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Tintagel Old Post Office
One of the Trust's most delightful medieval buildings, enhanced by a cottage garden
Fore Street, Tintagel, Cornwall, PL34 0DB
Important notice
Tintagel Old Post Office is closed for the winter while we carry out essential building maintenance and conservation cleaning. The house and garden will re-open on Saturday 9 March 2024.
Opening times for 29 November 2023
Asset Opening time Post office Closed MTWTFSS3031123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930123OpenPartially openClosedWhole property
Ticket type Gift aid Standard Adult £7.20 £6.50 Child £3.60 £3.25 Family £17.90 £16.25 Family 1 Adult £10.80 £9.75 Group Adult £6.20 Group Child £3.10 Become a member and discover more than 500 places
Assistance dogs only
Assistance dogs only beyond the front garden.
Toilet
The nearest toilet is approximately 50 yards away in Trevena Square (not National Trust).
Car park
There are several pay and display car parks in the village (not National Trust).
There are numerous uneven steps and narrow doorframes. The first-floor bedrooms can only be accessed by narrow steep staircases. A portable wheelchair ramp is available and can be used for visitors wishing to explore the ground-floor level and back garden. An access guide exists to help explain the first-floor rooms to visitors who need it. Hearing loop available. No visitor toilets on site - the nearest toilets (including an accessible toilet) are at Trevena Square 50 yards away. No on-site parking or drop-off points. Large print and Braille versions of the room notes are available upon request.
Braille (guide or menu)
A Braille guide is available on request.
Ramped access/slopes
Induction loop
Seating available
Visitors are welcome to sit on the settle in the hall or on the benches in the cottage garden.
Narrow corridors
Steps/uneven terrain
By road
follow signs off A39 for Tintagel
Parking: No onsite parking. Many pay and display car parks on Fore Street (not National Trust). Nearest National Trust parking is on Glebe Cliff, by St Materiana's church.
Sat Nav: PL34 0DB
On foot
South West Coast Path within ¾ mile. Find us opposite King Arthur's Arms pub, in the middle of Fore Street.
By bus
Services from Wadebridge to Bude. Bus stops are outside Tintagel Hardware Store.
By bicycle
Planning your visit
Article
What to expect on your visit
Article
Group visits to Tintagel Old Post Office
Groups can uncover 600 years of history at Tintagel Old Post Office, with prior notice and booking.
Highlights
House
A medieval farmhouse, modified over six centuries, that was last used as a letter-receiving office in the Victorian period.
The cottage garden
A traditional Victorian-style Cornish cottage garden, planted with a variety of shrubs and flowers to attract wildlife. Picnics welcome.
The wonky roof
Dating to the Tudor period and originally straight, this roof has warped under the immense weight of the large, locally-quarried rag slates.
The post room
This room was used for the letter-receiving office in the 1870s and features Victorian postal items and early communications systems.
The sleeping platform
An unusual extra bedroom with medieval origins, although looking like a minstrels' gallery was never actually used as such.
The 16th-century fireplace
Known as 'the slab' in the local Cornish dialect, this imposing fireplace was once adorned with a plasterwork coat of arms.
Samplers and quilts
A collection of 13 needlework samplers - the earliest dating from 1768 - hang on the walls of the house and Victorian bedspreads are on display in the bedrooms.
Second-hand books and plant sales
There is a range of titles available in both the post room and on the stand in the cottage garden (weather permitting). Seasonal plants are available to buy (subject to availability).
Things to see and do
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Tintagel Old Post Office, a room-by-room guide
The five rooms and cottage garden beckon the curious to explore over six hundred years of Cornish domestic life.
Article
The cottage garden
The Victorian-style cottage garden is a welcome retreat from the busy high-street. Awash with the colour throughout the year, the garden is planted with scented herbs and fragrant flowers that attract a number of insect pollinators and birds.
Top trails
Trail
Rocky Valley walk
Follow this gentle trail down through rocky bluffs to Bossiney Bay, close to Boscastle, Cornwall.
Trail
Tintagel walk
This invigorating clifftop walk, around what was the National Trust's first English coastal acquisition, offers impressive views of Tintagel Castle and the surrounding coastline.
Eating and shopping
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Eating and shopping at Tintagel Old Post Office
Enjoy a picnic in the garden among sunny lawns and fragrant flowers, then visit the post-room shop to browse second-hand books and postcards.
Places to stay
The Clinker
A very photogenic stay with postcard-perfect window views in the village of Boscastle.
The Birdcage
A quirky three-storey cottage in one of Cornwall’s most iconic villages, Port Isaac.
Conor
Sea views over Lundy Bay and Pentire Head from this ground floor apartment set away from the crowds.
Doyden Castle
A little fortress at the edge of the cliffs on the Port Quin headland, with sea views all around.
Carolina Cellar
A historic stone pilchard cellar with sea views over the beach and inlet.
Rumps
One of the apartments in Doyden House, with the South West Coast Path just outside the door.
The Lugger
A two-bedroom cottage in the heart of the bustling fishing village, Boscastle.
Quin Cottage
A traditional seaside holiday awaits in this former fisherman’s cottage just metres from the beach.
About Tintagel Old Post Office
Acquired in 1903, this unusual and atmospheric 14th-century yeoman's farmhouse is the Trust's first built property in Cornwall. With a famously wavy slate roof and over 600 years of history it beckons the curious to explore.
The name dates from the Victorian period when it briefly held a licence to be the letter receiving station for the district.
Come and see items on display including Victorian postal equipment, a selection of samplers and furniture dating back to the 16th century. Retreat from the busy high street in our beautiful back garden.
History
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The house and its history
A story spanning six centuries, discover how this ancient abode went from being a thatched farm building in the Middle Ages, to a fashionable home in Tudor times before eventually becoming the letter-receiving office for the village in the 1870s.
Our work
Article
Our work at Tintagel Old Post Office
This miniature medieval manor house, which is more than 600 years old, needs constant care and attention. National Trust specialists have worked hard to preserve Tintagel Old Post Office.
News
National Trust brings coastal land at Tintagel into its care
A stretch of rugged Cornish coastline that borders the medieval fortress of Tintagel has been acquired by the National Trust. Smith’s Cliff, on the north Cornwall coast, will be cared for as a space for wildlife to flourish, for heritage to be conserved and for people to access and enjoy for ever.
News
Cornwall set to bloom as major grassland creation project begins
Clifftops and fields across Cornwall are set to be transformed into thriving wildflower meadows, thanks to a new three-year conservation project.
Art and collections
Tintagel Old Post Office’s objects and collections
Explore the objects and works of art we care for at Tintagel Old Post Office on the National Trust Collections website.
Support us
Volunteer with us
Search for live volunteering opportunities, or register your interest with Tintagel Old Post Office.