The village of Mevagissey is still a working fishing village situated on the southern coast of the beautiful county of Cornwall. There is always something to watch down at the harbour and the narrow, picturesque streets contain craft shops, art galleries, pubs, cafes and restaurants. The parish church of St. Peter has been the site of a religious foundation for over 1400 years and was rededicated in 1200.

There are so many places of interest within easy reach that we have found it difficult to decide on our outline itinerary but we intend taking you to the historic port of Charlestown just along the coast to view the square rigged ships (much in demand by film companies) and a visit to the Shipwreck Museum. We will take you to Lanhydrock dating from the 17th Century but on show now as a Victorian country house set in glorious grounds.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan are only 4 miles away- ‘lost’ because the gardens had been allowed to become overgrown - no paths were visible, only the tops of palm trees hinted at what lay underneath. In 1991 the ten year work of restoring the gardens began but they are now as they would have been in the 19th Century before the idyll was ended by the 1914-18 war. We will then journey along the Roseland peninsula passing the round houses of Veryan for lunch in Portloe where the tiny church at the water’s edge of this rocky little fishing village was once the old lifeboat station. We will end the day at St. Mawes, a fashionable yachting resort.

There will be time for shopping in the cathedral city of Truro, which is the administrative centre of Cornwall. Truro has one of Britain’s most modem three spired cathedrals incorporating the ancient Parish Church - it was completed in 1910 after 30 years’ work. Around the cathedral the streets are in keeping with its venerable appearance. It is very much a small and cosy market town.

Wednesday - Arrive and escorted to your hosts’ homes. Settle in and enjoy dinner with your hosts.

Thursday - Meet fellow guests and parishioners over coffee in Mevagissey. Tour round Mevagissey. Lunch at Charlestown, explore and visit Shipwreck Museum.  

Friday - Lanhydrock. Lunch in restaurant there. Opportunity of a walk round the grounds or to Respryn. Visit the 14th Century Restormel Castle.

Saturday - The Lost Gardens of Heligan. Lunch at Portloe. In the afternoon explore the Roseland Peninsula.

Monday - Visit to the garden of Trebah set in a narrow valley running down to the Helford River and containing many sub tropical plants. On D-Day 7,500 men of the 29th US Infantry Division embarked from the beach. Lunch in the Visitors’ Centre. Cross over the Fal on King Harry’s Ferry to Tolverne, another D-Day embarkation point, for a cream tea at Smugglers’ Cottage and a look at the small museum.

Tuesday - St. Ives by branch railway from St. Erth. A picturesque tumble of gaily coloured stone cottages. Freedom to visit the museums and art galleries. A fish & chip lunch. 

Wednesday - A morning in Truro. Lunch in the Malpas pub. Then journey by boat along the deep-water Carrick Roads to Falmouth to tour Pendennis Castle, built by King Henry VIII in the 1540s.

Thursday - Farewell to our friends.