Saturday 14th June 2025

Day Ticket

Habitats and homes: Exploring our interconnected and inspiring relationship with nature

The Opening Day Ticket for Homecoming Festival

Rise with the sun and start your day immersed in nature. From 8am, early birds are invited to begin their journey with a soulful yoga session overlooking the ocean, set in a serene green space nestled between Heligan’s iconic Northern Summer House and sweeping views of the Cornish coastline. Stretch, breathe, and awaken your senses as the sea breeze sets the tone for a day like no other. Follow that moment of peace with a freshly brewed coffee and a nourishing breakfast from our rustic Home Kitchen. Great celebrations start with full hearts and happy bellies.

From 10am, Homecoming Festival officially opens its gates to all. Over at The Heligan Home Stage, the morning is rich with conversation and inspiration. A warm welcome awaits from Geraint Richards, Cornwall’s High Sheriff, joined by Managing Director Laura Smit-Chesterfield, the guiding hands at the heart of Heligan. Together with Matthew Shaw, they will open the day with words of hope, heritage, and celebration, marking the beginning of a festival rooted in nature, story, and homecoming.

Throughout the day, hear from an incredible lineup of voices, including Kurt Jackson, Erica McAlister, Marie Derome, Philip Marsden, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, with a special and intimate talk hosted by rewilding champion Derek Gow, alongside Heligan’s Head of Estates, Alasdair Moore.

Creative explorations include roaming music, hidden doors and photobooths. Immersive art walks withSue and Pete Hill, the visionary sculptors behind the iconic Mud Maid and Giant’s Head, as well as Wildflower Walks with the knowledgeable Dan Ryan. Dive deeper into the Heligan story through our inspiring drop-in Experience Talks, hosted by the estate’s very own team of passionate storytellers.

What’s on site

  • We encourage you to arrive early, dwell later, and enjoy the gardens. As you enter the site, you’ll find yourself in a woodland clearing, greeted by our enchanting Dial of Destination, a whimsical guide to help you explore the day’s experiences and immersive moments.

    Whether you’re drawn to the rich history of Heligan, captivated by horticulture, intrigued by the poetry of Simon Armitage, or simply here to enjoy a magical day out with your family, there’s a path for everyone. And sometimes, the most meaningful journey is the one where you lose yourself a little. In June, the gardens are in full bloom, offering quiet corners, hidden trails, and the kind of beauty that makes you feel, somehow, at home.

    Beyond the stage, the festival continues to unfold across the landscape. Walkways meander through meadows alive with colour and pollinators. Pop-up musicians surprise and delight around quiet corners. Wellbeing spaces offer pause, reflection, and a chance to reconnect.

  • Family fun awaits in the vibrant Play Meadow, where little adventurers and grown-up explorers alike can enjoy archery, axe throwing, face painting, bubbles galore, and more.

  • When it's time to refuel, the Heligan Home Kitchen is open all day, serving delicious home-cooked dishes and soul-nourishing refreshments in a setting that feels like... well, home.

Saturday 14th June 2025

Evening Ticket

No place like home.

Talks and an intimate panel discussion with Sue & Pete Hill, Catrina Davies, and Natasha Carthew exploring the many meanings of 'home.'

As the sun begins its gentle descent, we gather for an evening of reflection and resonance. No Place Like Home is a conversation that invites us to explore what 'home' truly means, from the physical to the poetic, the wild to the wildly imaginative.

At its heart are voices shaped by landscape, memory, and creative resilience. Sue and Pete Hill, the celebrated sculptors behind Heligan’s much-loved Mud Maid and Giant’s Head, bring with them a legacy woven into the fabric of this place. Alongside them sits Catrina Davies, whose poignant and powerful memoir Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed offers a deeply personal meditation on shelter, identity, and society’s shifting definition of home. Completing the circle is award winning Natasha Carthew, Nero Award shortlisted for her memoir Undercurrent, a poet, novelist, and fierce advocate for working-class voices, whose lyrical prose is grounded in the rugged beauty and raw truth of coastal life.

Together, they will share stories of courage, creativity, and the call of belonging. Each voice distinct yet bound by a common thread: the instinct to return, to root, to reimagine what it means to find sanctuary in the world.

Whether you’re drawn to the rich history of Heligan, captivated by horticulture, intrigued by the poetry of Simon Armitage, or simply here to enjoy a magical day out with your family, there’s a path for everyone. And sometimes, the most meaningful journey is the one where you lose yourself a little. In June, the gardens are in full bloom, offering quiet corners, hidden trails, and the kind of beauty that makes you feel, somehow, at home.

Whether you’ve roamed the grounds all day or are arriving fresh for this moment, No Place Like Homepromises to be a truly Heligan experience, thoughtful, grounding, and quietly powerful. A moment to listen, to feel, and perhaps to see ‘home’ with new eyes. Hosted by Matthew Shaw.

Gardens open from 6 pm
Home Stage Starts at 7 pm

  • Up at the Meadow Kitchen, our Lost Supper offering celebrates the spirit of the garden. Expect small plates that sing with the season: warm griddled vegetables, garden-fresh salads, herbed breads, all entirely plant-led and lovingly prepared.

    Pair your plate with a garden cocktail crafted to reflect the flavours of Heligan’s soil and soul. It’s simple, honest food that tells a story and invites you to slow down. £50pp