As I’ve mentioned quite a few times on here, I’d been really looking forward to our holiday at Coombe Mill Farm in Cornwall – well, now we are now back, I’ve finaly had time to write about it and I’m very pleased to report that it more than lived up to our expectations!
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| Somewhat cuddlier than my normal fellow (London commuter) travellers |
We went there at the same time last year and loved it but if anything I think this year was better. For a still wobbly 18 month old it’s a fun place to cuddle bunnies and ride on a tractor. For an up and running two and a half year old it’s a place of magic and wonder. Coombe Mill lies at the bottom of a steep sided valley and as we descended into it, and the mobile phone signal shrugged and then vanished. It really did feel a world away from anywhere, especially South London. E was instantly desperate to explore and before poor Fred had even got all the bags into our lodge she was leading me across the grass and down to the little wooden bridge over the river. On the other side we found chickens! Oh the excitement! Oh the amazing need-to-do-a-chicken-impression right now excitement! Win.
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| Breakfast so fresh that some of it’s still warm! |
On our last visit we did lots of trips to attractions elsewhere in Cornwall, but this year, with a thick sea fog clinging to the coast and so much E was excited about on the farm (plus sunshine) we mostly stayed put. In the mornings we hopped on board the tractor, along with two little lambs (three by the end of the week), and fed all the animals. E’s favourite was Dotty the pig, who would always come wallowing out of her little house to see us (well to see if we’d brought her any scraps) E took this as an instant sign of eternal devotion (“I love Dotty, Dotty’s my friend”) and the huge sow was thankfully completely unfazed by my daughter stroking and chatting to her as she chowed down on our used tea bags. With the animals fed and multicoloured eggs collected for the next days breakfast, we could then head up the valley to the local pub for lunch. After a good nap (not necessarily just for E) afternoons were spent visiting all the animals again, exploring old trees dripping with moss and lichen, playing on one of the outdoor play areas or clambering about in the little soft play barn. Here the favourite game was rolling a giant red disc along and leaping out of the way Indiana Jones style.
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| E’s new best friend, Dotty |
We did occasionally tear ourselves away. We celebrated our wedding anniversary with fish and chips in Padstein and had a lovely morning with a friend in Bude. My daughter threw herself flat on the sand, hers burrowed in then tried to eat it. Approximately 500 baby-wipes later we went to a local cafe and promptly covered it in cake crumbs and peas (causing several unusually sour faced pensioners to leave the premises).
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| Eagerly awaiting out fish and Chips in Padstow |
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| Look out!!! E’s driving the tractor!!! |
Towards the end of the week we were starting to worry that E would be really upset when we had to go home, but fortunately the promise of visiting Granny and Grandad en-route cheered her right up and having said a last goodbye to Dotty (and the fake crocodile in the lake), we put the car in second, and then first and headed back up the valley to a chorus of beeps from our neglected smart phones. Oh, hello again world.
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| Not just farm animals…. |
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One response to “Escape to the Country”
What a lovely write up. Delighted you all had a great time again. Our 3 orphan lambs have been joined by a 4th this week. All on our blog now. Thank you so much for sharing your holiday with us
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