Trebah Gardens
Described as the ‘Garden of Dreams’, Trebah Gardens is a steeply wooded 25-acre ravine edging down a sheltered valley, full of tree ferns, waterfalls, and rhododendrons, as it leads down to the sandy Polgwidden Cove, a secluded beach on the Helford river. It’s wild, enchanted and full of beautiful surprises.
Trebah has a spectacular variety of vibrant styles and plantings that can often overawe the senses of the first-time visitor. The combination of colour and scent is made possible thanks to Cornwall’s generally warmer climate. Sometimes the influences are wildly tropical, sometimes delicately oriental, and sometimes formally English. Owned by the Trebah Garden Trust, the gardens include a visitor centre, shop and restaurant.
History buffs may be interested to know that the peaceful beach below Trebah has an interesting American military connection, incongrous as it may seem. On June 1, 1944, it was the embarkation point for some 7,500 men from the 175th Combat Team of the 29th US Infantry Division, bound for the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach in Normandy. Most never returned because the first wave of the assault met heavy resistance and suffered terrible carnage. A memorial in the gardens commemorates their sacrifice.