Whenever we head west out of Liskeard, we have the delight of driving down the glorious Glynn Valley. It makes for a fantastic mini road trip. Glynn is the Cornish word for a deep wooded valley, so the name is a bit of a tautology, but an attractive one. There are plenty of fun and interesting things to see and do here for all ages.
The Glynn Valley
This eight mile stretch of the A38 links Liskeard to the A30 and runs along the edge of Bodmin Moor. It mostly follows a particularly attractive stretch of the River Fowey on its twisting and fast flowing way to meet the sea at Fowey. The interlocking hills either side are mostly covered in trees with intermittent glimpses of beautiful scenery. I always look forward to this part of the journey.
This particular day, we were celebrating CTs birthday and taking a road trip down west to visit a garden we hadn’t seen before.
It was virtually impossible taking pictures from the car, so we stopped off in a couple of places to have a mooch about and take photographs. The grand views turned out to be too awkward to capture. Nice car, but sadly not the one we were driving.
Carnglaze Caverns
Not only is the Glynn Valley beautiful, it’s also remarkably interesting with much to see and do; you could spend a couple of days here doing your sightseeing dreckly (as we say down here). It starts with Carnglaze Caverns, which we passed by on this occasion.
Famously used to store the Royal Navy’s supply of rum in the 2nd World War, it started life as a slate quarry. It’s now a visitor attraction with cavern tours and a fairy dell.
It’s also a rather spectacular concert venue with excellent acoustics and a very steady temperature. We once had the pleasure of attending a Show of Hands concert there and can certainly attest to the sound quality.
Glynn Valley Trago Mills
Driving on a little further we came to the glittering spires of the pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap retail park which is Trago Mills. A visit here can only be described as an “experience”. To get a taste as to what’s in store, here’s one of the many statues that adorn the site.
If you like feeding ducks, this is the place to go. You’ll find lots of ponds and lots of various types of ducks swimming on them.
Pinsla Nursery & Garden
Just up the road on the right is a lane leading to Pinsla Nursery. It’s run by the appropriately named Claire Woodbine (aka honeysuckle) and looks down over the valley. It sells some unusual plants and has an interesting and arty garden that’s well worth a visit.
Glynn Valley: Cabilla And Redrice Woods
Drive a little further along the A30 and you’ll find a lane leading to a tranquil retreat, Cabilla and Redrice Woods. This Cornwall Wildlife Trust nature reserve boasts one of the largest and finest ancient woodlands in Cornwall. Ancient oak trees abound.
There are various trails around the woodlands, though it’s worth bearing in mind that some of the paths are quite steep. If you’re ever there during bluebell season it’s an absolute must stop spot.
Glynn Valley House
Travelling on further, we had fleeting glimpses through the trees of the rather magnificent Glynn House. Rebuilt in 1805 by Edward John Glynn, High Sherif of Cornwall, it became a biological research institute in 1962. Rather sadly I feel, it has now been converted into luxury homes.
Bodmin Parkway Railway Station
The road curves, bends and weaves alongside the mainline railway on its way to Bodmin Parkway station. Then the railway parts company with the Glynn Valley and follows the River Fowey to Lostwithiel.
Unusually, for a mainline station, Bodmin Parkway is set in rural isolation at the foot of the Lanhydrock Estate.
Here you can depart the modern age, get cinders in your hair and take a ride on the Bodmin and Wenford steam train to Bodmin Central station. We pulled in to the car park to see whether there were any steam trains in the vicinity. There weren’t.
Lanhydrock Estate
Once owned by the Glynn family, Lanyhydrock is a vast and magnificent estate which now belongs to the National Trust. We decided to take a stroll up the old carriageway to the bridge over the River Fowey. Nice to have a station built just for you so you can travel in comfort to the ancestral pile after an all night blinder in London.
The carriageway sports a lovely selection of rather grand trees and makes for a very pleasant walk through the estate. Walk a bit further and you can visit the Victorian mansion and beautiful listed. gardens. It’s a nice spot for lunch or a cream tea and you can walk it off by meandering back through the woods and along the river Fowey.
The grounds are extensive. And although you have to pay to go into the house and formal gardens, you can wonder at will around the rest of the estate.
