The tropic of... Cornwall: Coastal county classified as having subtropical climate putting it on par with parts of Vietnam and Mexico

It's true - if you walk around Mousehole the Banana Palms are amazing and that is down to the very mild temperatures.

My first trip to Cornwall .....landed at Exeter with Canadian airline so that was amazing but second trip landed at Heathrow and meant a 5 hr. train journey which was interesting. Stayed with friends so was lucky and toured both times. I love the place, wish I could return but we'll see .....I stayed near Penzance and would have to say Mousehole, St. Ives, Sennen, were my favourites. It calls me back for sure. Bobcaygeon girl

As taught in Geography class 55 years ago we even did a school trip there to spot different plants.

Great place if the weather is nice. Has always been classified as sub tropical in parts, with tropical plants near coast able to survive winter.

Subtropical and tropical are completely different.

That's nice

I think they are talking daytime temps.

Those palm trees are Cordyline Australis - sold in practically every garden nationwide. But they usually dieback to the roots every few years in most parts of the UK then come back from them. They usually only get tall enough to become the "palm trees" you see in milder coastal areas. The other palm - the windmill palm is quite hardy, I've seen tall, fully grown ones up in peak district gardens.

Great birds on Scilly. Would love to go!

Quinoa and Persimmons could be grown here anyway if there was enough interest in them, they don't need particularly mild climates and are more than hardy enough to survive winters anywhere in the UK. Quinoa would probably be better in the drier east though due to drying the grains so they don't rot.Cornwall would be better suited to hardier species of passiflora (pasionfruit) and tea (some plantations of it already exist there) if we're talking about niche crops.

Is it consistence years after years or is it only this 1 year?

Exquisite plantation, beautiful botany. What a scientist's bounty !!

Yes, the rain has been getting warmer lately :)

Fantastic place until you have to work here.

Spent my first holiday in Cornwall a few months back and I totally fell in love with the place and people.

I was told that it was subtropical when I visited Penzance in 1985. You only need to look at what's growing there to figure it out.

Had a wonderful holiday in Cornwall last year (in fact it did not last long enough). Being a wheelchair user, I found that the visitor attractions were in the main accessible and could not have been more welcoming (particularly National Maritime Museum, Falmouth & The Eden Project). Truro Shopmobility made it easy to explore and visit places like the Cathedral.

No magic here, I recall seeing palm trees growing in the Roseland coastal area 30 years ago. The Gulf Stream is the reason, though as other commenters have noted this does make the warmth rather damp.

Not only do we have an incredible coastline and climate but it's amazing the subtropical plants and trees that we can grow in Cornwall and which really thrive here - particularly agapanthus, hydrangeas, rhododendron, gunnera, palms and tree ferns. I've met people from Italy, Switzerland, Australia and the USA who are astounded by Cornwall's temperate climate and natural beauty. We also have some wonderful National Trust and private gardens here as well - like Trebah, Glendurgen (near the Helford estuary), Trengwainton in the far west and Heligan near the Eden Project. I'm a proud Cornishman and I love Cornwall.

It's like an advert dressed up as science.....