Review: Merrins Meadow – Secure Dog Field, Truro

‘Merrins Meadow’ is a beautiful secure dog field located approximately 5 miles from Central Truro in Cornwall. It is set over 2 acres and offers infield parking for several cars and a small waiting area external to the field.

Booking and Accessing ‘Merrins Meadow’

Booking is through a secure website and sessions are from 30 minutes in duration.

Communication with the owner was excellent.

Accessing the field is via some typical Cornish country roads – it’s just a few minutes from the main road but the last few miles are narrow but do have plenty of passing places. The field is well signposted from the final turning.

When you arrive at the field there is a waiting area just outside the field enclosure which is screened to reduce any disturbance. Please try extra hard not to be early as cars waiting outside fields can cause issues for those with reactive dogs.

The field is accessed by a combination padlock (you will receive the code a few hours before your session) and through a wide metal gate. We are thrilled to see bolts enabling you to secure the gate whilst you drive in (it’s surprising how many fields don’t offer this) and an internal bolt to prevent anyone from accessing the field during your session.

What is ‘Merrins Meadow’ Like?

Merrins Meadow does feel like you have arrived somewhere cared for. The car park is well installed, there is signage and a water station with clear instructions.

You can walk along a pathway to a lovely field shelter to get out of the elements – we are sure this is welcomed in bad weather as the field is on the top of a hill. This also means you get some lovely views!

We visited in winter but you can see that there are areas of longer grasses dotted around the field. There is also a great ‘agricultural’ play area which is laid out really well for a fun session. The only complaint here is that both tunnels are very slippery inside and if you have fast dogs, you may want to discourage them from hooning through these as one of our dogs did slip inside. No harm done but we would like to see some fixed carpet or non-abrasive matting in these tunnels to reduce any injury risk.

The highlight of this field is the enormous sand pit! Approximately 8m x 6m and nearly 50cm deep, this sandpit was extremely popular during our visits. The sand is clean safe sand and the pit itself is dug into the ground and lined.

There is also a small shady area with two large trees which we expect offers lots of very welcome shade in the summer.

Is Merrins Meadow Secure?

This field is securely fenced to 6ft and also has a weld mesh gate. (See image for fence netting).

The parking is infield but not an airlock so you may want to leave your dogs in the car if you are a fence checker.

Things you should know about ‘Merrins Meadow’

• This field is just outside Truro but the last section of roads are narrow so leave a few minutes extra
• This field is in a rural area, on a working farm so expect some rural life, passing tractors, walkers and distant farm noises
• This field feels a little bigger than its two acres and there is plenty of space for ball chucking

Photos © British Dog Fields & Merrins Meadow