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

Getting hot hot hot

With the temperatures on the rise again this week it is hard to believe we are in autumn, but September is whizzing by.  We enjoyed a spot of blackberry picking last week to make a delicious apple and blackberry crumble and we have been crunching through the leaves.    Cornwall is fantastic at this time of year.  Not only is it a lot quieter but the seas start to get a bit rough making for some fantastic sights.  One of my favorite things to do through the autumn is to enjoy a lunch whilst watching the waves crashing and you really are spoilt for choice as where to go.

Locally you could pop down to the Driftwood Beach Bar, which is part of Pentewan Sands Campsite but open to non residents.  The small beach hut offers stunning views from the warmth of the recently refurbished bar.  The food is good and with a selection of hot and cold drinks you could sit back and watch the waves roll in.  My favourite cliff top location to enjoy breakfast from is Lenwinnick Lodge.  The Lenwinnick Lodge offers a great blend of relaxing dining with breathtaking views - even on a rainy day it is worth a visit.  The waffles for breakfast are my all time favourite.  Or slightly further along the coast why not try out the Watergate Bay Beach Cafe.  The stunning views are complimented by great food in a very family friendly environment.

If the great outdoors is more your thing then why not undertake a lovely walk - to be honest there are far too many to list - from local circular walks to long coastal walks - so ask us when you see us for recommendations.  A great circular walk is the Fowey Hall Walk - the views back over to Fowey are stunning and you can be rewarded with a great big slice of cake from one of the many cafes in Fowey!

I have to say with the piglets at Heligan I am there a few times a week to keep the children happy - we have a local pass which means we can go as much as we like.  The piglets are adorable, I know I mention Heligan a lot but it really is worth a visit right now the gardens are looking stunning.  I currnetly plotting how we could rehome one of the piglets...they are adorable!

Seven nights for the price of five offer

So we made it through August!  It was an incredibly busy month, we were full about 95% of the time, and welcomed in two rallies during that period too.  It really has been an amazing season, as silly as it sounds it brings a little lump to your throat when you drive past and see both fields full and you can hear children laughing and watch families enjoying quality time together.  We have loved welcoming so many of you back for return visits and look forward to hopefully welcoming you back in following years.  Many of you have asked about next years bookings - we will open the 2015 bookings from 1st November so please contact us then to secure your pitch.

I have to say it has felt a little but autumny here recently -I was every excited to spy a healthy helping of blackberries waiting for us to pick and the elder bushes full of berries - I am hoping to make elderberry juice.   All rather timely as we have only just finished last years blackberry and apple jam.  However according to the weatherman an Indian Summer is on it's way with temperatures rocketing again.  Why not make the most of seven nights for the price of five with us other the coming weeks?

Last week we had a great train adventure.  We went for lunch at Lanhydrock - a beautiful national trust property.  The House is one of the finest examples of upstairs downstairs living - it is really lovely.  We went to the new cafe at the huge bike centre and had lunch there.  We enjoyed one of nicest hot chocolates I have had in a long time - it was HUGE.  If you do go make sure you read the menu board just inside the door - we missed that and missed the seasonal soup.  We ended up having homemade burgers which were delicious.  After lunch we hopped in the car and drove a mile down the road to Respryn and walked the path up to Bodmin Parkway Station.  With a train obsessed child this was brilliant - we got to see two normal trains and the steam train part of the Bodmin and Wenford Railway - a real treat.  It was spotting with rain but this didn't matter as the walk is tree lined so we were well protected.  This will be a brilliant walk over the autumn and winter months and is buggy friendly.

Last week we had not one but two trips to The Lost Gardens of
Heligan.  Mainly because of the piglets.  They are adorable - there are two litters there and the mothers are working very hard to keep all the hungry mouths full! It really is worth a visit.  Obviously we had to sample the cake just to make sure the cake was up to the usual standard.  It was!

