Could we be World Champion?

So last blog I finished mentioning the World Pasty Championships at Eden and how I would like to enter one day. That one day is, in fact, TODAY! I have entered. Eek!  I am excited/nervous.  I know I can make the pastry and filling but my crimping really let's me down. I guess I better get practising.   The big day is next Saturday - keep everything crossed for me.   Ultimately I am never ever going to even get close to entering any other World Championships, so it's a laugh just to say I have entered!

This week we have had a mixed bag with the weather, but this weekend has come good and today we had a glorious few hours down at Porthpean. This local beach is a real winner for families, with rock pools, sand and a small shop and toilets.  The children, ever optimistic insisted on going bare foot and enjoyed building our usual sand boat which has developed now to have a lifeboat made out of sand next door to rescue those in the big boat!  We do get some looks from people.

Watching the Countryfile Weather I have just been assured that today is the last day of winter. It feels spring like here, there is hope in the air with plants budding up, bulbs out and the camellia's in full bloom - especially the one in our front garden.

This week I am meeting a man about having coffee in reception, a lady about providing breakfasts on the park and continuing to organise my little project which I hope to run in June.   Richard is hopeful to get out on the mower and we are putting the finishing touches to the new play barn at Richard's mum's cottages up the road - it is looking very good at Tregonegeeves Farm Cottages.   We have had the first draft of the website from Clear Mapping, it looks fantastic and we are excited about a new project we are working with our booking system providers to make it easier for you to select specific pitches.

Blog back to regular ramblings

Pencarrow House

So, with the season within sniffing distance the blog is back weekly(ish).  I am taking the advantage of Richard putting the children to bed to catch up on emails, review bookings, plan bits and pieces and write this!  I certainly have the easier job right now.

Looking at bookings, we are filling up during the holidays nicely. Please do remember to give us a call if you would like to book, particularly if you want a certain pitch as we already have a lot of pre bookings.

Richard and I are busy working with Clear Mapping on a new website at the moment.  Whilst we are very happy with what we have, it is something I built myself and it is time to get the professionals in.  We are really excited to be working with Caroline again.  Last season we worked together to produce the park plan and have a few little projects on the go right now including the website rebuild.  One area Caroline is keen to expand is our photo library so if you have any pictures of the park or your Cornwall visit and would be happy for us to use them then please do email them to us at mail@littlewinnick.co.uk.

So it's full steam ahead to an early Easter opening.  Richard has been down at the park today turning on various things ready for pre opening testing.   I am busy beavering away on a very exciting weekend  and summer holiday project which I hope to share with you very soon as I am so excited and meeting with various suppliers.

The girls and I were out and about last week making the most of the half term activities.  Sunday we went to Pencarrow House to look at their snowdrops.  It is a lovely garden; well worth a visit with a big house (not open but you can peer through the windows) and grounds to explore.  I was very impressed with the cute little play area for the children.  Our girls loved the play house.

Monday saw us venture to The Eden Project for The Stickman Trail - it was well organised with lots of activities for children.  Then Thursday we ventured to Heligan.  Our favourite haunt.  They have done a lot of work over the winter, which I will investigate further and report back on, needless to say the cake and coffee was as good as ever.

Looking to the future we are excited about the prospect of The Pasty Championships at Eden in a few weekends time - an excuse to sample the best of the west!  And of course for me to practice - every year I think about entering...

Sun is here...

...Well, in my dreams the sun is here.  We are actually away visiting family in Norfolk at the moment and I rather optimistically brought the girls their first pair of shorts of the year today.  As my mother told me 'you have to get them when you see them' but I think by any standard I am deluding myself that we will get to wear them soon!

Cornwall is making the news right now for Storm Imogen who is battering the coast line, there are some stunning pictures across the internet at the moment.  The Pentewan Valley where we are situated has been on a high flood alert but as we are considerably higher than the river we are all fine thankfully but our thoughts are very much with those not so lucky.

On the whole, like the rest of the country, Cornwall has been very wet and windy this winter.  Thankfully we built the toilet block last year in a dry winter!  My theory remains though that a wet winter means a dry summer...lets hope I am right (there will be no money back guarantee on this theory!!).

Despite my groanings about the weather things are notably on the turn in Cornwall; the days are getting longer and at times warmer, the trees are budding up and there are lambs in the fields.  We even have a spring in our step.  With the opening of Little Winnick less that 6 weeks away we are starting to think about what the year ahead holds and what work we have to do before opening.

We are often get asked what we do in the winter.  This year I think it is fair to say we have had a well earned rest.  Richard is still working every day as he deals with all the back office running of our other campsite and his parents cottages.  We are also processing bookings on a daily basis and working on various little projects (I will keep you posted on these but safe to say I am very excited about a few events we are planning in the summer!).  But we are generally spending time together as a family and getting our own house in order before we are back to working weekend and one day off a week - which we love, but it is nice enjoying the odd lay in together as a family!

