A Cornish dairy was honoured with a royal visit on Friday, July 30.

HRH The Princess Royal visited Trink Dairy near St Ives for a tour of the dairy and herd of Friesian Jersey Cross cattle.

The dairy is operated by Chris and Rachel Knowles and sells their produce directly to the public.

During Friday’s relaxed tour Her Royal Highness was shown the milk production system and bottling process, including the grazing cows, milking parlour and pasteurising facility.

The Princess Royal learnt how Trink’s cows are managed and how gently the milk is treated.

A keen farmer herself, she impressed all those attending the visit with the breadth of her knowledge of farming and the dairy industry.

Princess Anne was particularly interested in seeing the whole process from ‘grass to bottle’ and was impressed with the attention to detail and the passion the Knowles family show for their cows and business.

South West Farmer:

After the tour Her Royal Highness unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit and was presented with a hamper of local produce to take back with her in the helicopter and enjoy at home.

Speaking during the visit, Chris Knowles said to Her Royal Highness: “Your visit is hugely appreciated by businesses, the last year or so has been very difficult for so many businesses and the encouragement you give by visiting these businesses is greatly appreciated.

"Small businesses have proved to be light on their feet and adapted quickly – we can take pride in that moving forward.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without the commitment of our staff and stakeholders – those people who support us in our business, on the farm, in the dairy, our invaluable team.”

Following the visit, Rachel Knowles said: “Her Royal Highness’ visit was such an amazing day.

"There was a very light-hearted and relaxed atmosphere and Her Royal Highness stayed for one and half hours instead of the planned one hour – which was all within her control – she could have rushed through but we feel she really enjoyed meeting our family, farm and dairy teams and stakeholders.

“From the moment we were introduced to HRH The Princess Royal she was clearly very relaxed and in turn put us both at ease.

"So much so that we were comfortable about offering her the chance to taste Trink Milk for herself which she did enthusiastically, and when I offered to take the glass from her, she insisted on finishing it first! A huge compliment in itself!”