WE DID IT!

So we did it, against all the odds; the Cornish winter weather, late concrete, changing foundations and much more, yesterday we opened for the 2015 season.  We welcomed in the Devon and Cornwall Caravan Centre in for their annual Easter Rally.

I would be fibbing if I said it has been plain sailing and I can assure you there have been many late nights wondering how on earth we were going to ready for the Rally who have the whole park booked out - but we did it.  It was really down to the wire though.  I booted out the plumbers from the family bathroom at 4pm yesterday giving me enough time to give it a good clean.  The ladies look amazing, and as I said in the last blog are a dream to clean.  For the purposes of this rally the men are using the family bathroom and disabled bathroom as the gents is not ready for them.  I am so proud of the family bathroom.  As a family run park we love children and now we have a family bathroom I would happily enjoy a good bath time in.  There is a lovely bath for little people to have a good splash about in - I must get some bubble bath for the shop!

Talking of the shop it is now fully stocked.  In fact this morning I had to sample the pan au chocolates - purely for customer research - we would not want to serve sub quality things!  Fresh from the local bakers they were as yummy as ever.  I have extended our shop range this year, with a selection of baby food and snacks, dog food and a wide selection of cereals, plus all the usual things we have.  Obviously the ice cream is well stocked and again I will sample that for you soon!

Practice Run

the moment your little sister tries to take your donut!

Every season you have movements that you will remember for getting a bit more emotional than you should.  Today I had a tear in my eye as I cleaned the sign, ready to welcome guests tomorrow.  I don't know why but I got a stomach full of butterflies anticipating the season in front of us, the park is starting to come to life and that is what it is all about for us.  We are fully booked out to the Devon and Cornwall Caravan Club for their Easter Rally.  This is the second Easter we have welcomed them.  It is a 'soft ' opening for ten days for the club, after which we will close again to complete the works on the park.

Today I have been cleaning the new ladies facilities and my what a building it is.  There are seven toilets, three toilet and sink units and 7 showers.  Anyone who has visited us before might know that our old facilities were a cleaning challenge with lots of glass - however the new building is a dream to clean.  We are so proud of it and hope you like it too.  Tomorrow sees the family and disabled toilets handed over to us from the builders so we can crack on and clean them.  The dish washing area is now complete too, in fact I have been utilizing the hot water today for my buckets of water.

The men's facilities now have roof lights, a drying floor, all pipes and electrics in and are ready for the builders to finish after Easter.  So, as you can imagine we are exhausted, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel almost now.

This week I have also had an old school friend staying with us and we have been on some great adventures.  My favourite outing saw us start with breakfast at Gylly's Beach Cafe in Falmouth.  The lovely, bustling cafe is on the edge of the town and had great views and a fantastic atmosphere.  We had a lovely Cornish Breakfast which included the traditional Hogs Pudding.  The cakes caught our eye and we followed up breakfast with a donut chaser!  Oh. My. Word.  The donuts were the best we have ever eaten.  Cooked fresh at the cafe each day they were amazing.  

After breakfast we walked around the grounds of Pendennis Castle.  It was a beautiful walk with breathtaking views in all directions.  We followed this with a stroll around the delightful town of Falmouth and invested in a large quantity of fudge (because we had not eaten enough!).  We then took the King Harry Ferry to St Mawes and visited St Mawes Castle, followed by a fantastic drive around the Roseland, arriving just in time for afternoon tea at The Lost Gardens of Heligan.  En route we tried to go via Portholland but couldn't as the small village is currently being transformed for the filming of a Hollywood movie.  After much investigation we now know they are building a whole new village in the small village car park and transforming many of the existing buildings.  It was so interesting and very exciting!

Even the kitchen sink is having an overhaul!

the ladies...nearly done!

Work is progressing at a sprinters pace at the moment.  The toilet block has really started to take shape over the last ten days with the installation of the cubicles.  We are hoping tomorrow the shower cubicles will go into the ladies, then it is final push to get in the toilet roll holders, mirrors up and a big clean next week of the ladies.

The family and disabled bathrooms are having the walls and floors put in today and then they will be fitted out early next week.  We have also seen the installation of roof lights, the sinks being plumbed into the dish washing area, the outside tap for  dog/bike washing going in place and a final push on plumbing.

The men's toilet block is coming on nicely, the quick drying solid floor was finished off today, so we can start getting the toilets in there soon.

This year we have decided to welcome the Devon and Cornwall Caravan Club Rally in for the Easter period, but then officially open on the 1st May once we have finished off the Winter improvements.  So the rally are coming in next week knowing that they will have use of limited facilities.  This rally group joined us twice last season so we are really pleased to welcome them back this year.

dish washing area

men's flooring

As well as the toilet block there is of course the rest of the park to get ready.  I have been in stocking the shop today, I am very excited about our new bread baskets (it's the simple things that make me happy).  This year we will stocking all the usual's plus dog food, baby food, camping essentials and much more.  I have also been sorting out the back office - as a family we have a room in our reception building which we use when we are on the park with children.  It has become a bit of a store room, however it is now getting a make over with a table for us to have our tea at, a television and a toy corner for the girls.

