HISTORY TOUR OF BOCONNOC HOUSE AND CREAM TEA
2026-03-18 14:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-15 14:00 - 17:00, 2026-05-13 14:00 - 17:00 (Europe/London)
Take a tour of Boconnoc House and grounds and learn about the architecture, paintings, and people that tell the story of its past.

Guests will also visit the 800-year-old church and Georgian Bath House.

Following the history tour of Boconnoc House guests will be treated to a delicious Cornish Cream Tea in the Garden Room.

Boconnoc House won the HHA/Sotheby’s Award for Restoration in 2012, three prime ministers, a history of duels and the architect Sir John Soane play a part in the story of this unique estate.

Time 2pm to 5pm
Price £27

BOOK TICKETS

Cornwall Chamber of Commerce Big Breakfast
2026-04-28 08:00 - 10:00
Join the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce for a networking breakfast at Boconnoc.
09:15 am – Chamber announcements
09:25 am – St Austell Printing Company
09:35 am- Cornwall Council – Good Business Pathfinder
09:40am- Westcountry Women’s Awards
09:45am – Closing remarks
10:00am- Event close
Tickets £45, 15% discount for members
Book your tickets on the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce website

Open Gardens for the National Gardens Scheme
2026-05-04 14:00 - 17:00
Boconnoc is proudly opening to support the National Garden Scheme.
Wander through the gardens and grounds in full spring bloom.

Money raised through entrance charges and refreshment sales will benefit a range of health and nursing charities, such as Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice UK.
Monday 4th May 2026

For further details visit www.ngs.org.uk

Children's Hospice South West Open Gardens
2026-05-10 14:00 - 17:00 | Boconnoc House
Come and explore Boconnoc’s gardens and grounds as spring arrives and raise money for Children’s Hospice South West.
Refreshments will be available.
Dogs on leads very welcome.
Sunday 10th May 2026.
For more details visit the Children Hospice South West website.

Marie Curie Open Gardens at Boconnoc
2026-05-25 14:00 - 17:00
Enjoy Boconnoc in full bloom and help raise money for a good cause at the Marie Curie Open Gardens.
Dogs on leads are welcome.
For more information please visit www.mariecurrie.org.uk

HISTORY TOUR OF BOCONNOC HOUSE WITH CREAM TEA
2026-06-09 14:00 - 17:00, 2026-08-05 14:00 - 17:00

LilyBoo On Location Watercolour Day with Jennie Boniface
2026-06-11 10:00 - 16:00
Join us for our one-day ‘On Location Painting’ workshop based in The Stable Yard, Craft Studio and Courtyard, with access to several mature gardens, including a water fountain, pond, and extensive views of the House and Estate… picture-perfect scenes waiting to inspire.

The day will be hosted by one of the LilyBoo team, with the very talented Jennie Boniface leading the art workshop. The day includes refreshments and lunch.
Ideally, we’ll spend the day outdoors working on location ‘en-plain air’ gathering information from architecture, trickling fountains, colourful shrubs and fragrant flowers. By observing light direction, colour, and shape, we’ll create a series of quick, fluid watercolour sketches, embracing mistakes to capture our ‘en plein air’ painting experience. Our finished collection of drawings and paintings represents our visual journey as we capture the landscape’s atmosphere as it changes throughout the day.
In the event of adverse weather, we will use the Craft Studio’s excellent facilities. Creating our sketches and paintings from a selection of photographs and paintings of the venue.
There will be practical advice throughout the day, with both group and personal tuition.
Painting demonstrations including, Sketching, Watercolour techniques, colour mixing and choosing a composition.
Who is the workshop suitable for?
Our On Location Painting Workshop is suitable for anyone who would like to expand their painting experience. If you aspire to paint ‘en plein air’ within an inspiring but private setting, learning in a small, friendly group with an experienced and supportive tutor, come along and join us for our watercolour painting day.
What do you need to bring along?
Sketching pencils
Rubber & pencil sharpener
Sketching with waterproof pens
Sketchbook or paper for sketching
Watercolour paper (various sizes)
Bulldog clips or masking tape
A selection of brushes
Paints – Water-soluble. (preferably a half-pan Winsor & Newton watercolour set)
Permanent white gouache
Some additional art equipment you might like to bring, such as:
Water-soluble pencils
White oil pastel/candle for resist
Soft pastels
Craft knife for the scratching technique
We also recommend you bring sun cream, a hat and probably a waterproof just in case!
LilyBoo will supply blankets to sit on, if you would like to sit, please bring a camping chair. We will also supply boards to lean on, water pots and pallets. Should you wish to bring a portable easel, please feel free.
Who is the workshop is led by?
Jennie holds a B.A (Hons) in Fine Art and P.G.C.E. She has worked as a professional artist for many years, exhibiting in galleries in Cornwall and London. She is an informative and inspiring adult art tutor, and teaches weekly watercolour classes at LilyBoo, Lostwithiel.
She is most inspired by painting on location, enjoying the creativity and spontaneity of working ‘en plein air’. She is passionate about capturing light, colour and time, and primarily works in watercolour, acrylic and mixed media painting and is an avid sketchbook user.
Date: 11th June
Time: 10am to 4pm
Price: £115
For more information and booking, please visit www.LilyBoocornwall.co.uk

