'tis glorious here today

My oh my what wonderful weather.  It is absolutely stunning here today, very hot with blue skies.  I have just made the mistake of sampling another ice cream.  Today's lesson is not to eat ice cream whilst working in reception as I am now covered in melted ice cream!!  I do have a warm glow about me though having strolled around the site taking some piccies for this; it is wonderful to see so many happy campers, people who didn't know each other at the start of week now having a beer together and hearing children shrek with laughter whizzing down the slide.

We have spent the day wisely cutting the grass whilst the sun is out to help up.  Richard is pictured in charge of the lawn motor - it is a job and a half cutting all the grass here.  Richard has also been busy in charge of the pump which is pumping the water out of the swimming pool.  Sadly too much is needed to be done to open the pool this year however we are currently deep in thought as to what will become of it in the future.

We have started to gear ourselves up for the forthcoming bank holiday - we have a good number of bookings and a number of guests arriving who will be here for a large section of the summer.  We already have two seasonal pitches on site which helps create a really lovely atmosphere as people get to know one another.  Please do contact us if you are thinking about a seasonal pitch.

Too many ice creams to choose from!

Hello!

Things are going well here - we have had a steady flow of guests; both those who have booked in advance and people off the road.  It is so lovely to finally be sharing all our hard work with people!  Still, no rest for the wicked, we have had the tree surgeons back on site today pruning more trees and are already turning our thoughts to future improvements in the close season.

We have also had a lot of interest from rallies.  We are very fortunate to have a large rally field which is separate from the rest of the site.  Accommodating up to 40 pitches we have already booked in people for this season and there us lots of interest for 2014.

Perhaps the most exciting news I have to share with you is opposite...the ice cream freezer has finally arrived.  The many problem we now have is I feel the need to have an ice cream each afternoon...

This week also saw some much needed days out for us as we had friends visiting and what an education in Cornish weather it was.  We headed to St Ives and on route the weather did not look in our favour - heavy rain and wind.  In fact we came close to turning round as we had a pregnant friend with us.  However as we turned the corner into St Ives we saw a glimmer of blue.  We headed straight to Porthminster Beach Cafe for lunch which I can sum up in one word - WOW!  The food was amazing.  We had Jessica who is 9 months old with us and the service couldn't have been better - she was looked after better than us in fact!  After an utterly delicious meal we headed onto a deserted Porthminster Beach - it was stunning; blue skies, clean sands and clear sea.  We explored the back streets of St Ives and admired much of the local art work whilst basking in the sun.

Our second outing saw us go to Fowey.  Although it is their festival week it was very quiet.  Yet more wandering around the streets, down the Espanage to Ready Money Cove, which again was deserted, it was so peaceful and relaxing. By the time we made it to the cove a grey, overcast day had turned into a scorcher and I was regretting not bringing a hat for Jessica.  Luckily I have a baby carrier for Jess as the tiny streets of Fowey are not great for pushchairs.  We made our way to The Galleon for lunch - another very accommodating baby friendly place to grab lunch.

Then one evening we were treated to a meal out at Sam's on the Beach.  What a location and what delicious food.  One of our favourite haunts did not fail to impress with a yummy crab and scallops pizza on the special accompanied by a scrummy local wine.  Well worth a visit - but book to avoid disappointment.

Our final outing of the week was Padstow via Griggs.  Griggs is a agriculture shop selling a great selection of clothes including Joules, Merrell, Frugi and Barbour to name but a few.  My friends got Hunter Wellies for half the price they had seen in John Lewis!  Padstow was busy but lovely - there is nothing better than exploring the fishing harbour, eyeing up the cakes & pasties in Chough Bakery or smelling the fish and chips from Rick's.

Now back to work...and the diet!

the dreaded sea mist

Now I am not going to lie to you.  Despite our sun burn from yesterday contradicting me, the sun does not always shine in Cornwall.  Today we have had the dreaded sea mist in for the best part of the day.  It started glorious, in fact I shocked the world with my lily white legs and put poor Jessica in a summer dress.  By the time we had done our four mile stroll down to Little Winnick the sea mist had come in from the coast and it is now flipping freezing.  The strange thing about sea mist is you can be in one place and it is dull and horrid, yet a mile away it is glorious and bright.  Luckily the week ahead looks much more promising.

My walk got me thinking about the glorious walks around here, we really are so lucky.

From the park you can walk into St Austell. It is about four miles but it is all on cycle trails through the valley so it is very enjoyable.  Then you could get the bus back as the bus stops right outside the site. We can recommend doing the St Austell Treasure Trail  (or any of the Treasure Trails - they are brilliant fun).  You get to learn so much about the place.  It is a great family activity that does not cost very much but gets you exploring a new location.  We have Treasure Trails for sale at Little Winnick  for £4.50.

We made it!

I think I should begin by thanking everyone that has helped turn the site around in the last three months.  It has been a long journey but we are a  fully fledged open site - yippee!  In the final week leading up to the site opening we have had WiFi installed across the whole site - guests can access this for free for the first 30 minutes then purchase access codes to use it throughout your stay.

