Pulling the plug after a long season

We pulled the plug for the final time on Monday of the newer toilet block and today I can officially announce it is no more. (it took a while to come up with that headline!) The digger, which is amazing to watch as it picks away at the building like a hand, got to work on Monday removing the building and today the final wall came down.  It was a frustrating job as the walls were lined with insulation so each wall had to be separated and certain bits removed.  Whilst the digger has been outside the builders and a few of our family have been working hard on the inside of what was formerly known as the old block knocking down all the walls to make way for a full reconstruction.  Currently reception is like a bathroom show room - if you would like one of 7 toilets and hand basins please do get in contact with us.

Excitedly watching the digger

inside old ladies block

It is exciting to see work happening so quickly, we are already making decisions about finishes and fittings to ensure that we have excellent quality and highly practical facilities.

So, please don't be thinking we are having a nice rest now.  No, officially we are still open for a few more days, despite the lack of facilities there are a brave few on site too.  Richard is coming home each night looking frazelled as the scale of the project becomes clear along with the number of major decisions that are needed each day.  And as for me - my soft little hands have nearly recovered now after planting up over 1000 bulbs over the weekend - hopefully they will be out in full glory when we open in March.

The smell of bacon...

Most mornings as we walk around the park, no matter what time of year it is you get a whiff of bacon and sausages cooking.  It is hard when all you have had is cornflakes.  Today we created our own 'whiff' - we set the stove up on the benches outside reception, invited a friend or two and then created a breakfast feast of sausage, egg and bacon roll with a side of brown sauce and a mug of coffee...can a morning get much better?  Well I suppose if I didn't have to clean the toilets it might be slightly better...but all part of the job.

Talking of cleaning toilets, there are not that many left to clean as we have started gutting the old toilet block ready for the big re-build that is happening through the winter.  On Monday, rather excitingly we are taking down the new block, as the plans see the brick building coming out into this area.  It is an exciting but quite scary time.  Ultimately we are please to be creating toilets that we will be proud of with family and disabled facilities  and nice new toilets and showers.  Obviously there will be lots of updates through the winter about how it is going...just keep everything crossed that the weather is on our side.

The wild flower meadow that we have sown is starting to grow up now - it is about three inches high - I can't wait for this to come into flower, returning the meadow to it's formal glory.

The end of the season is days away now, which brings mixed emotions.  It is nice to have a tiny rest - by rest I mean a weekend where we have two days off in a row, the weeks are physically more demanding than peak season as we are usually out planting, digging, painting or something similar.  It is sad to shut the gates and see everything go into hibernation, but it is also nice for us to explore Cornwall a bit more.  Last night I went out with the girls to The Rashleigh in Charlestown.  My friends have long raved about it and I have questioned what all the fuss was about.  However I agree it is really rather lovely and worth a visit it you are down here.  The food it good quality, well priced and in a lovely atmosphere.  It is also child friendly- although we were well and truly child free :-) .  This week also sees a night out for Richard and I..a first since our family grew so we are looking forward to that.  We are off to the Kingswood which is just up the road from Little Winnick.  We have not been for a few years so we will let you know what it is like.

We hope you have a good weekend where ever you are.

2014 Season Review

I spent most of the 2013/2014 winter giving you updates about the winter battering us in Cornwall, and indeed most of the UK.  It was a wet and windy affair and made our opening season feel like a distant memory.  Now here we are coming towards the end of the 2014 season, it is October and I am in shorts - 2014 really is the longest summer in a very longtime!

The season started early in April, at the same time as we welcomed our second daughter Bethany into the world, adrenaline was what kept us going those first few weeks along with jolly members of first rally of the season.  Rallies have featured throughout the 2014 season, with the final rally booked in a few days time.  With a dedicated rally field where organisers can pitch an entertainment marquee rallies are very well catered for, with many already booking for 2015 and 2016.

Around May the weather turned warm - and so it stayed - with only an odd blip since then.  It has been exceptionally nice, with long evenings and clear skies the majority of time which meant June and July were very, very busy, then from the week before the school holidays we were completely full until early September.  The Indian Summer has then encouraged many people to take to road and turn up without bookings and meant September has been pretty full too.

To all of you who have visited us over 2014, thank you.  We really do appreciate your business and it is a great pleasure to see so many of you returning.  Now many people think on the 31st October we shut the gates and jet off somewhere for the winter.  If only!  No this winter see's the refurbishment of the toilet block.  The newer wooden toilet block will be coming down and the brick block is under going a full refurbishment.  The work will mean we now have a purpose built family and disabled bathrooms along with a new washing up area and laundry room.

We have also been busy over the last few weeks on the bottom field.  The 'wild meadow' has been sown in the bottom two thirds of the field.  Once this has grown we shall be putting in paths for people to enjoy walks around.  The goal posts are also now in this field for our younger guests to enjoy.

When we took over Little Winnick Touring Park in the depths of 2012/2013 winter our aim was to breath life back into the old site; we knew it had potential and had watched it go from a successful popular site to a site hardly used over a number of years.  We also knew it would take a lot of work and some very, very, very long days and summers.  In two seasons I think it is safe to say we are extremely proud of our achievements and thrilled to have put the heart and soul back into a fantastically positioned site. I just had to let someone in through the barrier and I had a little tear in my eye as I looked back across the site and thought about how far we have come and how many happy memories have been made at Little Winnick this summer.

So, in summary.   A blooming good year thanks to you the guests, and the great British weather.  We hope you will come back in 2015 and see us and see how the park and our family has grown.  In the meantime, keep an eye out for blogs over the winter to see how things are progressing here.  And don't forget we are open until the end of the month and 2015 bookings are being taken from 1st November when you can reserve a specific pitch if you wish.

Thanks from us all
Heidi, Richard, Jessica & Bethany x