An Evening of Opera at Boconnoc House
2026-06-30 19:30 - 21:30
Spend an evening in Boconnoc House listening to world-class opera as Wild Arts Opera returns with a brand new programme.
Performed by four fabulous singers and a world-class string quintet, follow our characters as they travel through 75 minutes of spellbinding arias and scenes by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, and Britten, to the songs of Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim. Semi-staged by director Guido Martin-Brandis and woven into a new narrative full of dramatic intrigue, jealousy, comedy, idealism, and true love.
Wild Arts is more than just an Opera Company. It’s a charitable organisation that brings world-class opera to beautiful places around the UK. It nurtures young talent and runs music and singing projects in primary schools. By attending our event, you’re not just enjoying a night of opera; you’re supporting a worthy cause. To learn more, visit wildarts.org.uk.
‘An utter delight’
★★★★★
Opera Now
‘Spectacular doesn’t even begin to do it justice! Wow’
★★★★★
Audience member review
‘Royal Opera House standard, choices excellent, the quality terrific and the staging exactly right.’
Libby Purvis, The Times.
Bring your friends, a picnic, and refreshments, and enjoy the beautiful grounds before the performance in Boconnoc House.
BOOK TICKETS
Date: Tuesday, 30th June 2026.
Picnics on the lawn and Boconnoc bar open: From 6pm.
Performance starts in Boconnoc House: 7.30pm, approximate running time 1hr 45mins inc interval.
Tickets: Front Row £55, Standard Seating £45, Under 25’s £20.
Group Tickets: Buy six tickets and a complimentary bottle of Cornish fizz will be waiting for you.
Accessibility: Please get in touch with us at events@boconnoc.com to let the team know your access requirements for the performance.

Paradhis Festival
2026-07-03 10:00 - 2026-07-05 22:00 | Boconnoc House
Paradhis Festival
The Paradhis festival will combine well-being, nature, fitness, and more with an eclectic mix of music, to create a transformative experience set within the stunning parkland of Boconnoc.
The program will span a diverse range of well-being, fitness, craft, and nature activities. Experts will offer one-on-one sessions and workshops, as well as food and access to the stunning Boconnoc grounds. You can camp at Boconnoc for the entirety of the festival or come for the day.
Date: Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th July 2026
To see the entire programme and to book tickets and camping, visit the Paradhis website
If you would like to book Boconnoc holiday rental properties during the festival, please email stay@boconnoc.com

BOCONNOC STEAM FAIR
2026-08-07 10:00 - 2026-08-09 18:00
Explore a wealth of heritage at the much-loved Boconnoc Steam Fair, one of the largest events of its kind in the South West. The Steam Fair has taken place annually at Boconnoc since 1999.
Camping is available on-site during the rally; please visit Boconnoc Steam Fair for further details.
Friday 7th to Sunday 9th August
Book here

Lilyboo Painting Landscapes in Oils with Andrew Barrowman
2026-09-29 10:00 - 16:00
Our day will be spent focusing on landscape painting in oils. We will use the ‘alla prima’ technique, where the painting is done wet-on-wet in one session – ‘first time’. We will cover the use of different
materials, techniques, composition and some colour mixing.
Based at Boconnoc’s Stable Yard and taking time to explore the grounds for inspiration, the day will be hosted by the LilyBoo team and led by talented artist Andrew Barrowman. The day includes refreshments and lunch.

