A small Elizabethan manor house (from 1573) featured in the popular "Poldark" novels (but not in…read morethe TV show, which was shot in Gloucestershire), Trerice Manor makes for an appealing, if minor, attraction a few miles outside of Newquay. It is owned and operated by the National Trust, so for a member entry is free. I'm not one, so I paid the UKP 10 for a standard adult ticket.
The best way to get to Trerice is definitely by car (there's a parking lot right next to the entrance); if you have to use the bus, the closest stop is "Kestle Mill" - and that means you will still have to walk about a mile to Trerice - but if you look strung out enough after the walk they'll give you a UKP 1 coupon for the shop/café for "reducing the carbon footprint". Google Maps misinformed me about the right stop, so I ended up wasting almost an hour stranded next to the "Dairyland Farm World" waiting for the return bus. Be aware that buses on this line only come once every hour.
From outside, Trerice is in fine shape since its previous owner, a businessman, restored part of the building some decades ago. It features some really beautiful architecture and pleasant, if not terribly opulent small gardens. A few times a day one of the volunteers will meet visitors in the garden and provide them with some information about the history of the manor, and I recommend to participate in this short "lecture" (about 20 minutes). You can freely stroll around the gardens and unwind at the café located in a separate building behind Trerice. The café has some nice options, and it's very spacious.
Inside, it's another story. Since the house had had different owners over the centuries, few traces of Elizabethan furniture and décor have survived. Some effort has been made to re-create certain rooms, but most of the existing furniture is either from the 19th century or indeed the 1950s, when it was owned by said businessman. There are few rooms indeed, and mostly small ones, so the inside I'd say will take you no more than 20-30 minutes - printed information about the furniture and the paintings is provided in every room. You can also ask the friendly and helpful volunteers. For some impressions look at my photos. Photography, btw, is allowed both inside and outside.
Once you are done with the house proper you can have a look at the herb garden, or the most ridiculous "maze" I've ever seen. But the café is really one of the nicer and larger ones I've seen on a National Trust property. Have a scone and a coffee, or even a bottle (pint) of local ale before you embark on the 30 minute return trip to the bus stop.
In the summer months, the house opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. The shop, the gardens and the tea room are open from 10.30.
Staff were very friendly indeed. Trerice is one of very few manor houses available to the public in this area, so you should definitely stop by when in Newqay.