National Trust - Trelissick Garden — Attraction in Feock

This was an interesting visit. We visited on Easter Sunday, so as you can imagine, it was really busy. The car parking guys were really good. They were constantly checking for spaces and directing you to those empty spaces. We headed down to the entrance where we were greeted by two ladies. The lady who served us was very friendly. The other lady told us we wasn't allowed to use our own retractable dog lead and said we had to swop it over for one of their rope leads. So we did. Their rope lead was much longer than what we would have had our dog on with a retractable lead but we did as we were told. As we left the entrance the lady came running after us shouting at my husband to use their lead. We had our dog on their lead, we told her he was on their lead and she just huffed and walked off, no apology for shouting at us for no reason. This was really unnecessary and the small dog behind us wasn't even given one of their leads to use and they had a retractable lead aswell.

We had a walk around the gardens, there are signs everywhere saying paws on paths but then there was people walking all over the grass areas, some with pushchairs etc, kids running over the grass, it was all very odd. Personally, the people were causing more damage than a dog walking on it, but hey, those were the rules. Dogs are also not allowed over the bridge and into one of the gardens, which was also very odd as there wasn't anything special in that garden area and the path was wide enough for a dog to walk on.

Once you get out of the garden area, you arrive at the house, we didn't bother going inside the house as there were a lot of national trust staff standing in the window staring at people. This was really off putting, so we bypassed it and headed to the cafe.

The cafe was very busy but had seating inside, outside and upstairs. We sat outside as we had our dog. This was fine, plenty of seats available. The lady serving was lovely, really down to earth and was very informative. The cream tea was lovely, coffee was made well and the sausage rolls were homemade. The toilets were stylish and clean.

Once we left the gardens and main area, we headed for the beach. It was a lovely walk down and around the outside of the property towards the ferry.

Overall, the surrounding walk is lovely, the gardens are nice for a quick visit whilst you are there. If you don't have a dog, you could have a really lovely day there, if you do have a dog, be prepared to be told off if you have a retractable lead. It's not a place we will rush...

Trelissick Garden, managed by the National Trust, is a scenic estate near Truro, Cornwall, offering diverse landscapes and panoramic views of the Fal estuary. The garden features formal lawns, herbaceous borders, an orchard, and winding paths that reveal stunning maritime vistas. 

Admission Prices: • Adults (18+): £18.70 with Gift Aid; £17.00 without Gift Aid  • Children (5–17 years): £9.35 with Gift Aid; £8.50 without Gift Aid  • Family (2 adults + up to 3 children): £46.75 with Gift Aid; £42.50 without Gift Aid • Family (1 adult + up to 3 children): £28.05 with Gift Aid; £25.50 without Gift Aid 

National Trust members enjoy free entry. 

Parking:

Parking is free for National Trust members. Non-members are charged £6 for all-day parking. Blue Badge holders can park for free in designated accessible parking areas. 

Facilities: • House: The Georgian house offers south-facing rooms with views over the Carrick Roads. Visitors can relax here with refreshments from the house tearoom.  • Cafés: The house tearoom serves light lunches, refreshments, and Cornish cream teas.  • Shop: A National Trust shop is available on-site, offering a range of gifts and souvenirs. 

Accessibility:

The site offers accessible parking and facilities. For detailed information, it’s advisable to consult the National Trust’s accessibility guide for Trelissick. 

Events:

Trelissick hosts various events throughout the year, including seasonal activities like Easter egg hunts and Christmas celebrations. For the latest event information, refer to the National Trust’s official website. 

For more details and to plan your visit, please refer to the National Trust’s official page for...

Our first stop was Trelissick Gardens, a National Trust property that Deb had chosen even though it wasn't a castle. The girl checking our bookings was lovely and we had to park in the overflow carpark as the place was so busy. The site had all the usual NT facilities plus holiday cottages (the Water Tower looked amazing!), plant sales, shop and a second hand bookshop. Deb took one of the maps and we began our tour of the gardens. These seemed to be a series of terraces with views down to the sea, where foliage permitted. As you'd expect they were well maintained and the plants were all labelled nicely and we didn't really see that many other people. I have to say my favourite part was one of the hairy palm trees that someone had woven the fibres into little plaits. The exterior of the house itself seemed incredibly ugly with a bolt on portico that looked very out of place. I'll have to do some research on the building later. The stables were pretty though and there was lots of lovely old weathered brick walls throughout the gardens. Deb navigated and we wound our way up and down the slopes until she announced we'd seen everything. We'd expected to be at the gardens for 4 hours but 2 seemed plenty, probably because of the rain - instead of sitting and admiring the vistas we had a quick look then hurried on to somewhere with tree cover. There was plenty of seating in the courtyard cafe so we were able to have a warming coffee inside before leaving. Deb would probably have liked to buy some plants as we do have some very small areas of garden that currently don't have plant...