Course aims and skills/knowledge to be taught.
● We will discuss different surfaces to paint onto and their different properties.
● Simplified composition.
● How to lay out your oil painting palette.
● Which oil painting mediums to use – and when to use them (or not!).
● Different types of oil painting brushes and their uses.
● Split primary palette – warm and cool versions of the primary colours.
● Alla prima painting techniques.
● Cleaning up at the end of a painting session.
At the end of the day, during the mini exhibition, we will discuss what we have learnt and discovered, and how we can apply those techniques in our own work.
What’s included?
Refreshments and lunch are included.
What do you need to bring?
Blankets will be provided and there will be seats available in the courtyard, should you wish to explore further into the grounds please bring a camping chair with you.
Please bring with you the following items:
● Apron or old clothing – to protect your clothes and, importantly, several large cotton rags for wiping brushes.
● Low odour turps (Zest It or Gamsol are good) and a painting medium such as linseed oil. A large-sized jam jar with a screw lid for transportation – you will need about half of a jam jar for this workshop.
● Any oil paint, palette knives, brushes etc that you currently use.
● We will bring some palette knives for you to try if you don’t have your own. Andrew will bring some basic paint colours in case you forget a tube or two, but please bring any you already have.
● A palette for mixing your oil paint – Andrew uses glass, but primed plywood is good, or disposable tear-off paper is ok.
● 2 small to medium-sized primed canvases or boards (remember you have to take it home whilst wet, Andrew has a good method for this which he will show you!). The surface can be white or primed with a ground colour such as burnt sienna or yellow ochre.
● Don’t forget you will need to transport your wet painting back with you, so bring something that you can carry it in, or put it in if travelling by car. Clean pizza delivery boxes are good! A plastic bag is fine for transporting a wet palette home.
Who is the workshop suitable for?
You can be a beginner or a more advanced painter.
Who runs the workshop?
The extremely talented Andrew Barrowman will lead the workshop, with Hayley from LilyBoo hosting the day.
Andrew is an award-winning landscape artist based in Cornwall. He predominantly paints in oils but is always keen to experiment with different media, including charcoal, egg tempera, and casein. He is an enthusiastic plein air sketcher and works outdoors in all weathers.
He was elected an associate member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists in May 2023 and a full member of the Pastel Society in June 2023.
To find out more about Andrew’s work, please follow:
The Artist — Andrew Barrowman ARBSA PS | Cornwall Landscape Artist
Date: 29 September
Time: 10am to 4pm
Cost: £115
For more information and booking, please visit www.lilyBoocornwall.co.uk

LilyBoo Autumn Textile Retreat
2026-11-06 16:00 - 2026-11-08 15:00
Join craft specialists LilyBoo at Boconnoc for a two-night textiles retreat.
There will be lots of crafting and social time, as well as fantastic food from Bellamama’s Deli in Lostwithiel.
Staying guests will arrive at 4pm on day one, spend the whole day on day two, and depart at about 3pm on day three.
Day guests can join each day from 9.30am to 4.30pm, enjoying craft workshops and lunch, as well as plenty of cake and treats.

LilyBoo handles all the planning, preparation, and equipment supply so you can arrive and enjoy the whole experience. You will have a great selection of knowledgeable tutors to work with, and Hayley (the Boo in LilyBoo) will be there throughout to ensure you have everything you need.

Activities include: experiments with fabric, textile brooches, nature printing and more
Informal evening activities
Includes all meals plus a lovely evening meal
Cakes, fruit and soft drinks available
LilyBoo gift bag
Dates: 6th November 4:00pm – 8th November 2026 3:00pm

For more information and booking visit LilyBoocornwall.co.uk
