Halloweek and Halloweden in Cornwall

We've already had one week of half term and spent it in Cornwall. I love taking the children there and we have a few days out that we do every time we go.

The first is Lappa Valley which is the most wonderful day out for a family with train obsessed children. The steam engine takes you from the starting station into the valley itself and we rode on Ellie to get there, passing the boating lake and taking in the scenery as we enjoyed surprisingly good weather for October half term. We've been to Lappa many times before so the boys know pretty much which things they like to do and where to go first. We changed things up a bit this time though with a trip on the diesel engine which runs along a track that goes through forest land with some animal figures hidden in trees and on branches on the route. The day we went the train was held up a few times by 'leaves on the line,' but our driver was very patient and good natured about it and soon got us moving at speed again. Straight afterward we went on the intercity train that does two loops of the park and we spotted a shark in the pond !! Blue Bear did point out to me that I shouldn't be scared as it wasn't real.

As well as the trains there is a massive play area at Lappa Valley with practically a life size pirate ship and the best castle and pipe slide I think I've ever seen. The boys love it there and even on poor weather days they are happy to run around and play on this for ages. It's a great place to run off a lot of excess energy and with a cafe serving cornish cream teas and ice cream you can quite easily let them do their thing while enjoying the break. Well until the inevitable, "Muuuuuum, he pushed me," shatters the momentary peace that is.

For half term Lappa are celebrating Halloweek with spooky trains and plenty of themed events to celebrate Alongside all of the regular great attractions will two Spooks trails, one for Little Monsters (3-5 years) and for Big Beasts (6 years plus), children’s Halloween quiz, spooky colouring and a prize for everyone who comes in fancy dress! All of our activities are very family friendly and suitable for young children.  Best of all, all additional activities are included in the standard ticket price and it's such good value for what is always a great day out for us.

Lappa valley opens at 10am and Halloweek runs until 29th October.

I've been visiting the Eden Project since 2000 when it first opened and love it so much. In the years since my first visit I've seen the site grow and change and now I have children I also enjoy sharing it with them. Last week we booked a rainforest trek and Brown Bear and I walked for 45 minutes with our knowledgable guide Adam. We learned so many interesting facts about the rainforest and Brown Bear was fascinated and asked lots of questions. This is the longest he's spent in the rainforest biome as he's always found it too hot before, but the added interest of learning about the plants and ecosystem kept his mind off the heat.

Every time we go to Eden we have a few traditions. Hubbie goes to the Pukka tea tasting (and often has a pasty too), I get to have a cup of tea and a slab of delicious cake and the boys have delicious Cornish ice cream. One of our favourite things is storytime as the storytellers are amazing and really capture the magic and intensity of the spoken word. That's why I am so excited that Eden are hosting the first ever Halloweden event to celebrate half term. The Roald Dahl themed week of activities includes some of the best loved stories brought vividly to life in this brilliant setting. You can find a giant sleeping in the grounds, learn how to spot a witch and of course there is the Little Monsters Halloweden ball and disco on Saturday 28th October to celebrate the end of half term.

The ice rink is now open for the winter season and we have been a few times. There is an additional charge for ice skating and it's a good idea to pre-book as it can get busy. On the day we went the toddler session was about to begin and it's a non skating session for under 5s to encourage them to play safely on the ice. We asked Blue Bear if he fancied it, but he was adamant he didn't want to go. Maybe next time.

The Eden Project is open from 9.30-6pm and Halloweden is running until 29th October.

Disclosure: The lovely folks at the Eden Project offered us a family ticket to visit. 

I think I need a holiday !!

We've just spent a week on holiday with the boys in gorgeous Cornwall. We spent days out and about and even had some lovely weather to enjoy the beach. Hubbie and I are zonked out and in need of a period of recovery and - if I'm honest - some child free time. Except now I'm home with them for 2 months. Yeah 2 whole months with them at home with me and no respite. The exhaustion of being with two belligerant and argumentative boys hasn't quite worn off yet so I won't bore you with details. Instead I'll give you a whistle stop tour of the holiday snaps. Enjoy :)

It was Blue Bear's first visit to Peppa Pig World - he loved it !

Camper Van fun to start the holiday

We always visit Lappa Valley - it's a brilliant day out for the boys (and Hubbie loves it too)

Ruby the steam engine 

The boys wanted to play crazy golf with Daddy - with varying degrees of success 

Blue Bear putting

Brown Bear playing seriously

On a particularly sunny afternoon we decided to go to the beach - great fun 

Beach Boys

Me and Brown Bear tried out surfing for the first time - it was awesome !

Polzeath Beach 

Jiggles the Bear and Woof Woof the Dog enjoyed relaxing at the beachside cafe during lunch

Jiggles and Woof Woof chilling out 

Pizza after surfing was fabulous !!

