So we didn’t just stay at Coombe Mill during our week long trip to Cornwall last week – we occasionally dragged the children away from the bunnies and the trampoline!  As usual on holiday, we were drawn to the coast, so we started at nearby Polzeath beach.  The weather was a bit grey and windy, but that made it all look rather dramatic – and provided a lot of surfing action to watch!

The children immediately set to clambering up the rocks which had a really striking purple and green striped pattern! Here’s Alex on his way up:

Not to be outdone by her big brother, Sophie was soon in hot pursuit – given she’s only two, she’s very confident at climbing. I hope she stays fearless!

When we got a bit too chilly, we headed into a lovely cafe for a massive lunch before driving around the coast to Padstow to explore the beautiful harbour.  We couldn’t resist ice cream!

We had much better weather for our second beach excursion, this time to Daymer Bay.  With it being term-time, the beach was practically deserted – I can’t imagine how manic it must be during the school holidays.  The tide was far out, so we spent ages roaming around on the sands, seeking more rocks to scramble on and checking out every rockpool we passed.  It was stunning – and felt truly wonderful getting some sun and some sea air.

Equipped with buckets and spades, the children had a blast – collecting shells and seaweed and as much water as they could carry.

Matt snuck to the little beach shop to finally get the children a kite – I can’t believe we’ve not really done any kite flying with them! Daymer was the perfect place to get some practice – there was loads of space and a perfect amount of wind.  The children absolutely loved it.

Alex did a really good job controlling the kite, and Sophie was expert at collecting it when it crashed into the sand!

I’d been a bit useless and not made a picnic – but thankfully there was a little cafe in the carpark which did toasties and pasties.  The day was really warming up, so Alex and Sophie finally got to model their holiday hats and shades that they had so carefully chosen!  They look so daft – love it!

With it much warmer after lunch, the kids stripped off and finally got to feel the sand in their toes! Alex, in his usual super confident way, immediately made friends with a girl who had a very similar, wacky imagination to him.  She introduced herself as “Super Sparkle” and Alex decided he was “Super Spiderman” – and the pair proceeded to have an amazing time inventing elaborate rescue scenarios!  It was so funny to watch!

Meanwhile Sophie pottered around in the sand and Matt and I enjoyed sunning ourselves and enjoying some peace.  It’s brilliant being at the point where the kids can entertain themselves for a while – and I love watching their independence grow!

We closed our week in Cornwall with one final foray to the sea.  Feeling energetic, we hired bikes and cycled along some of the Camel Trail into Padstow.  Following a disused railway track, it’s lovely cycling – relatively flat, well surfaced and with excellent views.  Coming into Padstow was beautiful – even if the weather was a bit grey.  Alex rode on a bike with me, helping me up the hills brilliantly!

Meanwhile, Sophie rode on Matt’s bike – even managing to fall asleep on the way back.  I did feel bad for her seeing her hed lolling around! It can’t have been very restful.

Locking our bikes up safely, we spent a bit more time enjoying Padstow on this visit.  The children liked looking at the boats in the harbour and laughing at the cheeky, confident seagulls (some of whom were brazenly stole food out of our hands while we were eating)

We popped into the National Lobster Hatchery (who knew?!) and spent ages exploring the place – it became a real highlight of the week for the kids.  They just couldn’t get enough of looking at the lobsters, a couple of whom were behind magnifying glass to make them look enormous!  They had great names like “Elsa” and “Jaffa”!  We all enjoyed looking at the tiny babies and the mummy lobsters in the maternity ward.  And Alex was brave enough to hold a full lobster shell!

We enjoyed it so much, we popped in on our way back to the bikes to bid Elsa and her buddies goodbye!

Of course, while we were in Padstow, we had to have some Rick Stein fish and chips.  We played it safe, not being brave enough to take our rowdy pair into a smart restaurant, so got takeaway from the little fish and chip shop – we were not disappointed.  It really was excellent – and relaxing on benches overlooking the harbour – made for a lovely end to our Cornish week.