After all yesterday's excitement we kept things a bit closer to Coombe Mill today. We started off with the feed run which once again the children loved. Master C found a new way to rock his baseball cap, Mr C got a ride in the tractor trailer and Little Miss C loved helping to find eggs in the chickens' field. After the feed run we decided to head towards the Camel Trail and in particular the Snail's Pace Cafe which we'd seen lots of signs for, and which sits at one end of the trail, just a mile or so down river from Coombe Mill itself. This lovely little cafe holds the title of ... read more
Barefoot walk at National Trust Godolphin
Some days end up with you doing something completely different from what you imagined when you woke up that morning, and one of the days of our Cornwall trip was exactly like that. It's fair to say that Godolphin is one of the National Trust's smaller properties - the guy checking membership cards was based in a gazebo (a posh one, but a gazebo all the same) and the tea room was small but perfectly formed. We were handed a leaflet about the barefoot walk that they have - aimed to help children check off one of the 50 things to do before you're 11 3/4 - and pointed us in the right ... 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 11 – A first feed run, a train journey and hitting the beach
Our first full day at Coombe Mill started off pretty much perfectly. A reasonable night's sleep (never likely to be good whilst looking after Master C!) and a beautiful morning. So nice in fact that I was able to sit outside with my morning cuppa and listen to the birds and the River Camel running through the site. A much more relaxed start to the day than I'm used to. Once the kids had woken up though everyone was buzzing with excitement as this was our first morning on the famous Coombe Mill feed run. The way this works is that every morning, bar changeover day, Farmer Nick (or one of ... 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
Enjoying a Winter Little Adventure
Do you realise just how lucky we were last week? It was half term here and we actually had a day where it didn't rain. And for a little while the sun came out too! I know I do bang on a lot about how "there's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing" but this winter has challenged even my Yorkshire optimism about the weather. I've never seen so much rain! All is well when children can just pull on a pair of wellies and head outside regardless, but it's a bit more challenging when you have a 17 month old who seems to think puddles are for sitting in ... read more
A need to just run and jump
As my journey through motherhood continues I find that I'm constantly learning from my children and regularly surprised by what they are teaching me. Now I've got three years of parenting under my belt I realise that some of those earlier lessons are actually quite obvious, but possibly not when you're new on the job. One of those first lessons, which now seems so blindingly obvious, is a child's need to play. It's the way that they learn, work things out in their heads and express themselves. So many times in the past I've heard a frustrated Little Miss C complaining ... read more
How the National Trust get it right when it comes to children
I've been a National Trust member for as long as I can remember. First as a child on my parent's family membership, then an adult member in my own right, and now as a joint member with Mr C. The kids aren't yet old enough for us to need family membership, but I'm pretty sure that will come next. Every year when I pay the annual direct debit I have to admit that I do briefly wonder if it really is worth it, but just a few moments remembering some of the amazing days out we've had and there's no question that we'll continue. These last few weeks we've been making ... read more
Escaping to the beach
Amazingly the hot spell here in the UK seems to be continuing, and to be honest when the weather's as hot as it has been, sitting with a hot laptop on your knee isn't exactly fun. I'm sure I'm not the only blogger who has spending time away from their keyboard to make the most of the weather. Last Monday we decided that it was time to make a dash for the coast from our inland home in St Albans so we bundled the kids into the car and headed north to Hunstanton for the day. It's a 200 mile round trip and on the way there the traffic around Cambridge did make me wonder if it ... read more
Review: Bigjigs Garden Tools
Within two hours of our first Bigjigs Play Patrol parcel arriving it started raining. Not much of a surprise with this year's weather, but seeing as they sent Little Miss C some garden tools to review it has made reviewing them properly a bit challenging! I need to start by saying a few words about the Play Patrol scheme though. Not only did Master C enjoy his first testing assignment, but Little Miss C was amazed about the idea of toys being sent to the house by the "train jigsaw people" as she likes to call Bigjigs. And very excited to have a new bag to take to nursery and a "jigsaw ... read more