Last Sunday we visited Glendurgan Garden in Falmouth, Cornwall. It’s a National Trust site and so we had free entry and parking with our membership. Glendurgan is around a 50-minute drive from our home in Newquay through some lovely leafy country lanes around Falmouth.

The weather had looked a bit iffy on Sunday and likely to rain, so we looked for something to do that might be slightly sheltered or indoors on the National Trust app. Glendurgan looked great as although outdoors, perhaps sheltered with large trees and they had a couple of activities for the kids and a cafe if needed!

Thankfully, the weather stayed dry for our visit, but it was freezing! After a week of warm 20 degrees celsius, it was around 15 degrees on the day we visited and we really felt it, even in coats and trousers!

Since living by the coast we have really found the weather so unpredictable, especially with the coastal winds which can really cool down the temperature if they are cold!

Anyway, here are some photos from the Glenurgan gardens and a little information about what to expect if you decide to visit yourself.

Free entry to Glendurgan Gardens with a National Trust membership (and how to get a discount)

We love our National Trust membership, especially living in Cornwall as there are so many beach car parks near to our home which are National Trust car parks, so we definitely get our money’s worth!

To get a discount on your National Trust annual membership when you first sign up, check out TopCashback as they often have a great deal. Use my link to sign up to TopCashback for free and see the latest saving at National Trust here: https://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/victoriasully/national-trust

Glendurgan National Trust review and photos

Read on to see what we thought of Glendurgan Garden and our family photos from the day. Well, some of our family photos! Bella is now ten and doesn’t want to feature in photos on our blogs or social media anymore which is fair enough, so there are a lot of photos avoiding her face now! On the other hand, Reuben proudly wants to feature, so that’s why there are many more face photos of only one of our children now on the blog!

“Glendurgan Garden is a National Trust garden situated above the hamlet of Durgan on the Helford River and near Mawnan Smith, in the civil parish of Mawnan, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Glendurgan Garden was laid out by Alfred Fox in the 1820s and 1830s” – Wikipedia

Starting at the entrance, we grab a map of Glendurgan and begin our way around.

Just through the entrance is the most impressive collection of flowers, making it a grand entrance!

We went in June which was about the right time of year for all the flowers to be blooming!

Aloe vera? Or something similar? Absolutely love the impressive size of these succulents!

Fox statues near the entrance on the walls. There aren’t many statues about Glendurgan. Maybe some more would make it more appealing to families with young children.

Off we go to see what we can find.

I’ve never seen a plant like this before! It looks like a flower made of leaves! So fascinating.

Lots of flowers blooming all around.

A great spot for a photo opportunity! I got a cracker with Ben, Bella and Reuben, but shan’t share it here as Bella does not want to be featured by face on the blog now. Got to respect their decision… although she wants a YouTube channel now! Ten year olds 🙂

Glendurgan maze! The star of the show! How cool is this maze?! Time to go and get lost…

Glendurgan maze.

Flowers blooming on the way down to the maze.

Getting lost in the maze! It’s a really cool maze and we had lots of fun. The maze and gardens were established in the 1820s by the Fox family who were a family of 12! Lots of kids to entertain and a maze was the perfect solution.

Green all around 💚

We made it to the middle! Now to find our way back out again!

A living puzzle created in 1833!

Smile Ben 😂

Bella sees what she can spot in the pond.

So many lilypads. These will look amazing when all the flowers bloom.

This photo looks like they’re off through a jungle! So tropical.

Hi Reuben 🙂

There’s a rotating rope swing for the children to play on.

A cute little schoolhouse. Bella reads about how children were schooled in the 1820s and doesn’t think it sounds as fun as her school today!

Pretty flowers.

We’ve found the beach! Durgan Village and Durgan Beach on the River Helford.

Part of the coast path.

We sit for a moment and the kids make up games with the stones.

Back up to the gardens we go.

Reuben wants another photo on the bridge!

I spy the maze.

Some photos as we make our way back to the start.

Pretty 😍

Love these unusual succulent looking plants.

A few snaps of some of the impressive plants before we finish our day.

A succulent as tall as Reuben!

Glendurgan Garden maze

Glendurgan maze was definitely the star of the show! We’d seen it on the National Trust app and it definitely convinced the kids to visit! Along with the rotating rope swing of course!

The maze was apparently planted in 1833! Pretty cool, and still so much fun today. Reuben wants to go back so he can do the maze again!

Glendurgan Garden prices

We didn’t book and just turned up on the day. I couldn’t see any way to book in advance. As National Trust members, we had free entry and parking.

At the time of our visit (June 2022) the prices if you’re not a member are:

Glendurgan Garden Entry Prices	Gift Aid	Standard
Adult	£11.00	£10.00
Child	£5.50	£5.00
Family	£27.50	£25.00
1 adult, 3 children	£16.50	£15.00
Group Adult Minimum group size 15	N/A	£9.50
Group Child Minimum group size 15	N/A	£4.75

All-day parking is £4 per vehicle or £2 for two hours.

However, it’s free for National Trust members. It’s well worth signing up for a membership if you will visit at least a few places like this each year. You’ll make your membership back in no time!

Find out more information such as Glendurgan Garden opening times and the latest news at https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/glendurgan-garden

Glendurgan cafe

Glendurgan Garden cafe is just at the entrance and so can be visited by anyone, even if you’re not going into the garden itself. It’s open from 10am to 4.30pm at the time of writing. We are a vegan family and I had a coffee with oat milk, as well as a delicious apricot flapjack which was vegan-friendly. They have drinks, ice cream and warm food too.

Glendurgan second-hand bookshop

There’s also a second-hand book shop by the cafe. The children couldn’t find any books they wanted, but they enjoyed looking and picking up some Glenduragn Garden souvenirs instead (a pencil, pen and notebook!)

Save money on National Trust membership and park for free at National Trust car parks!

I hope you enjoyed my National Trust Glendurgan Gardens review. If you are interested in a National Trust membership to get yourself free parking and free entry at many amazing locations in the UK, then you can save on an annual membership by getting cash back! 

Use my link to sign up to TopCashback for free and see the latest saving at National Trust here: https://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/victoriasully/national-trust

(TopCashback have free and paid memberships, but I just use the free membership and save £100s a year on our household expenditure)

Read my reviews and see our photos of National Trust sites here!

Discover more ways to save money on family holidays and days out here!