St Michael's Mount

Opening for 2017 on Sunday 19 March

Activities For All The Family

Including Bird Bonanza, Rockpool Explorer, Potting Up, Get Framed! & Meet The Gardener

Situated just 400 yards off Mount's Bay in Marazion, St Michael's Mount is an iconic Cornish landmark and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the South West.

Striding the causeway, or crossing by boat. Treading medieval pathways or exploring tropical gardens.  Discover a castle, a sub-tropical garden paradise and a close-knit island community, home to the St Aubyn family and thirty island residents.  From ancient cobbles to castle walls, through time and tide St Michael's Mount is beckoning

Over the coming months, the island will come alive with activity, kicking off with the annual Easter Festivities (2-16 April).  2017 will see the first ever Bird Bonanza, where visitors will be able to make their own willow bird feeder, become an expert bird spotter and try making their own birds nest. The popular Rockpool Explorer will be back for a second year with a chance to take a walk on the wild side and join Great Scott! Adventures Outdoors for a rummage in the rockpools.  Discover and meet the weird and wonderful creatures that live just off the causeway and learn amazing things about their lives and find out who is dinner and who is diner!

Another welcome return will be Potting Up during the May School holidays (29 May-2 June), when kids will be able to get their hands dirty and pot up a sempervivum, a succulent that grows in the Mount garden.  Commonly known as the houseleek, or the 'liveforever', they are hardy perennials and the perfect plant to allow our visitors to take home, where they can watch it grow.  Pebble Art will let them create some amazing pictures with flowers, pebbles and shells.  Be sure to bring a camera and take a snap of the creation as these images are ephemeral, so the next person can get creative too.  There will also be a large succulent frame made from over 400 plants so our visitors can take photos and Get Framed! with the castle creating a wonderful backdrop! Take a selfie in a living frame for a unique photo opportunity #getframedsmm

Keen gardeners will enjoy A Coastal Garden Season running from Monday 17 April to Friday 30 June, with the opportunity to Meet The Gardener each day Monday to Friday at 1pm and learn what the four-strong team do day-to-day and hear about the garden's history and current design.  Breathe in the sea air, scented with springtime blossom or summer herbs. Peer from the battlements at the garden terraces stepping down to sea.  For many of our visitors it is astonishing that a garden exists here, but despite the gales and salty winds, the Gulf Stream tempers the climate so that frosts are a rarity and the rock acts as a gigantic radiator – absorbing heat by day and releasing it at night, creating a micro climate in which all sorts of unlikely plants flourish.

The National Gardens Scheme Open Day on Sunday 28 May offers a rare chance to visit The Mount's extraordinary sub-tropical gardens on a Sunday.  St Michael's Mount has long been part of the NGS and in support, on this day, they donate all their proceeds to their nursing and caring charities. 

Easter on The Mount (Sunday 2 to Sunday 16 April)

Bird Bonanza. Spring has sprung and the birds are busy making nests. Join us and find out more what you can do to help our native birds this Easter. Make your own willow bird feeder, become an expert bird spotter, take the feather trail challenge, plant a sunflower and have a go at making your own birds nest. Who knows, maybe a chocolate egg will be laid!

We will also be constructing a giant bird's nest and invite all our visitor's to help create the nest - how big will it get?! Run by Great Scott Adventures this activity is free with castle entrance and will take place on the Dairy Lawn.

Friday 14, Sunday 16 and Monday 17 April from 11am-4pm.

Rockpool Explorer. A guided rockpool followed be a meet-the-creatures.  Rockpool Explorer is suitable for all ages and children must be accompanied.  There's no need to book, just drop in at the start time.  Meet at the Great Scott! flag near the start of the causeway leading from St Michaels Mount.  Please wear rock pooling shoes or old trainers as the rocks are very slippery in crocs or flip flops. We don't use nets but feel free to bring your buckets and sense of adventure!

Sunday 2 April from 2.30-4.30pm, Sunday 9 April from 10am-12pm, Monday 10 April from 10.30am-12.30pm and Wednesday 12 April from 12-2pm.

Tickets/Opening Times: St Michael's Mount castle, shops and restaurants are open daily (except Saturdays) from 19 March until 27 October 2017

You can walk to the island at low tide and there are also boat crossings (subject to weather).

Due to their fragility, the lush-sub tropical gardens have restricted opening times and are open between 17 April and 29 September.

Please check www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk for details.

Media enquiries:  For more information on St Michael's Mount please contact:

Katherine@brightmediauk.com or call 01621 784777

Notes to Editors

By foot or by boat?  At low tide, the causeway appears from the sea and you can reach St Michael's Mount by foot, following in the footsteps of giants and pilgrims. Setting out from the beachfront at the Godolphin Arms, it takes just minutes to walk across the ancient cobble causeway which stretches from the mainland to the island. When the tide floods in, boatmen ferry visitors across the water to the island. At high tide during spring, summer and autumn, frequent motorboats leave from landing points along the shore at Marazion for the Mount's ancient harbour.

Discover the castle.  Climb the cobbled pathway up to the island's summit and discover its changing faces. Bronze age settlers, monks, pilgrims and soldiers have all left their mark on the Mount. Stoop through ancient doorways and glimpse the castle's changing faces – from priory to fort, iconic castle to family home. Wander century-old corridors and unravel the history of the St Aubyn family, who have lived here since the 17th century. Discover treasures from the Mount's past, from religious roots to times of siege and conflict. 

The St Aubyn Family. While the National Trust now ensures the preservation and conservation of the Mount, the St Aubyn family continue to manage the island, as they have done since the middle of the 17th century. This unique partnership preserves the astonishing legacy built up since the island's earliest known inhabitants during the Bronze Age.

The subtropical gardens. Weave through garden terraces bursting with colour.  Breathe in the sea air, scented with springtime blossom or summer herbs. Peer from the battlements at the garden terraces stepping down to sea. Puya, agave and aloe rear out of the bedrock, agapanthus wave their heavy heads, and binding threads of rosemary, lavender and coronilla tumble down the terraces.

For kids.  A hunt for a giant's stone heart, the armour of a samurai warrior, a mummified cat and a real life castle waiting to be discovered. Watch young minds race as the island guides tell tales of history, legend and a living, breathing island. Take the castle quiz as a family and let the little ones' curiosity engage them, as they learn what makes this castle so special.

Family: 2 adults and up to 3 children. Single adult family: 1 adult and up to 3 children.