Just two miles away is Goss Moor National Nature Reserve, the largest wetland and heathland complex in the southwest, which has the widest range of dragonfly species in the country.

In the near-by Luxulyan Valley there is a diversity of wild life, including greater horseshoe bats and a healthy otter population.  In Luxulyan Valley there is a 650 feet long viaduct, which crosses the river at a height of 98 feet, and the remains of a 40-foot waterwheel that was used by the china clay industry.

At the 26-acre site of two former 19th century china clay works at Wheal Martyn near St. Austell, you can learn about the production of china clay from 1800 to the present day.

At the Eden Project www.edenproject.co.uk , you can see the world’s largest global gardens which house plants from all around the world. Project director, Tim Smit also played an important part in the restoration of The Lost Garden of Heligan near St. Austell.  The 88-acre estate is one of the most mysterious estates in England.

We are adjacent to the Cornish Way, part of the 250-mile cycle path from Land’s End to Bristol and Bath. There are also cycle and walkways at the nearby 25-mile Camel Trail, which goes from Padstow to Poley’s Bridge on Bodmin Moor; and Cardinham Woods where there are miles of marked routes. Bodmin and Wenford Steam Railway stops along the Camel Trail at Boscarne Junction, taking passengers to the main line at Bodmin Parkway Station.

Tor View is also on a letter-boxing trail, which takes you past the magnificent remains of Restormel Castle in Lostwithiel.

Restormel Castle surrounded by well-kept and verdant lawns.

Tor View Study Centre is on the Saints’ Way, a 26-mile walk from Padstow to Fowey in the footsteps of the Celtic Saints en route from Wales to Brittany.

Fowey is a picturesque and traditional Cornish town typical of the area.

Parkland and woodland walks at Lanhydrock House near Bodmin, are open throughout the year.  

Owned by the National Trust, the magnificent gardens are famed for their magnolias, camellias and azaleas that surround the magnificent house and the little church of St. Hydroc.

Pencarrow House and Gardens, where there are fifty acres of grounds, incorporating woodland trails, is also near Bodmin.

There is coarse, trout and fly fishing; boat and ferry trips, canoeing, windsurfing, swim ming, tennis, horse riding, golf, flying, bowls, bowling, cinemas, aquariums, sanctuaries, potteries, museums and vineyards.

Bodmin Moor is Europe’s least-eroded moor and is home to the two highest points in Cornwall, Brown Willy and Rough Tor (National Trust).

Places to visit with Arthurian links

• Tintagel Castle is the legendary birthplace of King Arthur.

• King Arthur's Great Halls, Tintagel.

• Dozmary Pool, Bodmin Moor. Lake from which legend says Excalibur, Arthur's sword, appeared.

• Bossiney Mound, Bodmin Moor. Legend says this is where Arthur's round table is buried.

• Camelford is thought to be the ancient city of Camelot.

• Killiburys Castle, Wadebridge. Thought to be Arthur's court.

• Camlann, Slaughterbridge, (Camelford). A 6th Century inscribed stone marks the legendary site where Arthur and his son met for battle.

• Lanyon Quit, West Penwith. A stone chamber tomb resembling a giant table, where King Arthur ate on the eve of his last battle.

Places to visit with literary links

Daphne du Maurier and Rosamunde Pilcher are just two of the many literary links connected to Cornwall.   Daphne du Maurier lived at Menabilley, on the South coast for much of her life, and the county inspired many of her novels.   A Daphne du Maurier festival is held each year in and around Fowey, where both local and international performers help to create a week-long programme of education and entertainment.    Whilst staying at Tor View why not visit the near-by Bodmin Moor , Lanhydrock and Jamaica Inn where she based many of her novels.

If you are a Rosamunde Pilcher reader, then why not visit West Cornwall where she based her books and where many of the TV adaptions were filmed.

Cornwall's wonderful scenery, small fishing villages and rugged moor and coastline, have been an inspiration to many artists. There are a great number of local artists and local galleries, but a trip to the Hepworth Museum (St. Ives), Newlyn Gallery, and the famous Tate Gallery (St. Ives) is well worth a visit.

All South Cornwall Hotels, iknow-cornwall.co.uk
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The Eden-Project - Keith's Eden Project Web Site

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