A Fun-Filled Visit to Glendurgan Garden: Falmouth, Cornwall

Looking for beautiful gardens with a playful twist? Then consider scribbling Glendurgan Garden in Falmouth, Cornwall to your list. Managed by the National Trust, this lush valley garden features tranquil pathways, scenic views, a fun and challenging maze, and a hidden beach filled with rock pools. With something for everyone, Glendurgan is a delightful destination for visitors of all ages.

Whether you plan to round up the entire family for a day of nature and fun, or if you’d rather sit alone and get lost inside a new book. Either way, Glendurgan Garden has a lot to offer everyone. Come take a look.

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Parking at Glendurgan Gardens

Glendurgan Gardens have a good sized gravelled carpark which is free for National Trust members. All you need to do is scan your membership card at one of the ticket machines and it will promptly spit out a ticket for you to display on your dash. Non-members wont have the same perk, but there are two ticket options; you can either do £5 for the day, or £2.50 for four hours. Don’t lose track of the time though – the carpark gets locked at 5pm.

We visited in early March and had no trouble finding a parking spot, but it may become more challenging during peak season. To avoid any disappointment, it’s best to arrive early.

Tip: You’ll find some toilets in the carpark.

Cafe – Glendurgan Teahouse

If you get peckish there is an small onsite cafe called the Glendurgan Teahouse. Although I must admit – I found the Glendurgan café a bit underwhelming which is a shame, as The National Trust usually do a pretty decent café. This one was small and nothing to write home about. It looked more like an unloved tent from the outside (perhaps we just caught it on a bad day) with a few extra tables and chairs set up outside on the gravelled area. The lack of bins meant rubbish was beginning to mount up, and a few of the tables hadn’t been cleared which made the area look messy. Maybe they were short staffed during our visit, but the cafe didn’t look it’s best!

As it was so hot, we grabbed a small can of soft drink each and that alone came to £11 which seemed steep. The menu wasn’t overly extensive, but it had your typical café type options. For a jacket potato you were looking at spending around £7 and the same again for a Cornish pasty. Or there were pies for £12.50 and soup of the day from £6.30.

It’s worlds apart from the gorgeous café at Trebah Garden which is just a stones throw away. Because of that, I’d recommend bringing a trusty picnic along with you, or keeping your fingers crossed that we just caught the cafe on an off day – which could well be the case!

Have fun inside Glendurgan’s maze

At the heart of Glendurgan lies a winding cherry laurel maze, that was first planted in 1833. With countless dead ends and turns, it offers a fun – yet surprisingly tricky challenge for both kids and adults. It took us quite a while to navigate, and we even saw a few grown-ups abandon their quest to reach the tiki-style hut at the centre! If you’re visiting with little ones, it’s definitely a maze to tackle together, otherwise, they might be in there for quite some time.

I love a good maze and I can honestly say this one’s a real treat

Things to do and see whilst visiting Glendurgan Gardens

The pretty cobbled paths here lead you to many different areas within Glendurgan Gardens. Here’s a look at some of the things you can expect to find along the way.

Durgan Beach

Glendurgan Gardens lead you out onto Durgan Beach – a small pebbly beach on the banks of the Helford River. It’s a gorgeous little spot thats perfect for spending some time rock-pooling. We managed to find 2 baby crabs and a small fish which must have got washed up and trapped inside one of the rock pools until the tide came back in.

The beach is a mixture of sand and pebbles – but realistically I’d say it’s 90% pebble, so don’t be expecting soft golden sand between your toes. There’s lots of bigger rocks to scramble over too, and obviously the exposed rocky sea bed which creates all the fun rock pools.

It also connects up with the South West Coast Path.

Beach cafe

A small café can be found inside one of the old buildings in Durgan village right near the beach. It was selling delicious ice-creams (including dog-friendly options!) and refreshing drinks. Perfect when visiting on a hot summers day. There’s also one singular public toilet on this beach which is housed inside what looks like someone’s old outdoor garden loo. Very quirky.

Book shop

Glendurgan’s wooden bookshop shack is a book lover’s dream. For just £1, you can pick up a second-hand read from one of the wicker baskets. It’s worth a rummage as you might just find the perfect book to escape into, and theres plenty of quiet spots to find around the gardens.

If you don’t find anything you fancy reading in the book shack, the main bookshop is just behind which has a much bigger selection.

Fun for the kids

Other than the maze, Glendurgan Gardens also have the ‘Giants Stride’. A rotating pole with ropes that kids can grab and swing around on. Great for burning off some energy before (or after) a more peaceful garden stroll.

Giants Stride Glendurgan Gardens Cornwall

Entry prices for Glendurgan Garden

Entry is free for National Trust members, but if you’re not a member you will be looking at paying the following prices. Check here for up-to date pricing.

Adults – £14.30 (£13 without Gift Aid), Children 5-17 £7.20 (£6.50 Without Gift Aid) Under 5’s go free.

They also do two types of family tickets, where a family of 2 adults and up to 3 children can pay £35.80 (£32.50 Without Gift Aid) or a one adult family ticket is £21.50 (£19.50 Without Gift Aid)

Opening times

For the majority of the year, Glendurgan Gardens are open Tuesday-Sunday from 10:30am-5pm. You’ll also be able to visit on Bank Holiday Mondays, and every Monday throughout August.

Entry is available up to one hour before closing time.

Accessibility

As the Glendurgan Gardens are set within a valley, the route from the entrance down to the beach is quite steep. For anyone visiting with mobility issues, you may find the slopes here too challenging. It’s also worth mentioning that there’s lots of cobbled sections along the way, and the maze has steps within it too.

There is an accessible route (the purple one) which is step free. However, it does still have steep sections to navigate.

Glendurgan Garden Address

We popped the below address into Google Maps and it got us there easily:

Glendurgan Garden, Mawnan Smith, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 5JZ.

or use what3words: ///secrets.ballooned.slippers

Places to stay nearby

Glendurgan Gardens are in Mawnan Smith, Falmouth. A seaside town which has a good selection of accommodation, if you’re wanting to stay local take a look at Falmouth. During our visit, we stayed at The Dutchy Barn which was perfect for exploring more parts of Cornwall – it’s around 50 minutes drive away.

Other things to do nearby

The closest thing to do nearby is to visit the neighbouring garden called Trebah Garden. It’s similar in the sense that its a garden that leads out onto it’s own private beach. But there are differences between the two. I’ll leave my Trebah Garden review here in case you’re interested on visiting both.

Trebah Gardens Review in Cornwall — Trebah Gardens

Conclusion

We enjoyed our time strolling around the Glendurgan Gardens in Falmouth. I think they have the perfect blend of natural beauty and family-friendly fun. Whether you’re getting lost inside the playful maze, exploring the rock pools on Durgan Beach, or simply strolling through the lush gardens, there’s something to charm visitors of all ages.

Despite the minor drawback, such as the underwhelming café. Glendurgan Gardens are well worth the visit especially for National Trust members who can get in for free.

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