The National Trust now has over 4 million members and is the largest voluntary conservation organisation in Europe. In the UK, the National Trust has more members than all the political parties combined and the only organisation currently larger at the time of writing is the AA.
Conifers evolved around 300 million years ago, a long time before the first dinosaurs. For nearly 200 million years, conifers were the dominant form of trees and it wasn't until around 65 million years ago that broadleaf trees were out-competing conifers in many habitats.
Glendurgan Garden is situated in a steep south-facing valley beside the Helford river. The aspect and mild maritime climate allow frost-intolerant subtropical plants to grow here. The garden was laid out by Alfred Fox in the 1820s and 1830s and now covers 25 acres. It was given to the National Trust by the Fox family in 1962. The most well-known feature of the garden is the cherry laurel maze dating back to 1833.
The hamlet of Durgan is largely owned by the National Trust. The name comes from the Cornish plural word for otters - dowrgeun (one otter is a dowrgi).
The creeks of the Helford River are an important habitat for juvenile bass and it is a designated nursery area.
The sea fish known traditionally in the UK as bass, but internationally as the "European seabass" (to distinguish from river species particularly in North America), is a member of the perch family. Given they are normally found in the sea, bass are surprisingly tolerant of freshwater and sometimes venture quite a long way upriver. Bass is very nice to eat but is a slow-growing species and therefore threatened by overfishing. Since 2010, two-thirds of the population has been wiped out in what has been described as "an unfolding environmental disaster" and although there are emergency EU measures in place to restrict both commercial and recreational catches, there is evidence that commercial catches are still well above sustainable levels.
Wild garlic is best harvested in early spring before it flowers and the leaves start to die off. Unlike domestic garlic, the leaves are generally used rather than the bulb, which is very small. Note that there are some lilies that look very similar and are poisonous! If it doesn't smell strongly of garlic/onions, then it's not wild garlic and should be avoided. A schoolboy error is to rub the leaves between fingers where the smell lingers so a subsequent poisonous lily leaf could be misidentified.
When a tree is injured, it exudes resin - a thick, sticky liquid which hardens and seals up the wound. The resin also contains anti-fungal and insecticide chemicals to protect it from parasites and pathogens. Frankincense and myrrh are both examples of resins.
The Helford creeks are formed from an ancient river valley that has been flooded by rising sea levels. In total, seven creeks (Ponsontuel Creek, Mawgan Creek, Polpenwith Creek, Polwheveral Creek, Frenchman's Creek, Port Navas Creek, and Gillan Creek) connect to the main Helford River inlet between the headlands of Nare Point and Rosemullion Head. The creeks are an important area of marine conservation and contain eelgrass which provides a habitat for a variety of wildlife including seahorses.
The beach - known as Polgwidden Cove - is private and owned by Trebah, accessible to visitors of Trebah Gardens. The name is from the Cornish for "wooded cove". The walk passes close to the entrance to Trebah Gardens a little further along the route.
Donald Healey was born in Perranporth and owned a number of businesses there including a garage where he also worked on cars for racing. He became famous in the 1930s as a racing driver in the Monte Carlo Rally and miraculously surviving his car being obliterated by a train on a level-crossing. He later gained fame as a car designer, resulting in the Austin Healey sports car. With the wealth that he accumulated, he bought Trebah House on the Helford River. His descendants set up and run Healey's Cyder Farm.
During the last Ice Age, up to about 12,000 years ago, ice sheets up to 2 miles thick lay over the northern half of Britain. The weight of this ice was immense and it pressed down onto the Earth's mantle which is a treacle-like liquid rock. The mantle was slowly squished away from beneath the Earth's crust beneath heavy ice. When the ice melted, the pressure was released and the mantle began to flow back creating a super-slow motion rebound effect which will take thousands of years to level out. The result is that the north-western edge of Britain is rising and the south-eastern part is sinking. As South Cornwall has been slowly sinking into the sea over the past few thousand years, this has compounded the rise in sea levels, creating creeks from flooded river valleys.
The ferry to Helford runs from the landing stage on the beach.
The origins of the Helford River Ferry are described eloquently by its operators:
The ferry connecting the North and South banks of the Helford River has been running continuously since the Middle Ages. Then, it was a vital link for the communities providing transportation for local produce to the markets in Falmouth. The cart and driver travelled on the ferry and the horse swam along behind!
The Ferryboat Inn at Helford Passage dates from the 16th Century, providing shelter and refreshment for travellers waiting for the ferry.
A problem with rhododendrons is that they kill bees. Rhododendron nectar is highly toxic to honeybees, killing them within hours. Some other bee species such as mining bees are also adversely affected. Bumblebees seem to be unaffected though.
