An icon of Cornwall — rightly nicknamed “The Garden of England” — is its fearsome hedgerows. For a thousand years, the hardy Cornish people have been picking the rocks off their rugged fields and stacking them along their lanes. Consisting of a stone framework filled in with earth and made vibrant with a tangle of vegetation, hedgerows also function as wildlife corridors. And, if you rip them out (as developers might be inclined to do), you get erosion. These hedgerows are part of the ancient fabric of Cornwall, where man and Mother Nature are dance partners (and man understands who is best qualified to lead).
I’m thankful I have a good local guide. Tim Uff expertly motored me through the wonders of the Penwith Peninsula here on the “land’s end” of southwest England. An expert guide with a car costs about £200 ($300, www.tourcornwall.com). For a group of four, that’s a great value. For a hardworking guidebook writer, having the help of a guide like Tim is a godsend!
Isn’t Kent known as the Garden of England?
Loved the Cornwall video and all of your travel videos really.
Keep ’em coming!
I was born and raised in Cornwall but have never heard it referred to as “the garden of England”
Thanks for the glimpses of Cornwall. I am reading thru Winston Graham’s Poldark series currently. I would love to visit. How about a southern England tour?
Greetings from Florida,
I wish I were there where it’s cooler.
My second trip over the pond included Southern England and it was not only beautiful but very interesting.
Say wasn’t Tim driving on the wrong side of the road?
Just kidding.
Cheers,
Der Doppelganger
In May we stayed in Penzance and took a local bus from there to Zennor to visit the Wayside museum (which was my great grandmother’s birthplace) and it was an exciting ride! In some places the bus skimmed the hedgerows on both sides of the road. The bus gets you up high to see over the top. It was a thrilling ride, especially when meeting an oncoming car!
As others have said, Cornwall is not known as the Garden of England. Although it has beauty (and some nice gardens), the soil is poor and infertile compared to other counties, and the salt winds from the sea inhibit growth. Kent is generally known as the Garden of England.