Enid Blyton idyll

Testimony to the quality of the coastline and beaches around about is that the National Trust long ago bought up most of the Roseland to protect it from development.
Walking is a prime pastime, even if it is no further than the Plume of Feathers pub in the nearby fishing village of Portscatho. (try the crab sandwiches)
Longer routes, right from the Trewince doorstep, include splendid half-day hikes along the Percuil river’s edge. It leads, by degrees, to the St Anthony lighthouse (where the Fraggle Rock TV series was filmed) and offers stunning views across the Bay to Falmouth and the chic resort of St Mawes.
Of course for those willing to break the spell and climb back into the car, there is all the rest of Cornwall with its castles, cliffs and theme-parks to explore.
But to us and many more Trewince visitors, it seems enough to stay rooted to this magical spot and let the children roam free and safe in the grounds and on the beach.
We mainly use the Peugeot as somewhere for the dog to sleep in. I don’t remember the Famous Five bothering to get back in the car much once they had actually arrived at Kirrin island or wherever.


Trewince Holidays by Keith Wheatley, Yachting correspondent of the Sunday Times and freelance journalist 01872 580289
Inside every British holidaymaker, over-stressed at the airport or late for the Channel ferry lurks another person. This inner, younger, self would probably rather be on holiday in an Enid Blyton novel. Here, no journey involves more than a couple of hours gentle motoring. Every gin-clear rock pool contains a starfish. Crab sandwiches are always on the Inn menu. It would have to be Cornwall, of course.
It sounds impossible, a daydream at a Gatwick check-in queue. But a few years ago my family and I stumbled across just such a tiny piece of Blyton-land and have been going back ever since. Trewince Manor is on the farthest finger of the Roseland Peninsula, so shut around by river and sea that it is almost an island. The acres of gardens and woodlands around the creeper-clad granite house shelter many varied species. Tenants of the solidly-comfortable timber lodges enjoy their verandahs and views down to the gentle, sheltered Towan beach. In the woods between here and Mill Creek, badgers shuffle by. Non-affluent windsurfers, drawn to the spot by Trewince's private jetty opening on to a calm sheltered estuary, camp in pup-tents. They share the landing point with pairs of resident herons. Young families bring caravans, while their friends who might not care for life above the axle, rent one of the numerous lodges. Up at the big granite house - built 250 years ago by a Cornish sea captain - there are apartments available to let.“Everyone who comes here sees Trewince differently,” said Peter Heywood, proprietor with his wife Liz since 1985. “Even we find it hard to pin down exactly what makes it such a special place but we’re not the only ones who feel it.” Evidence of this is that when the Heywoods - escapees from the Home counties rat race - took over Trewince, “regulars” who had been coming annually for 20 years or more, virtually helped them run the place for the first season.
Testimony to the quality of the coastline and beaches around about is that the National Trust long ago bought up most of the Roseland to protect it from development. Walking is a prime pastime, even if it is no further than the Plume of Feathers pub in the nearby fishing village of Portscatho. (try the crab sandwiches) Longer routes, right from the Trewince doorstep, include splendid half-day hikes along the Percuil river’s edge. It leads, by degrees, to the St Anthony lighthouse (where the Fraggle Rock TV series was filmed) and offers stunning views across the Bay to Falmouth and the chic resort of St Mawes. Of course for those willing to break the spell and climb back into the car, there is all the rest of Cornwall with its castles, cliffs and theme-parks to explore. But to us and many more Trewince visitors, it seems enough to stay rooted to this magical spot and let the children roam free and safe in the grounds and on the beach. We mainly use the Peugeot as somewhere for the dog to sleep in. I don’t remember the Famous Five bothering to get back in the car much once they had actually arrived at Kirrin island or wherever.
Trewince, Portscatho, Truro, Cornwall, England. Tel. 01872 580289
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