatlantic shipping, the Foxes moved their business here from Fowey in 1762.
By 1794, when Alfred Fox was born, the family had grown into a huge networkof cousins. Alfrd himself was one of four brothers, whose different qualities were described in the West Briton newspaper; "Alfred Fox, upright, conscientious man of business; Joshua Fox, the kind-hearted lover of his race and of all loving things, the true child of nature; Robert Were Fox, the man of science, with rare store of learning and observation; Charles Fox , the literary man, with a vast fund of diligently accumulated learning and information". The Foxes owned solid comfortable houses in Falmouth, but they also had the means to buy country estates all along the nearby coast, where they could satisfy their shared love of gardening - at Goonvrea, Penjerrick, Tregedna, Trebah and at Glendurgan.
Alfred first rented cellars and orchards at Durgan in the 1820s. With close links to the local fishing industry, he may have initially been attracted by the many kinds of fish and shellfish that were landed here. He may also have appreciated the several productive orchards which benefited from the sheltered climate of the valley behind the village. But he soon saw the possibilities for making a great garden.

By 1826 a thatched cottage had been built at the top of the main valley above Durgan. Alfred and his wife, Sarah, shared in clearing the four valleys, which must have been overgrown and marshy at the time. Following the example of the local inhabitants, they extended and planted orchards. All kinds of trees were planted for shelter - lime, beech, sycamore, oak and ash - together with evergreens, including HolmOaks, and conifers newly introduced from North America. A pond was dug and stocked with trout, and in 1833 a large and complicated maze of Cherry Laurel was planted on the centre of the garden. Advantage was taken of the other Fox gardens, which supplied seeds and plants; also for the family ship agency which could persuade visiting captains to import exotic and tender species.
In 1837 Alfred was having lunch in Falmouth, when news reached him that his cottage had burnt to the ground. He burst out laughing, delighted that appearent disaster had solved a problem he was in the midst of discussing - the accomodation of his ever-incresasing family. The new house was built on a slightly larger scale, and extended by his son, George, in 1891.
As if Sarah was not preoccupied enough with her family, which eventually numbered twelve, in 1829 she started and personally ran the first school in Mawnan Smith parish. This was situated in the "Pound House", where donkeys had been housed. The school flourished until 1842; in 1876 her son-in-low, Sir Joseph Pease , was responsible for founding a more permanent school and reading room (now a holiday cottage) on the sea wall in Durgan.
By the time George Fox took over Glendurgan in the 1890s, the structure of the garden was well established, and he was content to add ornamental trees and shrubs, while continuing to cultivate fruit trees. He was a keen botanist and naturalist, and grew hundreds of varieties of apples and pears as well as soft fruits, nectarines, peaches, figs, greengages and citrus fruits. In 1897 he wrote: "Billy brought in citrus, one measured 1'10" round the longs way and 1'9" the short way (the waist). It would just squeeze into my hat endways but would not go in the long way."
Sadly, the traditions of fruit-growings has declined, but the family has always maintained the practice of introducing rare, tender and unusual trees and shrubs, often commemorative, whilst at the same time trying to emphasize the Cornish character of the garden by retaining extensive banks and glades of wild flowers, and above all the viwe of the river. Some of the original place names still exist, such as Manderson's Hill(4) and Birch's Orchand (7); other names are self-explanatory and have envolved over the years, contributing to the garden's special character. Most recent of these is the new Valley Head path (11), which links the two sides of the upper valley.
In December 1923 George Fox wrote that Glendurgan "has been so enjoyed and loved by father and mother's descendants that it seems almost a familiy duty to carry on there as a family home if possible in the hope of future generations being privileged and able to do the same". It was perhaps for these reason that his son and daughter-in-law. Cuthbert and Moyra Fox, and their son, Philip, decided to give the garden to the National Trust in 1962, the bicentary of the family firm. Their foresight has not only made it possible for a sixth generation of the Fox family to grow up at Glendurgan, but also for the spirit of conservation and innovation created by Alfred Fox to continue, for the lasting enjoyment of visitors to the garden.

Tour of the Garden

The Camellia Walk (1)

Approached down a curving path laid out in 1993, this area features modern Camellia reticulata cultivars, such as "Lion Head" and "Crimson Robe", interplanted with summer-flowering bulbs and perennials such as agapanthus, kniphofia and white foxgloves. Some of the camellias on the straight path are almost 100 years old and include "Preston Rose" and "Ville de Nantes Variegata", both of which were probably planted by George Fox. He was an entusiastic plantsman who acquired manyn ewly introduced shrubs from his cousin at the nearby garden of Penjerrick. Later plantings create a colourful picture in the spring. Notable rhododendrons include RR. "Saffron Queen" and "Lady Alice Fitzwilliam".

