HOT HOT HOT

It is a scorcher in Cornwall right now just in time for the half term.  We have a lovely busy park with many returning guests and lots of new faces too.  I have been out and about this afternoon getting a few shots whilst the skies are blue and sun is in the sky.

I have not blogged for a few weeks as the girls and I visited my family in Norfolk, leaving Daddy at home here in Cornwall to manage a busy bank holiday weekend.  We missed being by the sea and enjoyed walking around the park today as the trees are out in full bloom, the pitches are filling up and there is not a builder in sight!

Today we ventured up to The Lost Gardens of Heligan.  As regular blog readers will know, we go there a lot with our annual passes, but today was a special treat as they have their 'Wild Week' on.  Each time I think it cannot get any better, yet each time it does.  The activities for the children were brilliant for all ages with face painting, crafts, assault courses and my all time favourite - piglets.  I am now attempting to convince Richard piglets would be a good addition to our ever growing collection of animals...a battle I am certain I will loose.

The shop on the park has had a make over with new flooring making it brighter than before.  The fridge is stocked with bacon & sausages from the local butcher, milk, clotted cream and butter from Trewithen Dairy and last week we saw the addition of freshly picked strawberries from Boddingtons.  The strawberries, grown in Mevagissey are picked in the morning and delivered to us by lunch.  Delicious - and unsurprisingly they sold out very very quick.  Today we also have home made shortbread, rock buns and biscuits in reception.

Luckily with all this food on offer in reception there are lots of brilliant walks locally for all ages, abilities and levels of energy.  Pop into reception to collect a free copy of the 'St Austell Bay, Mevagissey and Fowey Map' which shows local walks and cycle trails.  Below are a few that we can recommend - but do ask us for more advice.

EASY WALK - Take a stroll down to Pentewan, the flat trail is pushchair and wheelchair friendly.  The 30 minute walk through a wooded valley is refreshing and enjoyable, leading you to the small village of Pentewan where you will find a beach (not dog friendly), pub and tea shop.

MODERATE WALK - Take the trail towards St Austell, going past River Valley Holiday Park, follow the footpath signs for a cicrular walk around 'Rose Week' which will bring you back on the trail to return to Little Winnick.  This is a longer walk of about 6 miles, but it takes you through a traditional Cornish hamlet, past some stunning cottages.  Pop into reception for full walk details.

CHALLENGING WALK - for those who really like walking and hills, why not walk down to Pentewan, pick up the coastal path towards Porthpean and follow the walk to Charlestown.  The stunning views are breathtaking and you can reward yourself with a bus ride back to Little Winnick Touring Park.

7 for 5 - why not enjoy a Cornish break with us?

Don't forget we are offering guests 7 nights for the price of 5 on selected dates throughout the year.  That means right now you could stay for a week for as little as £50 - give us a call or visit www.littlewinnick.co.uk to make a booking.

So we are now fully open.  I keep forgetting to bring the camera, but I will endeavor to get some better pictures to update you with.  It is a case of tying up the loose ends on the toilet block project now so we are finishing off cladding this week along with boxing in pipe work, the odd bit of painting and we are awaiting the new signs.  It is so lovely to be able to offer guests great facilities that are purpose built and hopefully cover the needs of everyone staying with us with a family bathroom with a bath and an accessible shower room.

The park is coming to life as more people arrive.  We have had a number of people check in this week who are walking various elements of the South West Coastal Path.  The 630 miles of stunning scenery is well worth exploring - it is on my 'to do list' to walk the whole coastal path.  From Little Winnick you can easily access the path either heading towards Mevagissey or Charlestown.  If you walk the coastal path to Mevagissey you can come back via Heligan making a lovely circular walk.

Tomorrow is our day off so we are heading out with a picnic in search of some bluebells.  Even on the road down here there are some stunning carpets of bluebells if you look to your left jsut before the Cornwall Hotel.  A short walk from Little Winnick is The Kings Wood which boasts stunning carpets of bluebells at this time of year.  A short drive from here you will find Luxulyn Valley - somewhat of a locals secret the magically woods have glimpses of Cornwall's agricultural past litter througout it.  Slightly further a field is Tehidy Woods.  The flat woodland is brilliant to visit if you have a pushchair or wheel chair.

The new toilet block is...

OPEN!

All we can say is a big, fat PHEW!  What a winter it has been;  long, frustrating, exciting and tiring building a huge new toilet block which boasts:

• A purpose built family bathroom with baby changing facilities and bath
• An accessible shower room
• A gents 
• A ladies 
• Laundry facilities
• And a lovely spacious light and airy dish washing area.

None of this would have happened without the amazing project management of Richard.  He will tell me off for saying how hard he has worked, but a lesser man would have given up in the depths of winter and the various hurdles he seemed to glide over.

girls with their work bags

testing the new toddler slide

I can confirm it was right up to the wire today.  At midday the gents looked like a building site with no lights and work still happening on the ceiling.  Then something amazing happened between one and three.  I am not sure what but one minute it was a building site the next it was ready to open.  We still have a few little bits to finish over the next couple of weeks such as the cladding outside and boxing in steels but all toilets, showers and baths are very much functional.  The poor first guest who used the facilities whilst I was still busy cleaning was asked in jest to remove his shoes so not to dirty my clean floor!  This is not a rule we will be enforcing!

Yesterday I had two merry helpers on the park, we started work at 8.30 and somehow our two girls pottered around until gone 5pm.  We went to Little Winnick to re plant the planters outside reception and organise the new toys for reception for guests to borrow.  It is fair to say a lot of toys got moved around before I was allowed to put them in place for our guests.  We now have three boxes- one has a large selection of sports equipment, another has family outdoor games and the other has baby/toddler toys as we know how little space you have in the car when you go away anywhere with children.

the gents

Obviously we made our young apprentices work hard, but at lunchtime they both managed to enjoy a good play on our new toddler tower.  Bethany, who has just turned one and recently started walking took great delight in staggering up the little ramp to find the slide.  We hope other younger guests will enjoy it to.

So, all that is left is to declare the 2015 season well and truly officially OPEN.  We look forward to welcome you to Little Winnick and hope you will enjoy the latest improvements as much as we do.

Heidi, Richard Jessica & Bethany x x