Cardinham Woods & Cafe
Another mile or so further along the road, is the turn off to Cardinham Woods, a large tract of forestry, ideal for walking and mountain biking. For those less energetic, it has a nice cafe which is worth a visit if you are passing. It has also served as a venue for the Cornwall Clandestine Cake Club. Nice as it is, we decided not to stop this time.
Almost at the head of the valley is Cornwall’s prettiest crematorium!
National Cycle Route
Finally, we passed under the Halgavor bridge, a small but impressive suspension bridge used by cyclists following the National Cycle Route.
Penrose Water Gardens
At this point we left the Glynn Valley and drove down the A30 to our final destination, Penrose Water Gardens near Truro. We wandered amongst the several acres of lily ponds and were entertained by the antics of damsel flies, butterflies and ducklings.
The cafe serves local food, mostly grown on site: a tour of the polytunnels left us in no doubt thats our attempts at productive home growing are somewhat amateurish. It has a good reputation and was certainly busy when we stopped by for lunch.
We finished our meal with a banoffee pie for CT and a warm brownie with clotted cream for me. After all, no road trip is complete without chocolate.
Other Places To Visit In Cornwall
- A Scilly Trip, Isles Of Scilly
- All Is Not Lost In Lostwithiel
- Cornish Cake Crawl, Penzance
- Feeling Full In Fowey
- Scintillating Isles Of Scilly, St Mary’s
- The Hidden Hut, Portscatho
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. Have you driven along the Glynn Valley before? Did you stop off anywhere on route? If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
If you post pictures on social media I’d love to see them, just tag me @Choclette8.
For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?
If you’d like to read more travel posts, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them.
Choclette x
Charlotte Charlotte'sKitchenDiary says
How lovely Choclette. I would really love to visit your patch of Cornwall soon – it sounds wonderful!
Choclette says
Thanks Charlotte. It’s a very different patch to the rest of Cornwall. Much quieter, but very pretty and I love it.
Galina Varese says
I don’t know those parts of Cornwall at all. Fascinating! The brownie looks perfect.
Choclette says
It’s very different to Penzance certainly, but lovely in it’s own right.
The Caked Crusader says
Looks a lovely day out – and I want that car!
Choclette says
Haha, you are not the only one CC.
hungryhinny.com says
Trago is an ‘experience’ that no one ever need try – I just can’t understand how anyone can see it as a day out!
The rest is all fab though, and you’ve reminded me that I haven’t visited the cafe at Cardinham in an age, must go back soon!
Choclette says
Amazingly, the car park is always full.
Yes, we’ve been meaning to go to the cafe too but haven’t done so since CCC – shocking!
Baking Addict says
What a lovely birthday treat! Your descriptions are beautiful, I wish I could make a trip soon! Perhaps the next #smut meet up should be in lovely Cornwall. Of course no road trip is complete without chocolate 🙂 (and banoffee pie – my favourite!)
Choclette says
Thanks Ros. Would love the next #smutty meeting to be in Cornwall. I’ll let you into a secret, that banoffee pie was even better than the brownie 😉
Jean says
A great day out!
I have wonderful memories of a weekend when we visited several National Trust properties, including Lanhydrock. It was a magical place and I still have the tea towel and coasters I bought in the gift shop.
As you say, no day out is complete without chocolate!
Choclette says
Lanhydrock is wonderful, I feel very lucky to have it so close by. But I don’t have the tea towel and coasters.
The Ordinary Cook says
Happy birthday CT! It looks like you had a lovely day out. I did think that was the car that you were tootling about in.
Choclette says
Thanks Kath, if the weather is good, you can always have a lovely day out here …. if! The car would have made tootling around so much more enjoyable.
Kate@whatkatebaked says
What a lovely day out! The Cornish Tourist Board will be chuffed with your great write up Choclette!! Meanwhile another reminder we haven’t been to Cornwall for agesssss and need to make amends so we too can enjoy this beautiful part of the country
Choclette says
Thanks Kate. It is so beautiful down here, but possibly not today where you can hardly see anything through the rain. I’d better let the Cornish Tourist Board know 😉