The Cherry Orchard (2)

The name records the planting of this area with cherry and pear trees by Alfred Fox in the mid-1820s. On the northern side are two magnificent Tulip Trees (Liriodendron tulipiferum), about 170 years old, and nearby deciduous azaleas and laurel. In the valley stand a Pocket Handkerchief Tree (Davidia Involucrata), with a strange white bracts in May, some magnolias and a variety of flowering cherries, all with predominantly white flowers. On the southern slopes is a group of the lavender-blue Rhododrendron augustinii planted with the Great White Cherry of Japan, Prunus "Taihaku". In the spring these banks are covered with Lent Lilies (Narcissus pseudonarcissus), followed by primroses, primulas, bluebells and columbines.

The Maze and the Pond (3)

This unusual feature was planted by Alfred Fox in October 1833, using Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus). His inspiration was the then famous maze in the Sydney Garden at Bath. It has regained its old vigour after being cut back, and the thatched summer-house as also been reinstated at the centre, following the design of the original. The bushes have to be pruned five times a year, aj ob that takes two gardeners a whole week.
On the island in the centre of the nearby pond is a Deodar Cedar ( Cedrus deodora), while to the north there is large weeping Swamp Cypress ( Taxodium distichum). Below the pond are two rare Chinese Firs, Cunninghamia lanceolota and C.l. glauca.

Manderson's Hill (4)

This is clothed with some notable trees, including rare and tender conifers which can be grown only in the mildest areas of Britain. Chusan Palm Trees ( Trachycarpus fortunei) and the myrtles Myrtus luma and M. apiculatanear the lower path, with their distinctice peeling bark, and Winter Bark (Drimys winteri ) also add to the sub-tropiocal character of this part of the garden.
At the far end of the hill, as you descend to Durgan village, are the parallel stone walls of the Cattle Rush, a drove allowing animals to be brought down to the stream to drink.

The Lower Valley (5)

In this moist and sheltered deep valley, bamboos and Viburnum tomentosum "Mariesii" thrive. By the bamboo bridge many plants from Australia and New Zealand are grown, including the tree fern Dicksonia antarctica. In the lower part of the valley beyond theMagnolia campbelliialba are large groups of various hydrangeas, Portuguese Laurels (Prunus lusitanica ) and Rhododrendron "Polar Bear", which produces scented flowers in August.

Durgan Village (6)

The hamlet consists of around twenty cottages, which were originally almost entirely occupied by fishermen, as the Helford River and Falmouth Bay were reowned for pilchards, mackerel, lobsterand crabs. Their catches were taken into Falmouth market by donkeys, which during the summer freely roamed around the fields surrounding the village and in winter lived in cellars in Durgan.

Birch's Orchard (7)

The western valley has a colour scheme in which yellow and blue predominate. The spring-flowering Bog Arums and King Cups are followed by various rhododrendons, blue hydrangeas and yellow St John's Wort. At the valley head, above the group of tree ferns and mimosa (Acacia dealbata), is an old cider press that recalls the days when this valley was an orchard. From this point there are intriguing glimpeses through the trees to the Helford River.

The Giant's Stride (8)

From the top of a stout pole hand six strong ropes, from which generations of Fox family children and their friends have swung; try it yourself. Take care and alwys chose a handle higher than your head. When most of the ropes are taken, race around the pole. You will soon become airborne - hence the name "The Giant's Stride".

The School Room Walk (9)

This path led to the old school in the western valley. It is dominated by large English oak, beech and Sweet Chestnut trees, with, nearer the house, a Californian Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), a fine Magnolia x veitchii"Peter Veitch", some Irish Yews and a medlar. Also to be found here is a touching memorial to the family's dogs.

The Holy Bank (10)

Devout Quakers like the Foxes delighted in such a instructive feature. Gathered here are the Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), the Judas Tree (Cercis siliquastrum), the Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii), a recently planted Glastonbury Thorn (Crataegus monogyna"Biflora") and a pomegranate.


The Valley Head (11)

Beneath the house is a small goldfish pond, surrounded by ferns, banana trees and other exotic plants. The path allows fine views to be enjoyed down the valley towards the Helford River. Here is a wide variety of trees and shrubs, including rock roses, rosemary, evergreen azaleas, a group of Viburnum plicatum "Mariesii", a Chinese Persimmon ( Diospyros kaki ) and a blue-grey Arizona Cypress (Cupressus glabra). From this point you can also get a good view of the scented rhododrendons near the Holy Bank. The giant spiky leaves of Agaveamericana dominate the view back to the house, contributing to the striking, subtropical atmosphere of this special Cornish garden.

Temperature: circa 21°C in the afternoon


Driven miles: 30 = 48 km