Rhododendron is a member of the Ericaceae family to which heathers also belong and like its cousins, it is tolerant of acid soils. The word rhododendron is from the Ancient Greek for "rose tree" due to their spectacular flowers. As a result of these, rhododendrons have been popular ornamental plants for over two centuries and the species that we now call the common rhododendron was introduced in 1763. The plants thrive in the UK climate and were once native but were wiped out by the last Ice Age. Being a vigorous plant, common rhododendron was often used as a root stock onto which more fragile but exotically-coloured hybrids were grafted.
Cornwall has the mildest and sunniest climate in the United Kingdom, both due to its southerly latitude and the Gulf Stream carrying warm air from the Caribbean. The county has become even milder over the past decade, according to a report from Exeter University. Average temperatures in Cornwall stay above 10°C for more than seven months of the year and the southwestern part of the county is classed as subtropical.
A manor at Trebah was first recorded in the Domesday survey of 1085 when it was owned by the Bishop of Exeter. The first record of the place name is from the early 14th Century as Treveribow. By Tudor times it was recorded as Trebah. From other Cornish names, one would expect it to be pronounced "tri-BARR" but it's actually pronounced as "treeber" - to rhyme with beaver. This could be because it's the remnant of the "trever" within "trever-RIB-ow".
The current house was built in the 18th Century. In the early 19th Century, the house was purchased by a wealthy Quaker who began work on a 26 acre pleasure garden. The gardens were improved and extended by subsequent generations and owners to reach a peak just before the Second World War. In 1990 the ownership was passed to Trebah Garden Trust - an independent charity who have since been working to preserve, enhance, and re-create the garden for the enjoyment of the public.
The gardens are open all year round to the public (admission charge) which also provide access to the private beach (Polgwidden Cove).
The settlement of Budock Vean is related to St Budock, and was recorded as "Sanctus Budocus" in 1327. vean is the Cornish word for "little". It is thought the word was added to distinguish it from the parish of St Budock near Falmouth, with a larger church.
The Ramblers Association and National Farmers Union suggest some "dos and don'ts" for walkers which we've collated with some info from the local Countryside Access Team.
Do
Don't
The lane runs along two of the heads of Porthnavas Creek. The creek is home to oyster beds that now belong to the Duchy Oyster farm. The river was owned by the Church of England until 1908 and then taken over by the Duchy. During Victorian times, oysters were the food of the poor but as oyster beds became exhausted and oysters became more rare and thus expensive, they became popular with the rich and were exported from Cornwall to London on the railway.
Bluebells are extremely poisonous, containing a number of biologically-active compounds and were used (probably with varying success) in mediaeval medicine. The sap was used as a glue for book-binding as its toxicity repelled insects. It was also used to attach the fletchings onto arrows.
For many centuries, it was traditional for landowning families to create trusts from the land and assets so future generations could live off the income, but were unable to dispose of the assets so these would be available for future generations. The Duchy estate is an example of this and was created in 1337 by Edward III to provide his son (and future Princes of Wales) with an income. Consequently, unlike other Royals, the Prince of Wales and his family are not paid for by the taxpayer via the Civil List; instead their living costs and all their charitable activities (such as The Prince's Trust) are funded by income from the Duchy estate.
Only 13% of the Duchy land is in Cornwall; the rest is dotted over 23 other counties with some in London but most is in the South West of England, with nearly half on Dartmoor.
The word crow is from the Old English crawe. Since this sounds a lot like the noise the bird makes, there is a misconception that the Old English is directly derived from this. In fact the word is far older. It's related the the Old Saxon kraia and can be traced back further to a Proto-Indo-European word from the late Neolithic period which is thought to mean "to call hoarsely".
Foxgloves have a life cycle which spans two years. The seeds germinate in spring and during their first year they produce a "rosette" of large, velvety green leaves with toothed edges. These are particularly noticeable from October onwards once other vegetation has died back. The leafy foxglove plants remain dormant throughout the winter, ready for a quick start in the spring.
Crocosmia was first recorded in the wild in 1911 and since then has spread, particularly along the west coast of Britain. It is extremely invasive and classified as a "Critical Risk" by Plantlife. In western Ireland the spread is even more extreme, with miles of roadside verges obliterated of any other plants. It is now a criminal offence to cause it to grow in the wild.
During winter, from November to March, winter heliotrope is visible along the edges of roads and paths as carpets of rounded heart-shaped leaves.
Winter heliotrope is native to Sardinia and North Africa. It was introduced to Britain in 1806 but only the male plant. The female plant has subtly different flowers with more rays.
