Trewyn Gardens

The gardens sit on a hillside just outside St Ives, and they're genuinely worth a detour if you're staying at Polmanter or anywhere else in the area. Walking in, you realise this isn't manicured - it's proper wild in places, which is exactly why it works. Native plants grow at will, birds flit through the trees, and there are far fewer tourists than you'd expect.

You're looking at maybe an hour here, depending how slowly you want to move. The paths wind uphill through different sections - some managed, some left to nature - and the views back towards St Ives are decent without being dramatic. It's the kind of place where you spot things: stone walls covered in lichen, small birds you won't identify, ferns tucked into every crevice. Not showy, just quietly interesting.

Walk it if you like plants and don't need someone to tell you what everything is called. Skip it if you need manicured beds and labels. Families with young kids might find the hill a bit of a slog back down, and there's nothing dramatic enough to grab teenagers' attention for long. But solo walkers and anyone who gets excited about native flora will find something to enjoy here.

It's free and it's on your doorstep from Polmanter, so there's no real reason not to give it an hour when the weather's decent. Go early morning if you can - it's quieter and you'll actually see wildlife.