My travel & days out diary

Exploring Crantock Beach and Pentire Headland in Newquay, Cornwall

Published on July 26, 2021 by Victoria5 Comments

Ooh, I’ve found another favourite beach in Cornwall – Crantock Beach!

A beautiful vast beach along the River Gannel and its estuary out to sea. It’s a huge sandy beach which is ginormous when it’s low tide. At high tide the beach separates into two with tall, steep sand dunes taking over and looking so impressive.

We spent a day exploring Crantock Beach with the children and also viewing it from Pentire Headland in the late afternoon.

Crantock beach is managed by National Trust and we were surprised to find a parking space at 10am in the summer holidays and even more surprised at how quiet the beach was.

If you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the central Newquay beaches then Crantock is a must.

Here are my photos for the day exploring Crantock Beach and Pentire Headland.

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Daymer Beach to Brea Beach: coastal path walk with stunning views!

Published on July 18, 2021July 26, 2021 by Victoria4 Comments

I love walking the coastal paths. You get to see the beaches from a different view and whenever we’re in Cornwall, I’m always stunned by how clear, blue and turquoise the seas actually are.

From the beach you simply can’t always tell how incredible the water truly is. Definitely take a walk up the coastal paths when you see them to appreciate the full beauty of the Cornish sea and the stunning coastal views.

Today I walked a short coastal path from Daymer Beach to Brea Beach in Cornwall. Including walking across Daymer beach from their carpark, the walk there and back was around 3km. If you don’t have a lot of things to carry then it was much quieter at Brea Beach and not far at all.

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Visiting The Farm Animal Sanctuary in Evesham

Published on July 15, 2021July 27, 2021 by Victoria4 Comments

On Sunday we visited The Farm Animal Sanctuary in Evesham, Worcestershire UK. We wanted a family day out and Ben thought it would be good for the kids to see some animals somewhere, but we have decided not to continue supporting questionable zoos. Instead I Googled for a nearby animal sanctuary for us to support instead and discovered The Farm Animal Sanctuary. Perfect!

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Camping trip to Lynmouth + Lynton, Exmoor National Park

Published on June 21, 2021July 26, 2021 by Victoria6 Comments

At the weekend we camped for two nights at Lynmouth Holiday Retreat in Exmoor National Park, North Devon. We stayed in our Mazda Bongo campervan and went to see both Lynmouth and Lynton. Here is my travel photo diary so you can see what we got up to and just how beautiful the scenery in Lynton and Lynmouth is.

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Family travel diary: Half term holiday exploring Cornwall’s north coast from The Towans to Fistral beach

Published on June 7, 2021July 30, 2021 by Victoria8 Comments

For half term we were meant to be in the Lake District; a holiday I had been waiting for as Ben, my husband, is from the Lake District and spent the first half of his childhood there, but I am yet to go. However, it was cancelled only two weeks before the summer half term as there was a water leak in the property we were staying in. They were unable to repair all the damage in time for our stay, so refunded us our money.

Panic!

It was only a couple of weeks until the half term and with travel abroad still banned, EVERYONE in the UK was going on holiday to the UK. It was short notice to book somewhere and I was up until the early hours searching for a week away that didn’t cost the Earth!

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Cheddar Gorge family day out + campervan stay at Bucklegrove Campsite

Published on May 26, 2021July 26, 2021 by Victoria6 Comments

On Friday evening we drove to Cheddar in Somerset for camping at Bucklegrove Campsite with the kids. Their first request when lockdown was easing was to go camping! We also went to see Cheddar Gorge for the first time. Neither Ben or I had been before, even though we only live around one and a half hour away. Read on to learn things to do in Cheddar Gorge with kids, see the walk we did in Cheddar with absolutely amazing views and also check out where we ate.

