A wider perspective
- Jul 20
- 6 min read
Words by Hannah Tapping
A grand homestay just a few miles from Padstow, yet a world away.
I’ve driven the Atlantic Highway more times than I care to remember. From the much-anticipated yearly foray to The Royal Cornwall Show and day trips to Padstow and Rock, to latter years simply for Finisterre outlet bargains, Jo and Co treasures and coffee and cake at Strong Adolfos... Because why wouldn’t you? While the north coast’s waterfront hot spots get all the press, it turns out that there’s a very special place tucked just in behind Hawksfield that I never knew existed and I’ve been driving just yards from its driveway all these years. Let me introduce you to Trevear Farm.
There are times as a writer that I’m reluctant to put pen to paper, such is the magic of the experience. Will it break the spell if I tell the world? But tell, I must. So, enough of my journalistic angst, we need to get back to the A39. As you turn off onto the B road that leads to Trevear Farm, the noise of the main road drifts off into the distance. As we approach the drive, we wind down our windows and the heady smell of hot tarmac mixes with newly combined hay from surrounding fields. It may only be early June in Cornwall, but it feels more like Provence.
As we turn into the concrete drive, testament to this being a working farm, the view across the fields beyond stops us in our tracks. The vista is wide and lush and green, edged with a line of wind turbines on its further edge, standing sentinel and silently harvesting the breeze. There are sheep grazing in the middle distance and fields roll away in every direction, cut only by the cluster of stone barns before us. This sense of arrival becomes, gradually and then all at once, the whole point of the journey. By the time we descend the drive and turn up towards Broadview, we have already slowed down without quite noticing.
Broadview is the largest of the homestays on the Trevear estate, which amounts to some 75 acres of countryside and working farm land. Family run, this collection of restored farmhouses, barns and cottages oozes generations of heritage from their stone walls. Owned by husband-and-wife duo Rachel and Sam Bishop, who took the helm in 2018 following the passing of Rachel’s father, Robert, who bought the dilapidated estate in 2011. What followed was a meticulous restoration project using local stone, repurposed roof tiles, and Cornish slate from Delabole, England’s oldest working quarry, to pay homage to the original farm buildings, dating back to 1669, that once graced the landscape. Following an 18-month transformation, Barn Owl Roost debuted in 2013 as a two-bedroom cottage, marking the beginning of Trevear’s evolution into luxury, self-catered stays.
A collection of eight individually designed properties, from one- to five-bedroom, each retains traces of its agricultural past – exposed stone walls, timber beams and original features – softened with natural materials and a tonal palette that blends into its rural setting. Broadview was the last of the properties to be finished and the most poignant. It was a true labour of love for Rachel’s father as the final piece of the estate came together. Sadly, he was unable to finish the renovation himself and so along with her sister-in-law, Rachel completed Broadview as testament to his vision for Trevear.
Broadview is a family homestay built for gathering and it announces itself with the kind of proportions that make you stop at the top of the drive and simply look. The elevated plot looks out across the other properties below and as we sit for a moment admiring the view, a gentle breeze nods the heads of the sympathetic planting. The landscaping has been carefully considered, with structural planting that holds its shape whatever the weather. Perfectly manicured hedges and expansive lawns surround Broadview, so there is a place to relax at all times.
Inside, the sense of proportion continues. Each room has been so perfectly thought through, generous without ever tipping into excess. The open plan living space downstairs is filled with hand-crafted furniture, a wood burner at its centre and light that pours through bi-folding doors onto the lawns beyond. A beautiful display of fresh flowers, grown by Rachel’s mum, nod their heads towards the Cornishware that adorns the shelves. The bespoke kitchen, all soft blue cabinetry with a vast Lacanche range, is my idea of heaven. As a foodie, having a space larger than most commercial kitchens in which to prepare dinner is heaven. While I’m in my happy place chopping, stirring and sipping a glass of Camel Valley, everyone has a place to relax without being removed. Number one son plays some chill tunes through the ceiling speakers, and all feels right with the world.
Broadview earns its reputation as a house for family entertaining. The ample dining table seats twelve, built for the long Sunday lunches and the slow unwinding of an evening that this kind of house exists for. The corner sofa is enormous, built to seat the whole party and it becomes the natural gravity of the evening once the day’s exploring is done. There is a garden room with a pool table and dartboard that keeps the younger guests happily occupied for hours and outside, a table looks out over the lawns towards the hills, the obvious spot for private dining that needs no restaurant booking and no watching the clock.
There are five bedrooms across the ground and first floors, four of them en suite, and a family bathroom with a walk-in shower. The bedrooms are enormous without losing any comfort, dressed with Egyptian cotton sheets, robes laid out and each one styled with its own distinct personality: a pink room, a sunny yellow one, the master suite upstairs with its private balcony and, on a clear day, a glimpse of the sea somewhere beyond the hills. Nothing has been left wanting. Details have been considered with the kind of hospitality that anticipates a need before a guest has thought to voice it.
Rachel’s father was a very passionate art collector and so there is a Jethro Jackson painting hung in every property, even in the swimming pool. The seascapes were painted especially for Trevear, each one different to the next but all celebrating the beauty of the Cornish coast in a way only Jethro can.
Jethro’s father, Paul Jackson, was also commissioned to create some of the ceramics, their abstract colours giving each room a sense of place and personality that feels specific to Trevear. I feel privileged that the Bishop family are happy to share their art collection with guests. I shouldn’t be surprised though, as it’s this sense of wanting people to personally experience the whole of Trevear that runs through the entire stay.
After a long day on the beach, one night we opt for handcrafted Native burgers from their pop-up tepee in the top field. They arrive melting in the mouth, made with local ingredients and had a tasty Mexican edge. They are devoured with delight and then we take a moment to relax and soak up the surroundings. As the blackbirds sing their last songs as dusk falls, the two mature trees that flank the driveway light up, entwined with lights the length of their long trunks. It all starts to feel a little magical and is a reminder that the best moments in a house this considered are often the simplest ones, made possible rather than replaced by all that comfort.
For anyone wanting to move rather than only lounge, the estate offers an indoor heated swimming pool with a steam room and decking that looks out over the countryside, along with a proper gym: running machines, rowing machines, a Peloton, a Smith machine, dumbbells and kettlebells, and a sound system to see you through a session. Newly added paddle courts sit alongside and there is a treatment room for those who would rather be pampered than perspire. Outside, the hot tub bubbles away within a fully enclosed lawn, dog friendly and child friendly in equal measure, so a glass of wine at dusk can be taken without a single eye needing to stray from the view to the gate.
Staying at Broadview, you sense you are a guest, not only in a beautifully finished house, but in somebody’s ongoing act of remembering and that is a rare thing to be invited into. With a working farm at its centre, a coastline at its edge and a family’s memory woven throughout, these are days that we will remember forever.
