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The Flambards Experience is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the south-west, and includes a theme park and outstanding undercover exhibitions: the Flambards Victorian Village, Britain in The Blitz and Memory Lane. There are thrilling rides, such as The Hornet Rollercoaster and the Canyon River Log Flume, as well as educational activities, including the Science Park and an opportunity to meet and hold some wild animals. Young children will enjoy the fabulous undercover soft play area. Helston.
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National Seal Sanctuary Set in the picturesque Helford estuary, the Seal Sanctuary at Gweek is Europe's leading marine animal rescue centre caring for sick seals and rescuing usually over 40 orphaned pups each season. Most are well enough to be released back into the wild after treatment, but others live at the Sanctuary. There are also Californian and Patagonian sea lions, otters, ponies and goats, and an adoption scheme is available for many of them. Gweek
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Futureworld @ Goonhilly Visit the largest satellite earth station in the world. Journey through 200 years of international communications history and see how the massive satellite dishes actually worked. You can take a bus tour of the site and visit the multimedia visitor centre. Visit the oldest working antenna in the world, known as ‘Arthur', and now a Grade II listed building. Also try the Segway personal transporters: eco-friendly two-wheeled transport as used by US police forces and security services. Children's play area complete with Xbox 360 play zone. Near Helston.
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Trevarno A recently restored garden with a bluebell valley, sunken Italian garden, bog garden, a serpentine yew tunnel, lake and Victorian boathouse. Buy some of their heavenly handmade soap, produced on the estate. Also visit the National Museum of Gardening, believed to be the largest and most comprehensive collection of garden tools and memorabilia in the country. Children's play area. Between Helston and Hayle.
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Hayle Situated opposite St Ives Bay, the town was an internationally renowned engineering centre and an important port during the 18th to 20th centuries. Iron worked in the foundries was used to build London's Tower Bridge. Some fascinating industrial archaeology remains, much of which has been restored. As well as fabulous beaches you can visit Godrevy Lighthouse – the inspiration for Virginia Woolf's novel To The Lighthouse . The estuary is one of the most important feeding grounds in the south-west for migratory and over-wintering wildfowl and wading birds.
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Godolphin House With spectacular views over west Cornwall, this atmospheric, 15th-century, colonnaded house is renowned by enthusiasts for its location in the Poldark television series. Inside are some fine examples of old furniture and tapestries. In the extensive grounds are Elizabethan stables, a medieval garden and more than 400 recorded archaeological features and mine ruins. Between Penzance and Helston.
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St Ives Artists have been attracted to St Ives since the 19th century and it is now internationally known as an artistic centre, with numerous galleries and it's own branch of the Tate Gallery. At the hub of the town lies the harbour with narrow cobbled streets and fishermen's cottages around it. There are excellent restaurants, cafés and traditional pubs. In September the town holds a festival of music, literature, theatre and art. The lovely stretch of coast has clear waters and superb, sandy beaches.
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Chysauster and Carn Euny ancient villages Set on the side of a hill, Chysauster is an I ron Age settlement that was occupied almost 2,000 years ago. The type of stone-walled ‘courtyard house' here is found only on the Land's End peninsula and the Isles of Scilly, and the settlement is a fascinating exploration into Cornwall's ancient past. Near Penzance. The smaller but equally interesting settlement at Carn Euny has a corbelled chamber and a fougou (underground passage). Between Penzance and Land's End.
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St Michael's Mount Joined to the mainland at Marazion by a granite causeway, St Michael's Mount is accessible only by foot at low tide, or by boat at high tide. The magical island rises from the centre of Mount's Bay – acclaimed as one of the most beautiful bays in the world. It has a church, a medieval castle (home to the St Aubyn family for over 300 years), an exotic garden clinging to the steep slopes and an ancient harbour. Visit the shops, restaurants, castle and gardens, and see an audio-visual presentation on the history of the Mount. Near Penzance.
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Penzance The characterful town of Penzance surrounds a busy, working harbour, which shelters fishing boats, visiting yachts and, occasionally, tall-masted ships, known as ‘square riggers'. Galleries and a variety of unusual as well as popular shops can be found in the town, plus restaurants, cafés, pubs and music venues. Walk along the promenade or dip your toes in the sea or in the outdoor, art deco Jubilee Pool. Visit the subtropical Morrab Gardens in the town or Trewidden and Trengwainton Gardens just outside. Enjoy the week-long festival of the arts – Golowan – at midsummer, culminating in the ever-popular Mazey Day.
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Minack Theatre Carved into the cliffs, looking across Porthcurno to Logan Rock, the Minack is Cornwall 's world-famous open-air theatre. It was constructed in the 1930s by Rowena Cade in the style of a Roman amphitheatre and has the sea as its backdrop. A full and varied programme of performances takes place from May to late September, and the theatre and visitor centre are open daily. Porthcurno.
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Telegraph Museum In 1870 the most advanced technology of the day was used to connect the communication centre at Porthcurno to Bombay via an undersea telegraph cable. During the Second World War the centre was used to transmit secret messages around the world. It was then relocated to a bombproof, gasproof, underground building – now an award-winning museum. See working equipment, discover the Victorian Internet and hear about the secret communications that were sent from here during the War. Porthcurno.
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Land's End As well as being England's most westerly point, Land's End has a variety of attractions and exhibitions, including Doctor Who Up Close, with props and costumes from some of the famous characters; Coast, an interactive exhibition; and The Last Labyrinth, a multi-sensory theatre show of myths, legends, smuggling and wreckers. Also visit the animals on the 200-year-old farmstead, Greeb Farm.
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Geevor Mine Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Geevor is the largest preserved mining site in the UK. Until 1990 Geevor was a working mine and is now a museum, with many surface buildings and a guided underground tour through 18th and 19th-century workings. Through the tours you will have a glimpse of mining life and the people of the area over the centuries. The changing rooms are untouched since the mine closed, and create an evocative impression of the end of an era. Pendeen, near Penzance.
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