The settlements of Drift and Treworval both date from early mediaeval times and were recorded later in the mediaeval period. The spelling of Treworval hasn't changed, and is thought to be based on a personal name. Drift was originally spelt Dreff which is thought to be a variant of tre, simply meaning "farmstead".
Over 160,000 species of butterfly and moth have been described and nearly 19,000 of these have been found in the UK. Butterflies are effectively a sub-group of moths that fly during the day. They have adaptations for this such as wings that fold flat against each other with a camouflaged underside to help them hide from predators when landed but a patterned upper surface to attract mates during flight. Whilst moths' feathery antennae are highly optimised for an incredibly sensitive sense of smell, butterflies can make use of vision so their antennae are more streamlined and are also used to measure air temperature.
Researchers have found a recessive gene which appears to turn normal 3-leaf clovers into the 4-leaf version. Normally this is masked by the 3-leaf gene but environmental conditions can promote the 4-leaf form. Some domestic varieties have also been selectively bred to increase the proportion of 4-leaf plants. Genetically-engineered four leaf clovers are now a possibility with some farms in the USA reportedly already using genetic modification to churn-out thousands of plastic-sealed "lucky" charms per day.
The area around the Helford River is part of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that extends from The Lizard.
There are 33 regions in England designated Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) many of which were created at the same time as the National Parks. In fact the AONB status is very similar to that of National Parks.
There is a single Cornwall AONB which was established in 1959 and is itself subdivided into 12 sections. 11 of these are stretches of the coastline and the 12th is Bodmin Moor.
Electric fences are typically powered from a low voltage source such as a car battery which charges a capacitor to release a periodic pulse of high voltage electricity. This is often audible as a quiet "crack" which is a good indicator that a fence is powered. As with the high-voltage shock caused by static electricity, the current is not high enough to cause serious injury but touching an electric fence is nevertheless unpleasant. If you are answering the call of nature in the vicinity of an electric fence, be mindful of the conductivity of electrolyte solutions!
Bluebells are very vulnerable to trampling. The reason for this is that when their leaves emerge in the early part of the year, they are powered by the stored sugars in their bulbs. Sunlight is very limited at this time of the year and even more so in the shady places where they grow. In order to survive, they then need to photosynthesise flat-out to store enough starch in the bulb for next year's growth. If a bluebell’s leaves are crushed, it cannot photosynthesise and and doesn't have enough reserves left in its bulb to grow new ones. It's therefore important to stick to footpaths in bluebell woodland and best to take photos with a zoom lens from there as wandering around in the bluebells to take photos will inadvertently kill them.
Holly has separate male and female plants, so not all holly bushes produce berries - only female plants. In less biologically-enlightened Pagan times, holly was thought to be a male plant (the spikes symbolising aggression) whereas ivy was regarded as a female plant (symbolising attachment). The Christmas Carol "The Holly and the Ivy" is thought originally to derive from Pagan fertility myths onto which Christian symbolism has subsequently been added.
Mosses' lack of deep roots mean they need to store their own supply of water during dry periods which is why they are found in shady places that are not dried-out by the sun. This also applies to moss on trees - it rarely grows on the south-facing part of the trunk which can be used as a crude form of compass when navigating.
Since its reintroduction, sycamore has spread widely as the seeds are extremely fertile and able to grow just about anywhere where the ground is sufficiently wet. In particular they can grow within the shade of the parent tree, creating dense cover that crowds-out other species. In some areas it is regarded as an invasive weed.
In late winter you may encounter fields in this area planted with daffodils.
Growing daffodils has been an important industry in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly for over a century. When the Great Western Railway reached Cornwall, this provided a means to export perishable goods such as fresh flowers and fish which previously would not have survived the long journey by boat or horse and cart. Out of respect for the dead, coffins were transported by the railway for free. It was therefore not unheard of for coffins filled with daffodils to arrive in London from Cornwall.
The collared dove is a fairly easy member of the pigeon family to recognise. The clue is in the name: they are pale with a thin black ring at the back of their neck.
Before 1930, there were no collared doves in Western Europe and the most easterly part of their range was Turkey and The Balkans. Within just 20 years they colonised most of continental Western Europe and in 1955 they bred for the first time in Britain. They have since become one of the top 10 most common birds in British surveys.
Their rapid spread seems to be down to both their ability to make epic journeys of over 400 miles and their ability to breed all year round if the weather is mild. They will even start building a new nest whilst there are still chicks in the current one, and take breaks from incubating eggs in the new nest to nip back to the old nest to feed the recently fledged young. They feed on seeds and grain so arable farming has provided a supply of food.
The dishes ahead are part of the Goonhilly Earth Station.
