Steve Backshall and Maddie Moate Are Coming to Heligan

One of the country’s best-known wildlife presenters is about to make The Lost Gardens of Heligan his summer base, and he is bringing a few famous friends with him.

Steve Backshall is taking up residence at the gardens near St Austell for Wild Heligan, a season built around the plants and animals on our doorstep. It runs from 18 July to 2 September.

What Steve has planned

Steve Backshall’s Wild Heligan will see him take to the Heligan Play Meadow stage on selected days throughout the event, joined by a line-up of other celebrity nature experts. He will use on-stage wildlife habitats to show off the abundance of nature at Heligan up close.

Visitors get to play a part too. During the season, people can submit video and images of the wildlife they spot on their visit, and Steve will show the best of it on stage alongside footage from his own adventure archive. The idea is to prove that the wildlife in a Cornish hedgerow can be every bit as thrilling as anything in the tropics.

From 24 August, Steve hands over to TV presenter Maddie Moate, who brings a live show about her beekeeping adventures and her passion for pollinators.

📷Credit: Adam White

More than the main stage

Away from the stage there is a long list of things to get stuck into. Wildlife-themed workshops run throughout, and a wild lab space lets visitors examine specimens under a microscope.

Further down the Play Meadow, billed as the south west’s biggest outdoor play area, there is den building, with visitors free to throw together their own shelters from the materials provided.

Every Sunday during the season the Play Meadow stage hosts live bands and artists, with pints from Verdant Brewing Co. and food from Meadow Kitchen.

When the experts appear

Steve, Maddie and the other experts will appear on selected dates across the season, and the exact dates are still being confirmed. Heligan Locals’ Pass holders and members get first look. They have a priority window until Sunday 21 June to lock in their slots before everyone else.

The savings bit

Heligan is taking part in the Great British Summer Savings Scheme, which cuts VAT on daily admission tickets, Direct Debit Locals’ Passes and children’s meals over the summer.

Admission tickets and children’s meals bought between 25 June and 1 September will be charged at the lower price. The Locals’ Pass reductions have already started this week, so people can use the priority booking window and save across 12 months of unlimited visits.

David Harland, chief executive of The Lost Gardens of Heligan, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Steve and friends to Heligan for our biggest, most exciting summer yet.

“This will be a unique opportunity to have Steve and a whole host of other experts guide you through the wonder of our incredible natural landscape. We want to instil a lifelong love of nature and inspire people to go home from Heligan and immerse themselves in the nature that surrounds them, wherever they live.

“We are also very excited to be offering Great British Summer Savings throughout the summer, including for our Locals’ Passes, which not only gives you savings on a year of Heligan visits, but also grants priority access to summer booking slots.”

All Steve Backshall’s Wild Heligan activities are included in standard Heligan admission, so they are free to Locals’ Pass holders and members. Tickets, timeslots, Locals’ Passes and memberships are all at www.heligan.com.

As part of the savings scheme, local bus travel is free for under-15s during August. Heligan is served by several bus services, including a direct route from St Austell station, and there are dedicated cycle and walking trails to the gardens all the way from St Austell.