We have also taken delivery of Bernard, Dorothy and Sheila (aka the chickens).  So far I have had one egg from them - so they are not the fastest layers in the world!

We have also tested the showers.  Richard (my husband) was sparkling on Tuesday after a number of washes to test the pressure and temperature.  It made me smile that he took shower gel with him each time.

Alison and I also took on the role of Cinderella, as we scrubbed the brick toilet block until it was shiny, the floors took a day to get clean...however they look great now.  We have also installed better lighting in the wood toilet block and the shiny new picnic benches are outside the front of reception so you can enjoy some of the yummy Callestick ice cream that arrived this week!

And most importantly we have welcomed guests onto the site. I will post some pictures from this week on Facebook later - as you will we have had absolutely stunning weather this week - it has reached the barmy heights of 18 degrees at Little Winnick - it really is a sun trap here

3 days to go

The last week has been like DIY SOS.  We have had many trades on site; the gas tanks arrived and we have hot water (Phew!), the new Elsan point has been installed, new lights are in the toilet block and we are putting the final licks of paint on things.  On Friday the signs for around the site arrived - Richard has been learning Cornish so there is a touch of the language across the park...you can have an education whilst going to the loo!

Some more exciting news is the chicken run has arrived! We will be getting a flock of four, so I am not sure they will be supplying the shop with eggs - we will leave that to the local free range egg supply, but they will certainly entertain us I am sure.

Also the shop is stocked. It was great fun getting everything for it, we hope we have a broad selection of things but please do let us know when you visit what you think.

Our first guests arrived on Saturday (I know, we are not open until the 1st but they wanted to set up early).  The local couple have a permanent pitch with us so they can escape and relax when they have time off - we were very pleased to welcome them to the park.

Normally I would also fill you in on what we have been up to around Cornwall, but I am sure you will understand that the last week has been spent at Little Winnick.  There is such a lovely atmosphere on the park, and the sun has been shining all week so I don't mind being there all the time!  We are now appreciating what a sun trap the site is, all day long it is glorious.  In fact I have had to buy us some sunscreen.  Especially for our youngest member of staff - Jessica who is 9 months old.  She supervisors our work and helps clean flower beds by crawling to them and eating whatever she can find!

So with three more days to go, we plan to put up the signs, have a sweeper in to clean the road, clean and stock the toilets and then maybe on Thursday we will sit down and relax!

9 days until opening

Only 9 days until we open!  We cannot wait to welcome people to Little Winnick. We have worked so hard over the last few months we really hope  returning guests will see the difference and new guests will enjoy our hard work!  This weeks sees the final electrics going into the toilet blocks, we are putting in new lights and doors.  We are also awaiting delivery of  the signs and planting up the flower beds with some flowers.  We are also installing new washer dryers and the oil tank is being installed.  It is all stations go!

I am making very good use of the trail.  Most days I walk down from our house in St Austell - usually with an 8 month old strapped to my back or in the pushchair. The trail is brilliant; bike, dog, pushchair, horse and walker friendly. Accessed from the site you can turn left to St Austell, very enthusiastic people can follow the route all the way to the Eden Project (up a huge hill on the way) or you can veer off and go to Charlestown. Or if you turn right you can easily get to Pentewan for a well deserved pint and food.  This week Granny is walking from the site to Heligan with Jessica for yet more cake (just to re confirm it is good cake - we are hoping they remember to bring us workers some.

Talking of food, within walking distance is the lovely Kingswood Bar and Restaurant. The very popular restaurant is often full with locals so book to avoid disappointment. We can highly recommend the 'steak and Shellfish' night on a Wednesday. 

Cornwall is really starting to wake up after the sleepy winter season. There is so much to look forward to with lots of feasts and events. Why not tie your visit in with some of the many local events. Mevagissey Feast Week is always one to look forward to. The fireworks over the harbour are some of the best we have seen (and we have seen a lot of fireworks as I love them!). All through the week there are loads of family friendly activities taking place. 

Fowey Regatta is another renown event. The Red Arrows are a huge attraction going a spectacle display through the valley-you almost feel like you couldreachout and 

Not long...

Not long until opening day!  Sorry I have not posted for a while; I am sure you will appreciate we have been pretty busy so I have lots to update with you with.

So firstly the play equipment is in! A tower with a slide and swings; it is taking shape next to the reception building.  The weather was kind to us whilst we had it installed however the recent rain has meant all the fence post holes we dug have become little ponds!  Pictured is John  undertaking the very important role of head slide tester.  We can confirm the slide does indeed slide!

The toilet block has had a lick of paint and looks really nice - we are just waiting for the signs to finish the the job off.  The laundry room now has two shiny new sinks and the washers and dryers will be coming very soon.

When we had brilliant sunshine last week we cracked on and numbered all the pitches - we have 90 in total with a mixture of grass, hard standing and electric and non electric pitches.  Pictured is Jessica helping me move the signs to the right place - her pram was very handy!  We have also had a team in testing all the hook ups making sure they work - thankfully this work is nearly complete now.

If you would like to make a booking or find out more about the site please do give us a call on 01726 843687 or email mail@littlewinnick.co.uk