Today we were booked on a guided tour to Lost Gardens of Heligan with a gentleman called David Hogg.  He was very entertaining and very knowledgeable about the gardens.  He has worked there for many years along with his wife.  We started walking around about 1015 and finished around 1315 and some of the slopes were considerably steep.  The rope ladder was interesting in the “jungle” section and I managed to go across it.

From here we headed off to Charlestown to have a look at the historic harbour and tall ships.  Interesting place and the tall ship that was used in the Poldark series was moored in the harbour.  Unusual shape harbour and the smugglers coves were still there as well.  It was extremely windy, not cold though.  Parking expensive again - £2.50 for an hour.  They certainly know how to charge for parking in this country.  In the past couple of days, parking has cost in excess of £30.

On to Fowey for Tina and Ron as they hadn’t been.  We drove this time down to the harbour area, but couldn’t find anywhere to park so made our way at up to the top of the town again.  The streets were incredibly narrow to say the least.  One spot I had to put the mirrors in to pass.  Talk about challenging, it was.

Back to our unit and Kel had a sleep as did Tina and Ron, I caught up with the diary and rested for around half an hour.  Been a busy week and lots of walking up and down hills and steps.   They had put in a new washing machine whilst we had been out.  Will try it out tomorrow morning.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan (Cornish: Lowarth Helygen, meaning "willow tree garden"), near Mevagissey in Cornwall, are one of the most popular botanical gardens in the UK. The gardens are typical of the 19th century Gardenesque style with areas of different character and in different design styles.

The gardens were created by members of the Cornish Tremayne family from the mid-18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, and still form part of the family's Heligan estate. The gardens were neglected after the First World War and restored only in the 1990s.

The gardens include aged and colossal rhododendrons and camellias, a series of lakes fed by a ram pump over 100 years old, highly productive flower and vegetable gardens, an Italian garden, and a wild area filled with subtropical tree ferns called "The Jungle". The gardens also have Europe's only remaining pineapple pit, warmed by rotting manure.

Charlestown 

Charlestown (Cornish: Porth Meur, meaning great cove) is a village and port on the south coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom, and in the civil parish of St Austell Bay. It is situated approximately 2 miles (3 km) south east of St Austell town centre.

The port at Charlestown developed in the late-18th century from the fishing village of West Polmear. Whereas other areas of St Austell have seen much development during the 20th century, Charlestown has remained relatively unchanged.

Charlestown grew out of the small fishing village of West Polmear (or West Porthmear), which consisted of a few cottages and three cellars, in which the catch of pilchards were processed.  The population amounted to nine fishermen and their families in 1790.  Before the harbour was built, trading vessels landed and loaded on the beach.  Charles Rashleigh who moved to Duporth Manor, just outside the village, used plans prepared by John Smeaton to begin the construction of a harbour and dock in 1791. After building the outer pier, he excavated a natural inlet to form the main dock and a shipyard at its inner end that demolished when the dock was extended.  The first dock gates were completed in 1799.  To maintain water levels in the dock, a leat was constructed, which brought water from the Luxulyan Valley, some 4 miles (6. 4 km) away.

Rashleigh also planned the village, which had a broad road running from the harbour to Mount Charles.  In 1793, a gun battery was built to the west of the harbour mouth, as a defence against possible French attacks. Volunteers from Rashleigh's estate formed an artillery company that lasted until 1860, when the original four 18-pound cannons were replaced by 24-pound models.  The Crinnis Cliff Volunteers became part of the 1st Cornwall (Duke of Cornwall's) Artillery Volunteers, and the battery continued to be used for practice until 1898.  In 1799 the locals asked his permission to rename the place Charles's Town which became Charlestown.

The port was built to facilitate the transport of copper from nearby mines. Crinnis Hill Mine to the east of the village exported some 40,000 tons of copper ore between 1810 and 1813. South Polmear Mine to the west and Charlestown United Mines operated from a site near Holmbush to the north.