This week we have had glorious weather, the sun is really warm - in fact I even got sun burnt yesterday sitting in the garden.  We ventured to Cardinham Woods this week.  It is a really lovely spot for both families with young and older children and dog walkers.  There are a series of trails varying in length - we always do the Lady Vale walk as it is short and doable for toddler legs.  The worm trail keeps them entertained too.  There is a lovely natural play area and a beautiful cafe called Woods Cafe which offers yummy homemade cakes.  I am very excited about the woods as we have just signed up to the new Forest School running there - keep an eye out for one of events in the holidays run by the brilliant Claire.  We completed a term at a different venue before Christmas and the girls loved it so we cant wait to start again in April.

Hidden Gem

the new hand basins

Sorry the blog is a few days late this week, it was my birthday and my parents have been visiting so we have been pretty busy both at home and at work.

Every so often we have a week when a mammoth amount get done at the park - this week has been one of those.  Perhaps the most exciting development is the installation of the vanity units, which look lovely.  The dish washing area has been paved, we have ceilings and floors being laid over the weekend in the family and disabled bathroom and the first of five new sinks for the dish washing area have arrived.  It feels like the end is in sight for the ladies facilities and we are very close with the family and disabled rooms too.

Views from Coast Guard Hut

I have had the glamorous job this week of sorting out the cleaning products ready to get to work on the ladies and to fill the new cleaning cupboard - not my favourite job but it had to be done.  I also had a tidy up of the reception and turned my attentions to thinking about restocking the shop.  On special this week we have 6 hand basins - free to a good home - please contact us if you would like them.

This week we have had mixed weather, but having been inspired by Poldark we headed down to Charlestown today to have a look at the tall ships and step back in time - the opening titles of the BBC drama feature Charlestown.  It was truly beautiful coupled with a rather yummy meal with the girls and my parents in The Rashleigh.  The old brewery pub has a refreshing renovated interior and is both dog and child friendly - well worth a visit.

Coast Guard Hut

Rock pooling with Nana

Lunch was followed by real life rock pooling.  In my last blog I mentioned how we had got a net for Jess but no rock pools, which was such bad planning on our part.  You can't buy a toy and then not let the 2 1/2 year old play with it so I have had a make shift rock pool in my lounge.  It has been driving me mad.  Today we headed to Porthpean to let her loose, having noted that the tide was on the way out.  It turns out rock pooling is not one of our strong points.  We caught one dead crab.  Hopefully we will get better over time.

We had a magical cup of tea near Caerhays Beach earlier in the week.  Having driven down there last week with sleeping children I took my parents to the Coast Guard Hut above Caerhays.  The roof of the small hut is barely visible from the road,  the enclosed garden and stunning views make it one of my favourite places in the world, and that is a bold claim.  It is a real secret gem and so child friendly as the small hut has a fence all the way around it.  For a more energetic experience you can take the coastal path down towards Portholland.  The views are worth the short walk to the pretty yet tiny Cornish village.

The sun has got his hat on hip, hip, hip hooray

Finally, the weather feels like it is on the turn and with the promise of a heatwave for Easter we certainly have a spring in our step.   Today the rarest of things happened - our two girls feel asleep at the same time in the same location (the car!).  We were actually on our way to see Richard - when the park is shut it is a great place for Jessica to practice her bike.  However playgroup this morning took its toll so I thought I would take a little drive.  About 10 minutes from Little Winnick is the exceptionally beautiful cove of Caerhays Beach - officially known as Porthluney Cove.   With the sun shining and the blue skies it was like a tonic refreshing the soul.    There is something about the beach at this time of the year when the skies are blue and the air is turning warmer.  It was stunning.  It is a great beach to visit either just to sit in the car and enjoy the view or for a day out with children and/or dogs.  With the castle behind you it is hard not to be transported to some magical place.

This weekend we had a proper Cornish weekend.  Saturday we visited The Eden Project for the Pasty World Championships.  A slightly surreal experience, with strange pasty creations, along with the very, very serious entrants, bands, musicians and crafts for the children - it was a lovely atmosphere.  Ironically we did not have a pasty -  we took a picnic, which given the amazing smells wafting around was hard to eat.



Sunday, after a walk around Little Winnick we headed to Mevagissey.  It is nice to walk around the site and take in the work when it is quiet.  After visiting Porthpean a few weeks ago, Jess has been hankering after a net for rock pooling.  So we took her for a treat.  Of course we should have thought it through, you cannot just buy a net for a 2 1/2 year old - they then want to use it.  With the tide in we were unable to find anywhere that would not risk drowning so, we now have a paddling pool with balls and a selection of toy fish to catch in the lounge!  The sooner we can go real rock pooling the better.

We also popped into The Polgooth Inn for a Sunday Lunch.  It was lovely.  Very child friendly, quick service with great food too - well worth a visit.

As for the work on the park this week it has been lots of little jobs, getting ready for the bigger jobs!  So yet more pipe work, plastering, insulation, fascias, landscaping and detailing to the roof.  This week will see us choose the cladding for the building, order various fittings for the family and disabled bathrooms, check and order missing signs around the park and maybe even a spot of painting.