But first, things didn’t really get off to a great start for our camping trip away…

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24 hours kid-free in Wales: Port Eynon, Swansea + Caerleon Amphitheatre

Published on May 4, 2021July 26, 2021 by Victoria1 Comment

We had a kid-free 24 hours over the bank holiday weekend and had planned to paint our block paving driveway, however the weather forecast had patches of rain and we needed a full 24 hours rain-free and warm for the paint to dry. So, not wanting to be stuck at home for a weekend when we had the opportunity to get away, we booked a last minute night away on Airbnb to Swansea to explore more of the wonderful Gower!

The Gower is around two and a half hours drive so it’s not too far for a quick one night stay. It’s also stunning and provides the perfect scenery for long walks, talks, ideas and clearing of the mind – much needed after the year we’ve had. It was great to get away from our home too where we have felt so trapped in recent times.

There were no stays left in Gower, but Swansea had a few choices and I decided to spoil us with one of the best looking. It was our ten year anniversary earlier in the year during lockdown and we couldn’t do anything to celebrate, so this was my excuse!

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3 night family break in Landrake, Cornwall: travel diary + photos

Published on April 19, 2021July 26, 2021 by Victoria3 Comments

On Good Friday I had a quick look on Airbnb to see if there were any holidays available for under £100 per night in Devon for the end of the Easter holidays.

The lockdown restrictions were easing as part of the government roadmap out of lockdown and we were allowed to stay in self contained accommodation from 12th April 2021. Yippee!

Amazingly I found a cottage for just £70 per night in Landrake, Cornwall just next to the border of Devon. It was very lucky as there were only two accommodations available in the entire of Devon and Cornwall for the last weekend of the Easter holidays for under £100 per night.

So we nabbed it!

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Ebworth Estate National Trust Sheepscombe Common Cotswolds

National Trust Ebworth Estate + Sheepscombe Common: a family walk + picnic

Published on April 5, 2021July 26, 2021 by Victoria1 Comment

On Easter Sunday the weather was surprisingly very warm and sunny. After we had been teased with weather forecasts of potential snow and freezing temperatures, we had planned a family day at home watching movies and eating vegan Easter eggs. However, the weather was so warm we decided to pack a picnic for lunch and venture into the countryside. A place we only just found out about, which is surprisingly close to our home, is the National Trust Ebworth Estate with free parking and access to amazing walks through Cotswolds Commons and Beechwoods National Nature Reserve.

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Visiting Painswick Rococo Garden in February

Published on March 11, 2021June 15, 2021 by Victoria2 Comments

At the end of February we went out for a day trip for the first time in what felt like FOREVER.

We have been in lockdown in the UK since the start of January 2021 and we have not been allowed to leave our local area.

It’s the third lockdown we’ve had and this is probably the toughest as it’s been winter. It’s been freezing cold and we’ve been trapped indoors, had a lack of sun, lack of entertainment, no gym to go to for exercise and escapism, no socialising, the kids have been home the whole time climbing the walls whilst we try to work at the same time… it’s been quite crazy and cabin fever has definitely been setting in… and did I mention it’s been freezing cold?!

Even before this year started we were in lockdown in November and even in December (and for most of 2020) we had restrictions on meeting others, meaning we only met up with one household on Christmas Day indoors and that was it.

Life has certainly been very different and travel plans and days out have totally been put on hold, often leaving us feeling like a prisoner in our own home! We both work from home and have been at home more than ever, day in day out, groundhog day everyday for months on end!

It’s now March and we will be allowed to start seeing one other household from the end of the month, then hopefully we can travel again mid-April. The UK will be gradually easing lockdown restrictions, so things won’t be looking normal for quite a while.

But at least the weather will start to improve now, making local walks more enjoyable and appealing for us and the kids. At least if we can get outdoors more often without being freezing we can lift our moods and feel less trapped.

There has literally been no days out or travel for us for months, but we decided to visit Rococo Garden at the end of February which is around 5 miles from our home and as it’s an outdoor attraction it is allowed to be open for local visitors.

It’s the only attraction local to us that we can legally travel to right now and I will share our thoughts on visiting Rococo Garden in February in this blog post and lots of photos too!

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