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Ting Dalton loves travelling with her son and writes a fab travel blog called Travel Monkey. She can be found tweeting @my_travelmonkey

When considering a day out with the kids or things to do in a new area, why not try our search function, click here to try it.

We stumbled across The Lost Gardens of Heligan around six years ago after finding a leaflet in the local tourist office. We decided to spend the day there even though we didn’t really know what to expect and, I recall to this day, how we were both blown away by the beauty of this botanical garden.

At the end of the 19th Century, Heligan, owned by the Tremayne family, was left in a dire state. During the First World War, it was used as a Convalescence Hospital for officers and then in World War Two, American troops made Heligan their base. The preceding decades, saw the estate sold off and neglected, struggling under the growth of brambles and ivy, while the 1990 hurricanes look set to finish off the 1000 acres of land completely, consigned to a footnote in history.

However, thanks to the dedication and determination of  a large team, the restoration project began after Tremayne descendant John Willis discovered the derelict gardens in the early 1990s, and their work still continues to this day.

To read more about a day at The Lost Gardens of Heligan click here

heligan.com Entrance fee: Adults £12; Child from £6; Under 5′s free