I normally like to do a diary-style write-up when we go away, keeping notes each day which I then match up with photos. But it turns out that we had such a busy time in Cornwall that I didn't get a chance to just sit and relax in the evenings to do my little write-ups. Nor did I get time to read the book or e-book I had prepared especially for my break, nor play the travel backgammon we had taken along. We did manage one round of Uno with the kids but the rest of the time it was busy, busy, busy, without time for Miss T's bedtime story either.
On Friday 22nd July, we decided to set off super early so we set our alarms for 4am and were ready to head off by 5am. The early start paid off as we missed the worst of the traffic that had been predicted for the weekend.
On
a very clear run Cornwall is 5 to 6 hours away from us but we always
allow for a longer journey in case the traffic builds up. We saw a couple of overturned
trucks on the way but missed the worst of the traffic that would build
up later in the day.
We
passed Stonehenge just before 7am and then stopped for breakfast when we reached the services on the M5. After breakfast we entered Cornwall at 10.46am
We knew we couldn't check in until 4pm so we decided to visit a National Trust place en route. Having spotted signs for Cotehele (pronounced "coat-heel") we started to make our way there when we spotted signs for a maize maze.
Just days before, we had been telling the kids about Maize mazes and so took a detour and followed the signs to the Maize maze down some very narrow lanes. Once we reached it, we realised that it was aimed mainly at younger children although I'm sure the maize itself would be fun for any age. We got out the car to stretch our legs, say hello to the donkey and then carried on to Cotehele.
There were some lovely grounds and beautiful gardens to explore. We didn't go into the house but instead enjoyed lunch outside the cafe.
Once it was nearing check-in time, we set off again towards Millendreath beach resort near Looe, where we were going to be staying. We arrived about 15 minutes early and the housekeeping team were still busy cleaning the accomodation but at 4 o'clock it was ready for us as planned.
The accomodation smelled reassuringly clean. We've had to be extra covid-cautious due to vulnerable family members so we appreciated the no-contact check-in too.
There were two bedrooms, one with a double bed and one with bunk beds. It is designed to sleep 4 but they'd kindly agreed that we could borrow a z-bed so that all 5 of us would be able to stay there. We set up the z-bed in the living area for D as he's the one who usually gets to bed the latest at the moment.
I was also excited to see a sign for a laundrette on-site. However, we never did get to the bottom of how to use the launderette (I think it is a case of booking a time with housekeeping and making the payment but by the time we did that, it was Sunday and the launderette was closed on Sundays but it is handy to know that there is a laundrette on site for future reference).
There was a big airer in the accomodation which is always a plus for hanging out any wet swimsuits or beach towels or for handwashing items of clothing and having somewhere to dry them. The other big plus-point for me (I think more places should do this one simple thing, but it really seems a rarity) was that there were hooks for hanging coats.
It made such a difference having a dedicated place for coats rather than them taking up precious cupboard space or hanging over chairs or sofas.
We felt very lucky to have one of the nearest accomodations to the beach. We were in no 5 and from the outdoor terrace, we had an amazing view of the beach.
Having arrived on such a sunny day, the beach seemed fairly busy and the kayaking and watersports hut was open (it would remain closed with rougher weather for the rest of our stay). We found the beach cafe where we ordered takeaway pizzas to eat in our accomodation for dinner. We even managed a little visit onto the beach, too, to look at the rockpools whilst the tide was out.
Saturday 23rd July
It was another early-ish start today as J is really into doing parkrun and he didn't want to miss the opportunity to do one in Cornwall. The nearest one was about 40 minutes drive away at Lanhydrock - another beautiful National Trust property in Cornwall. We remembered Lanhydrock well from a previous trip to Cornwall back in 2012 when Miss T was just a baby and the boys were a lot younger.
Daddy and J did the parkrun (2nd most hilly in the UK it turns out) and I chatted with another family who also had a keen bean runner who had travelled about 5 hours to Cornwall too (not specifically to do parkrun but their son had wanted to do the Lanhydrock parkrun whilst they were there).
The weather began to drizzle and then rain so we sat in the car whilst deciding whether to spend some time at Lanhydrock once it opened or to head off somewhere else. By the time J and daddy had changed into spare (non-sweaty) clothes, the weather was looking better and it was nearing lunchtime so we decided to grab lunch at the cafe there.
It felt a little stressful eating indoors and having to take our masks off as we'd made sure we'd eaten outdoors the day before but thankfully the doors were open so it was well ventilated.
Then we went for a look around the beautiful grounds of Lanhydrock house where we met a very friendly baby robin!
Stopped at Aldi on the way back to grab some food for breakfast and meals the next day. Also witnessed something I found amusing when the lady in front of us at the checkout needed to run back into the store for something urgent she'd forgotten and emerged with a bottle of vodka. D nodded his head about her return and mumbled "valid". Might have been one of those things you needed to be there for but it did give me a giggle.
Dinner was leftover pizza from the night before supplemented with some frozen peas to make sure we got some veggies in us.
The evening called for another beach visit to look at the baby crabs and skim a few pebbles.
Sunday 24th July
Today was our last full day staying at Millendreath so we decided to get a closer look at some of the beautiful coastline in the area. We drove to a National Trust car park where we could access a coastal path and enjoy stunning scenery.
We headed back to our accomodation for a late lunch where I cooked a simple meal of pasta, meatballs and peas.
Then for the evening we drove into Looe to see the harbour (and lots of jellyfish in the harbour!) We grabbed some sandwiches for our journey the next day and some takeaway chips to have with our pasta dinner leftovers.
The sky was a beautiful pink at sunset.
We packed ready to check-out by 10am the next day.
I'd been struggling to sleep away from home even though the bed was thankfully very lovely and firm and comfy for my back. So on the last night, we slept with the window open and I could hear the sea all night which I found so soothing and comforting to listen to.
That was the end of our time at Millendreath beach resort - such a wonderful location - so close to the beach!