Sunday Adventures

Working in this trade it is sometimes a struggle to make time to enjoy Cornwall during the summer, but this year we have been having adventures every other Sunday.  Judith (my mother-in-law) has been having adventure days with us as Richard, my husband works so the girls and I go on a magical mystery tour with her.  Without fail they involve very small roads and an element of reversing, a cake stop and somewhere to enjoy lunch.  Yesterday we had our latest day out - off we went with the car loaded with a picnic, pushchair and baby carrier, with me hoping I would not have to do too much 'skinny road driving' or even worse too much reversing.

As it happened we stuck to good roads yesterday and took the main road out of St Austell towards Lostweithel - once through the lovely village famed for it's antiques we turned off towards Bodmin - here it was revealed to the car of excited travellers that we were going on a Bodmin Moor Adevnture.  First stop was Golitha Falls.  Just follow the brown signs to a free car park and head into the woods following the river.  With a two year old in tow the first thing that sprung to mind was the Gruffalo Woods.  The stunning wooded valley is a magical mystical place with the tree canopy providing shelter from the odd spot of rain. The path is an adventure itself littered with tree roots for little people to explore - thankfully we took the four month old in the baby carrier as it was not pushchair friendly.  As the river crawls through the woods the anticipation to the falls grows.  The river falls a spectacular 90 metres in altitude and provides a peaceful setting to enjoy a Cornish valley at it's best.  I am very much looking forward to an autumn walk through the trees taking a flask of soup with us in a few weeks time as I am pretty certain it will be spectacular.

Back in the car we then drive a short distance to Siblyback Lake Country Park where we unpack the picnic and enjoy the view over the huge lake.  I forgot the picnic blanket so we are rather squashed on a series of baby blankets!  A great location for a picnic with toilets, play areas, cafe and free parking.  Not a great location to allow a two year old to play with a ball though - I am sure a few people laughed watching me run after it as we get to the top of the hill and she lets it go as it hurtles towards the water (the ball not the child!).  We got to enjoy gig racing on the lake and watch Granny teach Jessica how to roll down a hill - thankfully we all made it back to the car in one piece.

Next stop was a ride out on Bodmin Moor to the Cheese Ring in Minions.  Park in the free car park and wander over the Moor to the Cheese Ring Stones.  Jessica loved this, the soft ground with hills to climb and stones to explore proved a great natural play ground - you could spend hours up here just in one location or go for a circular walk (signposted).  Within the village there is a pub and cafe for food, or on the Moor with views across to Devon you could enjoy a picnic.

Final stop on our tour was Tregongeeves, Judith's home, for a well earned coffee and homemade biscuits.    Tregongeeves Farm Cottages are situated just a short drive from Little Winnick Touring Park and open throughout the year, so why not treat yourself, leave the tent or caravan at home and enjoy a lovely break - there are some great short break offers available at the moment.

Regatta Season

Another busy August week has whizzed by here at Little Winnick.  Saturday's are what are known as 'change over days' when we have a good number of check ins and outs - today we have had almost 40 arrivals and many departures - as a result we are yet again full tonight which is always a joy.  Our attentions are now beginning to turn to September - don't forget we will be offering 7 nights for the price of 5 again - that means you could stay for 7 nights from as little £40.00.

It is regatta season here in Cornwall at the moment.  This week sees the fantastic Fowey Regatta - the Red Arrows  will be flying over on Thursday - their display is always awesome.

Next Saturday is Portscatho Regatta - a traditional regatta with an exciting highly visible course. Followed by the Newlyn Fish Festival on the 25th August - the festival celebrates all things fishy and is a real incite into the Cornish fishing trade.

Then the icing on the cake is the Falmouth to Royal Greenwich Tall Ship Regatta.  I am really excited about this as 47 tall ships from around the world - including 12 square rigged tall ships will be in Falmouth for the week culminating in a Parade of Sail on 31st August 11am -2pm.  With a small person obsessed with pirates we will certainly be taking a tour around the boats!