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n aristocratic estate left to rack and ruin, as nature reclaims the buildings under a carpet of green. On paper this place sounds like something from Sleeping Beauty, but we can assure you that the Lost Gardens of Heligan are real enough.

In fact you’ll find them near Megavissy in Cornwall. Heligan was the seat of the Tremayne family for 400 years, but after the Second World War it was abandoned and reclaimed by nature.

No bad thing, really; because after one of the largest garden restoration programmes in Europe, it’s open to everyone to enjoy. There’s more than 200 acres to explore – including a ‘jungle’ with banana plantations, giant rhubarbs and tunnels of towering bamboo – and the ‘lost valley’ with lakes, hidden paths and roosting boxes for the local bats.

Come here in spring and you’ll find the place covered in bluebells.