Today was meant to involve a trip to Pentire and a walk round the poppy fields. However, on arrival at Crantock I found one car park to be full and a queue at the other one. I'm not good with lots of people wandering around and places being very busy, so I turned back and went over to Trerice just a few miles up the road from Newquay.
Trerice was quiet and tranquil, just the spot for a warm sunny day. The gardens were full of poppies - the ornamental large purple variety and the odd patch of red ones. The lavender in the knot garden is not quite out in full flower, but I imagine the air will be full of wonderful fragrance in a week or two.
The house is a 16th Century Elizabethan manor house and remains largely unchanged from that time. It has spent many years since then standing empty, but the last tenants left in 1965 after living there for 21 years. It has been owned by the National Trust since 1953.
The Great Hall downstairs has a huge table. Today, this was covered in various records of life at the house, including written accounts from previous workers. These are fascinating to read, and indicated to me that life at Trerice was not so bad for some servants of more recent times compared to many other households. The table is the only piece of furniture that is original to the house, probably because it is too large to get out of the room and so could not be sold.
The cafe here is very nice and spacious, plenty of seating indoors as well as outside in the garden. I enjoyed a very tasty cheese scone and pot of tea in the sunshine before carrying on my walk around the garden. There is also a well stocked shop and a second hand bookstore.
For more information about opening times, prices, etc please visit Trerice National Trust. It is very easy to get to, follow the brown tourist signs from the A3058 between Quintrell Downs and Summercourt or the postcode is TR8 4PG for satnav use.