Crossing three counties and then into Wales: Arriving at St David's Hotel and Spa, Cardiff Bay.

We seem to have totally lost track of days of the week with all the travelling we've been doing. Despite today being filled with a huge long journey spanning three counties before crossing the Severn bridge into Wales, we still seem to have crammed loads in and there seems to be lots to write up.

We set off from Tregenna castle, St Ives around 9.30am. D felt car sick almost straight away (and I really felt sympathetic towards him after my bout of sea sickness yesterday!). Miss T had woken up extremely early in the morning so she dozed for a while which made the long journey more manageable for her.

We pushed on up the M5 but needed a break after 3 hours of driving before getting to Wales. We stopped at Clevedon which was really close to the motorway, so wouldn't be too much of a detour, and was a seaside town which is always good.

It didn't seem a particularly big place and the coastline was mainly mud flats. The kids had a run and a stretch along the seafront before crossing the road to Tiffin, a lovely cafe and tea rooms situated right opposite the sea.

We had tasty beef, with mash and veg (they'd even cooked the cabbage to perfection - not mushy at all). D had bangers and mash made with good quality sausages. And J had a fish finger sandwich but not the usual fish fingers that come to mind - these were again good quality, most probably home made, fish fingers.  Service was speedy and efficient. We were delighted with our lovely lunch there and would thoroughly recommend Tiffin

After a quick phonecall to granny (Miss T misses granny and grandad tremendously if she doesn't see them for more than a day or two), we jumped back in the car for the last hour or so of our journey to Cardiff.

After visiting Cardiff in 2011 on a spontaneous outing whilst homeschooling (that's the beauty of homeschooling - you're not tied into when you can and can't go on holiday), I knew I wanted to come back.

It is just such a great city (apart from the rain we seem to have each time we visit). Last time we had stayed in the Novotel hotel just minutes from the city centre. This time we were booked into St David's Hotel and Spa in the Cardiff Bay Area.

We had visited Cardiff Bay when we came in 2011 and it seems to really be on the map now with lots more shops, hotels and places to eat.

St David's Hotel and Spa is situated really close to Mermaid Quay. There are stunning views across the harbour from our rooms. We had two separate rooms on the fourth floor and both had spectacular views. Each room also had a small balcony area too.

If Fowey hall spelled out luxury for the family friendly end of the spectrum, St David's hotel and spa is synonymous with luxury on the corporate / business end of the spectrum. I found myself really admiring the architecture of the place.

The rooms are spacious, clean and very luxurious with The White Company toiletries in the luxury bathrooms.

Like Fowey hall, there are also robes in the bedrooms.

The Spa had been voted Wales best spa in 2012 and we could totally understand why that is. You can borrow a robe and slippers in the spa area. It is all immaculately clean. The swimming pool has crystal clear water.

There are just two time slots each day when children are permitted in the pool. We got there in time for the 5-6pm slot. We were so glad to have made it to the pool for a swim after being cooped up in the car for most the day.

Our day was still not over. We'd arrived to a bustling Cardiff Bay with the Extreme sailing event taking place over this weekend. We took an evening stroll around the area, making sure we could find our way to the Doctor Who experience which we are hoping to visit tomorrow.

By the time we were headed back to the hotel it was early 8pm and we needed to get Miss T some dinner quickly so that we could get her to bed.

Mania coffee shop was just what we needed - open til late and with a fabulous selection of sandwiches, paninis and baguettes. Amazing hot chocolate, fruit smoothies, and cakes too!

Prices seemed very reasonable compared with other similar coffee shops and we were very impressed with the quality.

Much to the excitement of the boys we spotted a bat flying around just outside the hotel. Then it was bedtime. Night night.

Written up on Sunday 24th August 2014 (This was Day 6 of our road trip). Find out more about our road trip here.