Goonhilly Earth Station was set up in the 1960s for telecommunications. Its first dish, Antenna One (also known as "Arthur"), was built in 1962 to receive TV from the Telstar satellite and was ready for the first day of broadcasts. In 1969, the sound and images from Apollo 11 were broadcast to the world from here as Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the Moon.
It went on to become the largest satellite earth station in the world for a while, with over 60 communications dishes and 25 in use at any one time. During the 21st Century, it has been repurposed for space exploration.
Water pepper grows along the track in the shady areas under the trees.
Water pepper, as the name implies, grows on wet ground such as on the margins of lakes (it's also known as marsh pepper). It's relatively late to appear, not really getting going until June.
Water pepper leaves can be used as a herb and has a lemony flavour similar to sorrel followed by heat which is a little like chilli. Its used in Japanese cuisine, particularly with fish. The young shoots are used to garnish sushi or sashimi.
According to the "Glossary of words in use in Cornwall" compiled in 1880, tummels was West Cornwall dialect for a large number of something e.g. "tummels of daffodils".
The settlement around the crossroads is now known as Higher Penpoll but was originally just known as Penpoll from the Cornish for "top of the creek". The earliest record of the name is from 1419 although, based on the Cornish language name, the settlement is likely to date from the "Dark Ages" (early mediaeval period).
The settlement of Bosveal was first recorded in 1327 and spelt Bosvael. The name is Cornish and is thought to be based on a personal name from the early mediaeval period i.e. "Vael's dwelling".
The shingle beach below the Ferryboat Inn is known as Passage Cove often used as a launching spot for small boats. As the names of the pub and beach suggest, the ferry to Helford also runs from here. At high tide the beach is a narrow strip but as the tide goes out areas of rock with rockpools are exposed either side of the main shingle beach. As with all the Helford River beaches, the current in the river is strong, particularly at mid tide.
Beyond the rocks to the right the long, thin beach is known as Gate Beach (which can be reached via the rocks at low tide) and beyond this where the footpath emerges on the shoreline, the beach with a slipway is known as The Bar.
Grebe beach is a sand and shingle beach that faces southeast into the Helford River. The beach is named after Grebe Rock, on the right side of the beach. The name is from the Cornish word for reef - gryb. The top of the beach is pebbly but as the tide goes out there is more sand, particularly on the left side of the beach. At the more pebbly end near Grebe Rock there is a fallen tree across the beach and another tree trunk buried in the sand that has been polished by the sea.
Dragonflies were some of the first winged insects to evolve, around 300 million years ago in the "age of amphibians" before the dinosaurs. Fossils of early dragonflies have been found with wingspans of up to two feet across.
Dragonflies are named after the way they hunt, as both the larvae and adults are carnivorous predators. Mosquitoes form a large part of their diet both for adults and particularly for the larvae (nymphs). One dragonfly can eat tens of mosquitoes in a day and an average of over 100 per day has been recorded for the nymphs of some species. It is thought that this is an important factor in keeping the mosquito population under control. Dragonfly nymphs have a massive lower jaw to engulf their prey (a bit like an Angler Fish) and are also able to propel themselves by shooting a jet of water out of their anus.
Their two sets of wings beat out of phase, and the frequency, amplitude and the angles of each set of wings can be controlled. This allows dragonflies to hover in a completely stationary position for over a minute, perform extravagant aerobatic manoeuvres and even fly backwards.
Cockles and clams look fairly similar, but cockles have much thicker shells. There are a few different varieties of various shapes and sizes.
In the cockle department, you're most likely to encounter dog cockles which get their name because they are tough if overcooked; however if cooked correctly they are very good to eat and taste of almond (and are known as Amande de Mer). They have an almost round, slightly ringed shell which is smooth on the outside but has some grooves on the inside edge. The common cockle has a heavily ridged shell, but do not seem to live up to their name in Cornwall.
Clams generally have smoother, more delicate shells. Venus clams have a porcelain-like shell with rings and are about the size of a golf ball. The surf clam is larger, often around the size of your hand and has patterning resembling a mussel.
Cockles and clams can be collected by raking them from the sand at low tide. The Magna Carta grants every English citizen the right to collect up to eight pounds of cockles/clams from the seashore per day.
In the 18th Century, missionaries were sent to China to attempt to spread the word of God. During their travels they were struck by the exotic plants and sent some specimens back home. This sparked a competitive race amongst botanical gardens and nursery owners.
During Victorian times, plant hunting expeditions to the Northern Himalayas were funded by wealthy mining families for status symbols. The expeditions were often dangerous potentially involving disease, piracy or shipwreck.
Around 60% of today's common garden plants in the UK came from these plant hunting expeditions to China.
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