Cornwall with four schnauzers, days four and five: the Eden Project and a birthday at Lanhydrock

Day four arrived with the worst forecast of the week, which made the decision easy: we wanted somewhere with a roof. Day five was my birthday, and for once the rain took itself off and gave us blue skies. Two very different days, and between them they showed off what Cornwall can do whatever the weather throws at you.

Day four, Thursday: the Eden Project and Charlestown

The Eden Project

We had booked online for a 10.30am arrival at the Eden Project. The tickets are good for return visits for up to a year, which is worth knowing if you are in the area for a while. Parking was easy and plentiful, about a five to ten minute walk from the entrance. I have been several times and love it, and this was Ros’s first visit.

We got through the gate and out into the gardens, and that was the rain’s cue. It set the tone for the day: the odd break of sunshine, then showers, then torrential rain. We explored as much of the outdoor gardens as the weather allowed, and there is a lot to see out there even in the wet. We could see the zip line running in the distance, undeterred by the conditions, but decided to give that one a miss this time.

When the rain got serious we settled into the big restaurant between the two biomes. There is masses of seating, indoors and under cover outside, and dogs are welcome in both. The pop-up pen came up trumps again, and the ladies settled while we had tea and some very good carrot cake, listening to the rain hammering down on the roof over the seating.

Then we took it in turns to go into the biomes, one of us staying with the ladies while the other went in, then swapping over. You can happily spend a couple of hours in the rainforest biome and a similar stretch in the Mediterranean one. The thing that was new to me, or that I had somehow missed before, was the high walkway up in the rainforest canopy. They let people up in small groups, so I queued for ten or fifteen minutes, and it is a bit of a climb. It gets hotter the higher you go, which is saying something in a rainforest, but the views from the top are fabulous. Worth doing if you are happy with heights, stairs and a bit of heat.

And I did enjoy seeing the pretty roul roul birds who live in the biome.

While Ros was inside, I had lunch. The food was delicious and there was a good, healthy range of options. It gets very busy in the middle of the day, so either be ready to queue or hold off until a little later.

We picked up a few things in the shop on the way out: crunchy fish treats and salmon bites for the ladies, and some Eden Project honey and fudge for us. For a day of relentless rain, it turned out to be a near-perfect choice.

Charlestown harbour

From Eden we drove about ten minutes to Charlestown harbour, arriving in the late afternoon to more wet weather with the odd dry spell. We parked easily by the harbour and had a wander. It is a beautiful, picturesque place, a Georgian harbour ringed with little food and drink huts, each with its own seating. None of them were open, which I suspect was partly the weather, so we did not see it at its best.

We walked down onto the shingle beach, but did not linger. Wilma was unsettled by the sea, which surprised me after she had been so happy on the sand a couple of days before, but she does not like being near moving water. It was only afterwards that we spotted the sign saying no dogs on the beach between April and October. A small “oops” moment, and worth flagging if you are heading there with a dog during the high season: the ban is on the beach itself, not the harbour-side streets and quays. We found a little cafe for a quick cup of tea, and by then the rain had set in again, so we called it a day.

Back at the car, the ladies went into their drying coats, which were a godsend yet again, and we headed back to the cabin to feed everyone and sit in the hot tub in the rain. It is partly sheltered, so this had become our happy end-of-day ritual whatever the sky was doing. If I had to pick the two most useful things we packed for the whole trip, it would be the drying coats and the pop-up pen, no contest.

Day five, Friday: a birthday in the sunshine

I woke up to blue skies and sunshine on my birthday, which felt like a real treat after the week we had been having.

Breakfast Royale at the Duchy Nursery

We went back to the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery Cafe for their Breakfast Royale, which we had booked a couple of days earlier. Think afternoon tea, but reimagined for breakfast, tiered stand and all. The ladies got their usual warm welcome, three of them settled beautifully in the pen, and Silky Sue decided my lap was the better option. A lovely, indulgent start to the day.

The woodland walk to Restormel Castle

Our plan was a pair of nearby properties: Restormel Castle, in the care of English Heritage, and Lanhydrock, which is National Trust. There is a marked woodland trail from the Duchy Nursery over to Restormel, well signposted, with a map available online too. It is about 1.2 miles and a beautiful walk through the woods, relatively easy going with a few inclines. We had booked our Restormel Castle tickets the day before, as English Heritage gives 15 per cent off when you buy at least a day in advance.

Restormel Castle is a ruined shell keep on a hilltop above the Fowey valley, and a perfect circle when you look at it from above. The stone castle dates back to the 13th century, and it became a luxurious residence for its medieval owners, with a great deer park around it. You can walk all the way round the ruin and climb up onto the wall-walk, which loops the whole circle and gives spectacular views across the valley. There is plenty of signage explaining what each part was for and telling the story of the place. One small but genuinely useful detail: there are loos at the castle, very welcome after two pots of tea at breakfast.

We walked back to the nursery, browsed the deli and the shop, made a few purchases, and set off for Lanhydrock, which is only about ten minutes away.

Lanhydrock

Lanhydrock is just beautiful, a huge late-Victorian house surrounded by immaculate formal gardens and parkland. The weather held for us, and we had a lovely walk through the gardens. Dogs are welcome almost everywhere outside, with just one small area out of bounds, and they ask that you keep dogs on leads and off the grass. The gardens are kept to a very high standard.

We settled the ladies in the pen at the Stables Cafe and had a delicious cream tea, then took it in turns to look round the house, which dogs are not allowed inside. It is wonderfully well kept and gives a real insight into the family who lived there. You can go through the kitchens and servants’ quarters for the “downstairs” side of a Victorian house, as well as the “upstairs” rooms where the family lived. I would happily recommend it for a full day out.

Then it was back to the cabin for a hot tub and a few birthday drinks while the ladies snoozed, thoroughly worn out.

Looking ahead

After a day of sunshine, the forecast had the rain coming back the next day, so we planned around it and put a long lunch at the very dog-friendly Springer Spaniel on the agenda. More on that, and on our last full day out west, in the next post.

If you have done the woodland walk to Restormel, or had a birthday treat somewhere dog-friendly in Cornwall, I would love to hear about it. And if you are visiting the Eden Project, my advice is simple: save it for a rainy day and take someone to swap the dog duties with.