Helston & The Southwest

Welcome to the glorious south-west of England. If you are as yet undecided on just where to spend your holiday then we feel sure that what follows will finally convince you that there really is only one place to spend time in England and that's Cornwall and Hollow Tree House!

At some point during your stay at Hollow Tree House we feel sure you'll want to visit the delightful sixth-century market town of Helston. Originally hen lis - the Cornish word for "old court" and to which was added ton, denoting that it was a Saxon manor (hence, Helston) Hollow Tree House is situated on the town's border making such a visit just a comfortable walk away.

In this ancient town, granted its charter in 1201 by King John at Magna Carta, you will be able to explore the back alleys and quaint lanes that make up this historic town. A walk down Coinagehall Street (where the corners of tin were snipped off and tested for grading before the miners were paid) will lead you to the Blue Anchor (where these same tin miners received their wages!)

This thatched building was originally a monk's rest house and became a tavern in the 15th century and like those very miners it is wise to treat the Blue Anchor's own brew, "Spingo", with some respect. Many a gallant lad has entered its portals in control of all their faculties and purse only to leave three hours later minus their money and wearing someone else's legs!

It may also be that your visit to Helston will coincide with the internationally famous festival of the Furry, or Flora Dance. This is held every year on May 8th (unless that day falls on a Sunday or Monday when it is held on the preceding Saturday) and is surely one of the delights of the English country calendar.

The Lizard Peninsula

The Lizard is the southernmost point of England and the weather and tides here can be very unpredictable.  Not so very long ago smugglers used the many coves here to land their clandestine cargos, "Brandy for the parson, baccy for the clerk, laces for a lady, letters for a spy......"

Many ships, however, reached a different final resting place when drawn deliberately onto the rocks by the 'wreckers' of Cornish legend. From schooners to barquentines, steamships and submarines, all have met their own particular Waterloo in this hazardous stretch of water.

  

Lands End

Land's End needs little explanation. It is the westernmost point of Cornwall but also covers the peninsula that stretches from St. Ives on the north coast to Penzance on the south. The cliffs around Land's End are nothing short of spectacular and, although a popular destination the area is large enough for visitors to find space for themselves. Its here that the national bird of Cornwall, the Red-billed Chough, can be seen.

There really is so much to see and do in the southwest, the majority of it costing only the price of your shoe leather. You'll want to return again and again, and Hollow Tree House will be waiting to welcome you back!

A Cornish Gallery

There really is only one place in this beautiful country of ours where beckoning relaxation is inextricably linked with an all-pervading sense of 'joi de vivre'; where great food and comfort are joined with such reasonable rates that together will give you the holiday of a lifetime and that's Cornwall and Hollow Tree House!

 

Great Surfing! Fistral Beach, Gwithian, Praa Sands - these and many other beaches in the south west offer some of the finest surfing in England, but joining in is not a prerequisite. If your preference is the book and the long, cool drink,  you are allowed to just watch.......and when you return to Hollow Tree House you can regale us with tales of how good you would have looked, bronzed, sea-spray-dampened and 'in the tube', over tea and cakes!

Magical history! From the fairy-tale vision of grandeur that is St. Michael's Mount to the remnants of the harsh realities that were coastal mining, the Cornish landscape is a living record of English history. With what are considered to be some of the finest sea-edge walks in England beckoning, we feel sure you will soon fall under the spell of the essence that is Cornwall; it will permeate your very being and leave its lasting impression long after you return home!

An Ornithologist's paradise! Although famed for its constant visits by 'mega-rarities' throughout the year, bird watching in Cornwall and the south west is far, far more than that. It is the opportunity to walk in genuine wild areas; the chance to become a witness to wildlife spectacles set against backdrops of seasonal drama.

 

Places of legend and literature! Just one visit will convince you that Daphne Du Maurier and Winston Graham got it just about right, but don't just take their word for it. Hollow Tree House is the ideal hub from which to branch out and discover your own Cornwall; it's a place that will linger forever, warming you by those winter fires as you plan your next visit!

 

Gardens to inspire you! Blessed with a climate that is tempered by the Gulf Stream, Cornwall offers you a plethora of beautiful gardens to visit. Trebah, Glendurgan, Heligan, Trevarno, Bonython; these magnificent monuments to English horticulture will fire your imagination in the designing and cultivation of your own particular Eden.

 

Hollow Tree House is ideally situated to visit all that is superb in English gardens; in dramatic coastal scenery; in wildlife spectacles and in those special, still moments that every holiday should contain. An ideal touring base for what we know will inspire you all!