The Lost Gardens of Heligan has won gold at the 2014/2015 Visit Cornwall Awards and received the honorary Winner of Winners award.

Winning in both shortlisted categories, Heligan was awarded gold in the ‘Garden & Country House of the Year’ and silver in the ‘Wildlife Friendly Business’ category. The county’s prestigious Visit Cornwall Awards, held on the evening of Thursday November 6, saw the cream of Cornwall’s tourism industry attend the ceremony at The Headland Hotel, Newquay.

Managing Director George Elworthy, Marketing Manager Lorna Tremayne, Productive Garden Supervisor Jamie Young and Wildlife Coordinator Laura Curry, all took to the stage to accept the awards from Visit Cornwall’s very own Malcolm Bell and Cornish rugby legend, Phil Vickery.

Heligan’s Marketing Manager, Lorna Tremayne, said of the awards: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been awarded in both categories and to have won the overall Winner of Winners Award is a marvellous achievement. The Visit Cornwall judges not only made secret visits to each garden but also looked at things such as web searches, emails, social media and telephone calls as part of the judging process. To be amongst the winners, given the level of competition, is a very significant achievement indeed for all those at Heligan and we are delighted.”

This will be the fourth awards Heligan has won at this year, following a European Garden Network award, a Countryfile Magazine award and a Cornwall Today Award. Heligan has also been nominated for the Garden of the Year award in the Landlove Magazine awards and Most Inspiring Vegetable Garden in the Grow Your Own Magazine Awards.

Visit Cornwall Judge, Malcolm Bell, said of The Lost Garden of Helgian’s win: "A magical place that thoroughly deserves its many awards. A fabulous garden whose many and varied attractions appeal to every generation. (The) WW1 commemorations struck the right balance between explaining the past and engaging the local community and visitors alike in a very thought-provoking and respectful manner."

The Lost Gardens of Heligan were rediscovered 24 years ago, buried deep in the Cornish countryside. Today Heligan remains one of the most loved and romantic gardens in the UK, appreciated as much for their beauty and mystery, as for the ground breaking restoration project - the largest in Europe – which first brought Heligan to the publics’ attention.

Heligan’s estate, livestock and wildlife project promote the balance of food production and land management alongside wildlife conservation; which highlights the overall sustainable picture of Heligan life. Heligan Wild initiatives include the insect hotel which provides an array of environments to cater for different invertebrate needs throughout the seasons and the live webcams which provide a network of remote wildlife cameras, gathering intimate footage from around the gardens, transmitted to visitors and online, such as the Barn Owl Cam. In autumn this year Heligan welcomed their 5 millionth visitor through the garden gates, demonstrating just how interest in the gardens and their works has grown rapidly since their discovery and opening 24 years ago.

The Visit Cornwall Awards come at an integral point in Heligan’s timeline, just ahead of the gardens 25th anniversary, which will be marked in February 2015 celebrating 25 years since the discovery of the gardens in 1990 by Tim Smit and John Willis.