St Michael’s Mount and Lanhydrock

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Today we visited two different National Trust properties as we drove on to Devon. We started at St Michael’s Mount near Marazion first thing this morning- after a fantastic breakfast at the Boskerris Hotel. We knew the causeway out to the Mount was only open until 1.45pm, so it would be better to visit in the morning. It was not far from St Ives to Marazion, and we were soon parking the car and walking out over the beach and the causeway to the island. Having visited Mont St Michel in France, and knowing the two islands were related in many ways, we wanted to see this Cornish Mount. The Mount is now managed by the National Trust, but it had a different history to that of the French one. It was originally an Abbey, but it had been taken away from the monks and given to a family a long time before Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in England, therefore it had survived without being ruined. It was held by the St Auban family until it was gifted to the National Trust. The Abbey had been turned into a family home, and this island has many less houses around its base than the Mont St Michel. It was really interesting to see and compare the two, as well as appreciating the Mount that we saw. The weather did not make walking easy. We began the day with rain, and although it did clear by the time we left, there had been drizzle off and on, making the rocky paths quite slippery. It was good that we were able to explore inside, as it was warm and dry in there. We got some great views from the castle (not sure if it is actually a castle or not, but it has a lot of features of a castle , including fortifications.) As the rain started clearing, and well before 1.45, we walked back to the carpark to begin our drive to Lanhydrock. This had been recommended by our hosts at Truro, as being one of the best large houses in the area. The estate is very large, about 1000 acres, with a house that is a Jacobean reproduction house. The original house had been in the Agar–Robertes family for many generations, but there was a devasting fire in 1881which destroyedvthe original house. The family rebuilt the house, although they added all the latest conveniences of the time. In the house today you can see many items that had belonged to the family, and learn about their history, particularly how World War One impacted on the family. It was a beautiful house and garden and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit. From Lanhydrock we set the gps for Lydford for our hotel for the next two nights. When we arrived we were shown to our room- Oke Tor- which has a four poster bed. The garden is lovely too. Dinner was available, so we were pleased to be able to stay put, and not have to go out for dinner.

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