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A mine chimney stack and ruined engine house walls on a green clifftop plateau above the sea at Botallack
Kernara

Private

Private Driving Tour

Poldark & The Great Gardens

Poldark's mining coast and Cornwall's great gardens, in one private journey.

9 days

Recommended duration

From £11,100* Based on a booking of 2 guests

From per personPer person

Overview

The two Cornwalls that made our county famous, woven into one private journey: the clifftop mining coast of Poldark, and the subtropical gardens that the same mild Atlantic climate makes possible. With a private driver-guide throughout and a choice of two handpicked hotels at every stop, the tour runs from Charlestown's tall ships and the Lost Gardens of Heligan through the garden valleys of the Fal and Helford to the engine houses at Botallack, the terraces of St Michael's Mount and, if you choose, a helicopter to the gardens of Tresco. This is a Kernara Private tour: your party only, your dates, and an itinerary that flexes around you.

Tour Highlights

Botallack & the Poldark Coast

The Crowns engine houses on their cliff ledge, Wheal Leisure and Grambler on screen.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan

200 acres lost for seventy-five years and gloriously rediscovered.

Trebah & the Helford Valleys

Subtropical jungle gardens tumbling down to the river.

The Tresco Option

A helicopter to Tresco Abbey Garden: the day trip guests never forget.

Your bespoke itinerary

Our local experts have created a spectacular itinerary that is designed to inspire your Cornish adventure. Luxury hotels, breathtaking experiences, and handpicked restaurants, all thoughtfully considered. The tour is fully customisable below: select your hotels, experiences, and more.

Spring departures catch Caerhays and the magnolias at their peak; September brings Trebah's hydrangea valley and the quietest roads.

FoweySouth CoastTall ships and lost gardens

Location: 1 of 3

Days:
2
Fowey's white and pastel houses climbing the hillside above a harbour of moored boats, seen from across the water

The tour opens gently, in Daphne du Maurier's harbour town. Fowey is narrow streets, bobbing sailboats and good tables, and it puts the south coast's treasures within easy reach: the Lost Gardens of Heligan, two hundred acres rediscovered after seventy-five years beneath the brambles and now gloriously alive again, and Charlestown's preserved Georgian harbour, where tall ships sit at their moorings and the cameras came to film Poldark's Truro and Falmouth. Evenings belong to Fore Street, a stroll from your hotel.

Select Your Hotel

Select Your Kernara Experiences

  • A rope bridge through tree ferns and Japanese maples at the Lost Gardens of HeliganIncluded

    The Lost Gardens of Heligan

    The great restoration, with lunch from their own kitchen garden

  • The Pier House terrace above Charlestown's harbour wall at dusk, a sea stack off the harbour mouthIncluded

    Charlestown

    The preserved Georgian harbour, tall ships at their moorings, Poldark on screenThe preserved Georgian harbour, tall ships at their moorings, Poldark's Truro and Falmouth on screen

  • A white house with blue shutters on the wooded bank of the Fowey estuary, yachts moored on the river

    Fowey estuary river cruise

    An hour on the water du Maurier loved, past PolruanAn hour on the water du Maurier loved, past Polruan and the china clay ships

  • Private vineyard tasting

    English sparkling wine that beats Champagne in blind tastings

  • The Eden Project

    Rainforest and Mediterranean under one roof, with lunch in the biomesThe world's largest indoor rainforest and the Mediterranean under one roof, with lunch in the biomes

  • The Fowey literary walk

    A guided stroll through du Maurier's town and Readymoney CoveA guided stroll through du Maurier's town, from Readymoney Cove to the streets of her novels

  • The small car ferry crossing the Fowey estuary between wooded banks

    The Hall Walk

    Fowey's four-mile circuit by ferry and field path, across to Polruan and backFowey's famous four-mile circuit by ferry and field path, across the water to Polruan and back, with the estuary below the whole way

  • Gribbin Head and its daymark tower seen across a quiet beach near Fowey

    The Gribbin Head walk

    Past du Maurier's Manderley to the red-and-white daymarkPast Menabilly, du Maurier's Manderley, to the great red-and-white daymark on the headland

St MawesThe RoselandThe garden heartland

Location: 2 of 3

Days:
3

A sailing village on one of the world's great natural harbours, and the gateway to Cornwall's garden country. The mild air of the Fal and Helford valleys grows things that shouldn't survive this far north: Trelissick's lawns above the river, the subtropical churchyard at St Just in Roseland running down to its creek, and the jungle gardens of Trebah and Glendurgan tumbling through tree ferns to the Helford. A day north adds the mining coast at Wheal Coates, the windswept clifftops Poldark made famous.