Veggie and delicious ! 

Brown Bear went for a lovely walk with Stanley the dog - it was so sweet

Stanley and Brown Bear taking the coastal road to Tintagel 

The search for the camper van is now on - we found a few to be going on with

Campervans to end the holiday too

Christmas at Coombe Mill: Part one

After our summer holiday in Cornwall we were so taken with Coombe Mill that even while we were still here we were talking about when we'd come back. As we knew our boy was starting school in September that ruled out certain dates. However, Fiona (the amazing farmer's wife and brainchild behind #countrykids) mentioned that Coombe Mill is open at Christmas. Seed planted we went home and the more we thought about it the more it seemed the perfect decision for us. 

So, on Thursday we arrived here at lunchtime and it was like we'd never left. The weather is a little cooler, admittedly a lot cooler, but it's still located in a beautiful valley with the sound of the River Camel flowing just outside the door. We have a larger holiday home this time and our boy has a whole play room upstairs that he's loving. 

Santa Express 

Choo choo ! 

Keen to make the most of our time here Hubbie suggested a trip to Lappa Valley railway which was such a hit in the Summer. It is somewhat different in the winter with Zebedee transformed into the Santa Express train. We went to see Father Christmas and the boys rode the express train a few times while I stood taking in the sunshine. Yep, sunshine in December. 

farm helpers 

The following morning it was our first feed run of the holiday and the boys were all prepared for the weather with wellies and suitable attire. The advantage of being early arrivals is that the boy had little competition in the race to drive the tractor with Farmer Nick. This is one of his favourite things about being here - a close second to the railway that runs every afternoon driven by Guy (the farmer's son) at the helm. The train has also undergone a seasonal makeover and is now a glittering festive feast for the senses. 

Today we went to Padstow for a fish and chip lunch - well one of us had dinosaurs and chips, but I'll let you guess who that was (clue: not me).  We even found a playground for the boy to let off steam and he had a great time. It wasn't the warmest day, but we did get some lovely lunch, bought some fudge and even did some pasty research. Hubbie is on the search for the ultimate Cornish Pasty and the place he is convinced does them was closed today. The search continues ! 

Tomorrow it's the Eden Project where we will meet Father Christmas then we're going ice skating. I'm so excited ! 

This post is the first in a series and is featured as part of the #countrykids linky hosted by the lovely Fiona of Coombe Mill 

  

The really great outdoors

As promised last week here is the second part of my post from our holiday at Coombe Mill  the home of Fiona - the lovely host of the Country Kids linky - and her fab family.

My boy had such a great time taking part in all the activities on the farm and we had glorious weather so we spent a lot of time outdoors every day and explored the areas nearby too. He took to being a farm helper really well and was very careful handling the animals and would greet all of them with a cheery hello and a wave. His favourite job by far, though, was when he helped drive the tractor !

Just doing preliminary tractor checks with Daddy

At the Eden Project he took the land train down with Daddy as it is a bit of a trek for small legs and it was a hot day. As a result he was a bit hot and bothered in the rainforest biome, but after a snack stop for a delicious cake and a drink he enjoyed walking along the sunflowers and listened to a lovely story which they do at regular intervals for small children. We tried to guess all the recycled objects that made up the weee man - he spotted quite a few fans and we found washing machines, computer paraphernalia and various vacuum cleaners, then I took our boy back on the land train.

walking among the sunflowers

One of the best days out was at Lappa Valley which has three trains a mini golf course and a small boating lake - as Miranda's mum would say "Such fun !" We spent all day there and honestly our boy was reluctant to come home. It is a hidden gem really and lovely Fiona called ahead for us from Coombe Mill so that we got an offer on the entry price too.

Here comes the choo-choo 

We even managed a day at the beach and went to Rock where I indulged my new obsession with Cornish slate and collected pieces of it to bring home to make a garden feature. I have no idea what the feature will be, but I'm sure inspiration will strike. The boys had lots of fun making sandcastles, burying each other in the sand and running in and out of the water. I have a loathing of sand that meant I spent more time shaking the towels to get sand off them than anything else, but I did also pick up some lovely chunks of slate too.

Serious construction work going on here 

The great thing about having good weather is that our boy was able to play outside all day and even into the evenings. He climbed things, ran around and generally wore himself out. Here he is scaling the walls of a play castle to get some rope climbing practice - that was harder than he's making it look !

And heeeave !!

So in conclusion we had a fantastic time at Coombe Mill and will definitely be back. The weather may have given us a rose tinted experience, but even on our last day where it was rainy the boy had great fun playing in the indoor soft play barn with his new friends. 

I look forward to making Coombe Mill a regular family holiday :) 

This post is part of the lovely #countrykids linky hosted by the fab Fiona of Coombe Mill