Lanhydrock estate

Lanhydrock is a vast late-Victorian country house with formal gardens and around 1,000 acres of parkland just south of Bodmin. We went for an afternoon and would gladly go back for a full day next time.

It is a National Trust property – members enter free, non-members pay standard admission. The house is open seasonally (closed in winter). The grounds and gardens are open year-round.

The house itself dates from the 1620s but was largely rebuilt after a serious fire in 1881. What you see now is a high-Victorian country house with around 50 rooms set out as the Robartes family left them. The kitchens, the nursery wing and the servants’ quarters are among the most complete in the country and well worth a slow look. It was lit by electricity and centrally heated from the 1880s, which was leading-edge then.

Dogs on leads are welcome in the parkland and the formal gardens but not inside the house. If you want to visit the house and you have dogs with you, you will need to take turns. The Stables Cafe and the gardens are dog-friendly.

The formal gardens around the house are very well kept. They include the Higher Garden (themed planting along the church side), a magnolia walk and a parterre. Below the gardens, the parkland slopes down to the River Fowey through avenues of beech and oak. The formal gardens and house are about a 10 minute walk from the car park, through the parkland. We spent most of our time walking around the formal gardens which are just beautiful. There is only one small area that dogs are not permitted to enter.

Once we had seen the formal gardens, we made our way to have a delicious cream tea at the Stables Cafe. There is loads of space and loos nearby. Once we had finished our cream tea, and the ladies were settled in their pop-up pen, we took turns to look around the house. It is well worth a visit, and fascinating to learn about the family and the way of life back then. If you are able to co-ordinate it with dogs, you really should go inside the house. It is in three sections, so you can break it up and make sure no-one is left on their own for too long!

The estate is also known for the Lanhydrock Cycle Trail – a series of family-friendly off-road tracks that loop through the woodlands. Bike hire is available on site if you want to do that another time.

Lanhydrock is easy to combine with Restormel Castle or the Duchy of Cornwall Nursery – they are all within a short drive of Lostwithiel. This is what we did and it worked really well. Allow at least half a day for Lanhydrock itself, more if you want to explore the parkland walks properly.

Make a day of it

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