Whereas most people’s minds will jump straight to the Eden project when thinking of gardens on their cottage break in Cornwall, there are a fair few who’ll remember the precursor to it, possibly having seen the television series, and will travel to the Lost Gardens of Heligan.
The Gardens themselves aren’t situated particularly far from the Eden project, but the atmosphere is completely different. Rather than the large-scale creation that the Eden project involved, the gardens were a project of restoration.
During the 1990s, the gardens were part of an immense program to restore them to their former glory, and the project was documented both in books and in the Channel 4 television series.
Following the deaths of sixteen of the twenty two gardeners during the First World War, and the emigration of the owner to Italy, followed by his death with no heir to the estate, the gardens had no real owners and consisted as part of a trust to look after extended family members.
When record producer Tim Smit (or Smitty T as he is known in the industry) was shown around the garden, he realised the potential they had, and organised a group of people to get to work bringing back their former glory.
The gardens are now an international attraction, and have provided valuable employment opportunities and tourism to the region. It’s unsurprising, given how popular they are with people staying in Cornwall at hotels or taking cottage holidays.
When visiting anywhere, learning the language used is important. This even applies to visiting different areas of your own country. If you visit Yorkshire and can’t understand the accent when talking to a shop keeper, you’re going to look like an idiot, just as if you visit the South West and don’t know how to react when somebody calls you a “grockle” then you’ll also look like an idiot. When travelling with a friend to the Lake District, I had to translate for him if people had too thick an accent, which was intensely embarrassing.
Derby Market place has been invaded by wooden sculptures for the festive period. Huge penguins, soldiers, cars, a train, a plane, even a bear. But these aren’t warriors from a strange dimension where people are made of wood, nor are they fiendish barbarians who attacked the city and were cursed to remain as statues by a wizard. No, these wooden sculptures are the boring kind of wooden sculpture, the sort that was hewn from wood by somebody’s hands to create four foot tall penguins for Christmas. And to think you thought you’d have to have a 
Dartmoor is well-known as a tourist attraction, especially in the summer. It has beautiful views of both a serene and dramatic nature, and can provide warm, sun-soaked riversides for picnics and relaxation. Plenty of people taking 
Wales is gearing up for a big 2010 thanks to the staging of one of the worlds most prestigious sporting events. During the first weekend in October 2010, Wales will play host to the Ryder Cup, the epic golfing battle between Europe and USA.
Whilst some people have been watching for the Geminid shower over the last week, and the clear skies of the South West can provide a perfect vantage point to see it, others have been looking to the sky trying to see something a little different.
In the village of Mousehole in Cornwall, which is, incidentally, full of