After our journey down to Cornwall we were pretty sure that the journey back wasn't going to be fast, but I don't think we realised just how long it was going to take. We said our sad farewell to Fiona and everyone else at Coombe Mill and headed east with an aim of stopping off at the National Trust's Castle Drogo. We'd seen signs for the castle on our journey down, but had run out of time then to be able to visit. Now, the thing that's slightly unique about Castle Drogo at the moment is the fact that they're in the middle of a huge piece of conservation work there whilst staying ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 12 – Trelissick and Godolphin
Time to step back a couple of weeks to our wonderful holiday in Cornwall. Determined to make the most of our National Trust membership yet again we set off this morning to Trelissick Garden. Now Trelissick isn't like all the other National Trust gardens as there's something very special about its setting - on its own peninsular. The garden is high up with some spectacular views of the River Fal and some lovely twisting paths that lead you down to the water, and the ferry port at the bottom. When we were there the colours were absolutely amazing - with the hydrangeas providing a palate ... read more
Summer 2014: Day 10 – Travelling to Cornwall
Finally the day was here - holiday time! Now, this year was our first real holiday with both children and the first proper holiday we've been away for in years, so we were pretty determined to make it memorable. Not feeling brave enough to fly with the kids again yet we instead went for a UK holiday and after seeing so many rave reviews online we opted to stay at Coombe Mill in Cornwall. If you've not heard of Coombe Mill, let me set the scene. Imagine a small farm, run by a family, where children are at the centre of the holiday. The whole site is set up so that they have an absolute ball, ... read more
Fifty things to do before you’re 11 3/4!
After my recent post about how we should be allowing our children to explore the outdoors more to help them to connect with nature I was delighted to hear on the radio news this morning about the National Trust's new Fifty things to do before you're 11 3/4 campaign. If you're not seen this on today's news then let me tell you a little about the campaign. The idea is to encourage children to put down their computer games and step away from their TV sets and instead embrace the great outdoors. They have come up with a list of fifty activities for children to try with ... read more
Set our children free!
You frequently hear people talking about how children of today don't play outside enough. Older generations often use the "in my day" phrases when telling of children only bothering to come home when they knew a meal would be on the table and then spending the rest of their time climbing trees and exploring for miles around where they lived. The reality is that a lot has changed since "those days". Neary every home now has a TV set and many childrens have one in the bedroom too. There are also games consoles and handheld games which children like to spend time on too. ... read more
The National Trust respond
Following on from my post on Monday I have to give full marks to the National Trust for the speed with which they have responded to me. Not long after 9am on the Tuesday morning I had received an email holding response from the Wimpole Estate and that morning both the Estate and the National Trust centrally had also responded to me on Twitter. At just 2pm there was a full response from the General Manager at the Wimpole Estate which I include below. Here at Wimpole Estate we take our position of sustainability very seriously; whether this is the continual conservation work we do in both the ... read more