Captivating Caerhays

4:26pm Friday 24th February 2006

Charles Williams is adamant that diversification is the way forward. As a former city merchant banker, the most recent owner of the beautiful Caerhays Castle and its world-renowned collection of camellias and magnolias is a man who knows about these things.

Living at Trelissick

2:47pm Friday 24th February 2006

Looking after a mansion with 12 bedrooms, five bathrooms, an assortment of sitting rooms and dressing rooms, dining room, drawing room, library and solarium is a mammoth task for its present-day squire, 38-year-old William Copeland and his family.

Tempting Trelowarren

2:30pm Friday 24th February 2006

Sir Ferrers Vyvyan is looking to the future. "We don't rely on our historic nature. It's all about looking forward. It's living history rather than corporate history," he insists.

Trebah Gardens

6:05pm Tuesday 7th February 2006

Four miles west of Falmouth this is a spectacular 25 acre garden that drops 200 feet to the River Helford. A sub-tropical garden, 150 years old, leading from an 18th century house to a sheltered cove where in 1944 troops departed for the Normandy landings. The features include lawns, a sub-tropical jungle with Australian tree-ferns and palms. There are also waterfalls with ponds, and paths which wind through hydrangeas to the beach.