Solo Drawing trip to Cornwall
Last week I set off on another solo drawing trip to Cornwall. I went on a similar trip last year and loved it, so I wanted to go again in the spring when there’d be more to see with flowers blooming (and hopefully some better weather!) Cornwall is full of lots of beautiful gardens, and I love the coast too so it’s the perfect place for me for a drawing trip.
After 6 hours on trains, I arrived in St Austell. I stayed in an AirBnb with access to a private beach and the Coast Path so I headed straight out for a walk and drew a couple of quick sketches of the coastline. The nearby town of Charlestown was something I missed out on last year, but this time round I was within walking distance so I had the chance to go for a wander round. It’s a beautiful historic town with boats, old harbour walls, lots of lovely local gift shops and lovely coastal views. I also took photos of plants in gardens along the coast path, and drew from them when I got back to the AirBnb.
Day 2 was always going to be The Lost Gardens of Heligan. I booked a taxi to get me there for opening time, and stayed until it closed in the evening. Heligan is one of my favourite gardens and was the main inspiration for returning to Cornwall this year. It’s got that perfect “secret garden” feel, with so much to explore and lovely florals around every corner. I chose April for my trip because I knew their gorgeous historical Rhododendron trees and camellias would be in flower. They did not disappoint and there were beautiful blooms everywhere, as well as pink petals scattered all over the ground. I’ll be doing a separate post dedicated to all the camellias and rhododendrons I drew on this trip - they really were a highlight.
Whenever I go to a garden and sit down to draw, it’s not long before a robin comes along and watches me for a while. And this trip certainly didn’t disappoint. Sitting on a bench in ‘The Jungle’ at Heligan, I was drawing some foliage when not one but two robins came and sat with me.
Day 3 I headed to a garden I haven’t been to before - Pinetum Gardens. A highlight of this one was the Japanese Garden (where I was joined by ducks instead of robins!), a Secret Garden, a beautiful lake and the Pinetum itself - filled with a great variety of impressive trees.
Next up was Tregrehan Gardens which was near to where I was staying. Overall this one wasn’t my favourite, but I LOVED the Victorian Glasshouse in the walled garden. I’ve been really interested in Victorian Plant Hunters and learning about the history of plants - so this felt like a lovely spot to draw for a couple of hours. There’s no seating in the glasshouse but that wasn’t going to stop me from drawing all the beautiful blooms so I spent the last 2 hours of my day drawing standing up (and managed to fill 6 double-page spreads!)
For my last day, I went to Trewithen Gardens. This one had been recommended by my AirBnb host, and it was a really beautiful place. It’s more of a woodland garden so there wasn’t as much for me to draw - but I’d highly recommend it for a day out. It’s dog friendly too so it would be a beautiful spot for a walk. I spent my time drawing even more camellias and some of their impressive tree collection.
Over the trip, I almost filled a sketchbook and took over 2000 pictures. Needless to say I’m full of ideas and inspiration and there’ll be lots of artwork coming up inspired by this trip. All that time on the trains gave me plenty of time to think about ideas too, so I have a couple of specific projects in mind that I’ll be starting in the coming weeks.
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