Select Your Hotel

Select Your Kernara Experiences

  • Included

    Trelissick & the King Harry Ferry

    Lawns above the Fal, reached by the historic chain ferry

  • A leafy tunnel of trees over a garden path at St Just in RoselandIncluded

    St Just in Roseland

    The subtropical churchyard running down to the creek

  • Included

    Trebah & Glendurgan

    The Helford's jungle valleys (Caerhays' magnolias in spring)The Helford's jungle valleys (Caerhays' magnolias join spring departures)

  • A ruined mine engine house with a brick chimney on the coastal cliff above the seaIncluded

    The mining coast at Wheal Coates

    St Agnes and the "Nampara Valley" clifftops

  • Helford foragingHelford River foraging walk

    A local expert, tasting as you goCoastal foraging with a local expert, tasting as you go

    Tide and season allowingTide and season dependent

  • Skippered boat tripSkippered boat trip from St Mawes

    An afternoon on the water of Carrick RoadsAn afternoon on Carrick Roads, one of the world's great natural harbours

  • The St Anthony Head walk

    By ferry across the harbour, then out to the lighthouseBy ferry across the harbour mouth, then out to the lighthouse at the tip of the Roseland

  • Frenchman's Creek

    The hidden Helford creek that gave du Maurier her novelA guided walk to the hidden Helford creek that gave du Maurier her novel, oaks leaning low over the water

Carbis BayThe Far WestPoldark's Cornwall, at full strength

Location: 3 of 3

Days:
4
Levant Mine's engine house on the clifftop, lit by late afternoon sun

The far west is where the series was made and where the story was real. At Botallack the Crowns engine houses cling to their ledge above the Atlantic, Wheal Leisure and Grambler on screen, while Levant and Geevor tell the story of Cornish tin above ground. The gardens answer back: the terraces of St Michael's Mount climbing from the sea, and Tremenheere's sculpture gardens above Penzance. In between comes a rest day on your hotel's private beach, with St Ives ten minutes away.

Select Your Hotel

Select Your Kernara Experiences

  • The ruined engine house and chimney at Botallack mine on open clifftop heathIncluded

    Botallack, Levant & Geevor

    The Poldark filming coast and the story of Cornish tinThe Poldark filming coast and the story of Cornish tin, told above ground

  • St Michael's Mount at sunset, the castle on its tidal island above the harbour and causewayIncluded

    St Michael's MountSt Michael's Mount & Tremenheere

    Its terraced gardens, then Tremenheere's sculpture gardensThe tidal island's terraced gardens and the sculpture gardens above Penzance

  • Carbis Bay Hotel from the air, its terraces running down to the hotel's own beachIncluded

    Rest day

    Your private beach, the spa, or St Ives at your own pace

  • The stage of the Minack Theatre, cut into the granite cliff with the sea behind it

    Minack by nightAn evening show at the Minack

    Theatre under the stars, the sea behind the stageTheatre under the stars with the sea behind the stage

    Easter to SeptemberSeason runs roughly Easter to September

  • Tresco by helicopterTresco Abbey Garden by helicopter

    Scilly's garden, in a dayThe Isles of Scilly's subtropical wonder, there and back in a day

    Weather and availabilityWeather and availability dependent

  • Trace your Cornish roots

    An archivist at Kresen Kernow, then your family's placesA morning with an archivist at Kresen Kernow, the county's record house, then out to the places your family story happened

  • The St Ives to Zennor walk

    Six miles of coast path to Zennor and its mermaid legendThe celebrated six-mile stretch of coast path to a moorland village and the legend of the Zennor mermaid

  • The Cape Cornwall walk

    The "connoisseur's Land's End", crowned by its chimneyA guided circuit around the "connoisseur's Land's End", crowds-free and crowned by its chimney

Featured hotels are occasionally subject to change; any alternative will be of equal or higher standard, confirmed with you in advance.

Frequently asked questions

You'll see Poldark's mining coast and Cornwall's greatest gardens in one journey, with a professional driver-guide, stopping for short strolls, garden visits and coastal paths as you go. It's designed for guests who want the full experience without the daily hiking.

On Kernara Private tours, every meal is included: all breakfasts and lunches, and dinner every evening, from hotel dining rooms to the coast's best tables, each reserved in your name.

Short walks and strolls throughout: harbour walks, garden visits, clifftop paths, nothing strenuous, at whatever pace suits you. Guided walks are there as options if you want more.

A high-end, comfortable vehicle with your driver-guide, yours for the whole journey. No sharing, no fixed schedule; if you want to linger somewhere longer, you can.

Choose your hotels, adjust the days in each location, and add or remove experiences, then send it to us as an enquiry. We'll come back with your personal quote, and everything stays flexible until you confirm.

Most guests take the train from London Paddington and are met at the station, or we can arrange a private transfer from London with a stop at Stonehenge.