As our family gets a little bit older I am certain you will see more of the girls and I this summer.  Jessica is most excited about getting her first official work t-shirt.  Last year she had one with an ice cream on but she has decided she needs one like Mummy and Daddy this year.  Jessica is also planning many camping trips for us - apparently all at Little Winnick (well I have heard it is very nice!).  I am currently trying to convince Richard in order to pitch the tent by myself as he will be working I 'need' a Bell Tent.  If anyone can help me convince him it is essential I get one then please do get in touch.  I am particularly keen to hear from people who erect them by themselves- is it doable?  And so people recommend a 5m or a 4 m one?    Answers on a post card or via email!

It's a 'Gold' Christmas here

Happy Christmas to you from all of us at Little Winnick, we hope you have a wonderful peaceful Christmas.

Our Christmas was topped off last week when our new facilities were awarded Gold in 'Loo of the Year 2015'.  We are so chuffed, and it is official recognition to accompany all your wonderful feedback throughout the past season.

Christmas is in full swing here as you can imagine with a 3 year old and 20 month old.  Jess is very excited; this evening she has little party at home for her friends, sparkly jelly and toasted marshmallows ensured some very excited/hyper little girls!

Today we popped over to Trerice - a National Trust House.  It is small as National Trust houses and grounds go, but it is quite quirky and they had a lovely little Christmas trail.  I imagine the gardens are a treat in the summer.  After the house we did our usual North Coast drive out along Watergate Bay.  The waves at Porth were breathtaking.  I have never seen such huge waves crash up over the cliffs - they were the sort you see in pictures but rarely see in real life, stunning.

Tomorrow we are off ice skating at Eden in a special parent and toddler session, I suspect the girls will be better than me - they fill the ice with toys and it snows, which given we have been playing on the beach and in the sea it is so mild down here it will be a lovely experience.

From Tuesday our family start to arrive then on Wednesday we take the girls to see Father Christmas at Heligan.  Regular blog readers will know my love of Heligan.  It is even more magical at this time of year.  Last Monday we went for a candle lit walk in the dark whilst carol singers were singing in the background.  Truly a special experience.  Jessica posted her letter to Father Christmas.  Then this week we went and did the reindeer trail which as so nice - we did not even need our coats whilst admiring all the daffodils that are out down here.  Wednesday also see's our 'work's Christmas do'.  By that I mean Richard and I along with the girls have lunch out....well if not we don't get a works do (any excuse!).

Work around the park has finished for Christmas now, we will be using this time to catch up as a family and enjoy Cornwall.

Don't forget if your thoughts turn to holidays over the festive period we are taking booking for 2016 and we already have periods that are looking pretty busy.  The phones are diverted to our home over the winter so if you have any queries please do give us a call and we do our best to help you.

Once again, a very Happy Christmas from Richard, Heidi and our family x

End of Season Review

Hello!
It has been a while since the last blog - we have been catching up on our holidays, visiting family, friends and loved ones we have not seen over the season and generally taking a bit of a break!  Following our trip to the Scilly Isles, we headed up to Norfolk to see my family, Jessica had gone up the week before us to stay with my parents so she was incredibly excited when we arrived.  From there we then went to the New Forest and South Coast before returning back to Cornwall.  It was a lovely break and much needed.

In the last blog I promised you a season round up; it is always a nice thing to do reflecting on the highs and lows of the season.

Pre Season
The toilet block build over the closed season was without question epic.  Richard did an incredible job of project managing the whole thing and brought the massive build pretty much in on budget.  He worked super hard and was under immense pressure ensuring we had toilets and showers that would be ready for guests.  In the end he managed to get it open - and the biggest reward he could have is all your feed back.  On more than one occasion they have referred to as 'the ritz of the camping toilet world!'.

Early Season
We had a staggered opening, with our usual Easter Rally in, testing out what did (and in some cases didn't work) in the new building.  The major thing we discovered at this stage was that the disabled shower room had no rake on the floor so the water didn't drain anywhere.  A hole was quickly drilled in the brick work as a quick fix for the rally then once the rally went the floor came up and was re-laid at the right angle!  We then shut to finish in earnest and reopened in May.

It was yet another sunny start to the season and we were blessed with some sensational weather in May and June which brought out many campers and caravaners.  It is at this time of the year when we take great delight in welcoming back many regulars, who stay for extended periods with us.

Mid Season
Late June and July is when we have many guests from the continent visiting.  I struggle with English at the best of times so it is always fun trying to explain how the barrier works in broken German, French, Swiss etc.  Two particular groups of German guests come to mind who arrived with huge motorhomes, in fact I guess you would be class them as winnebagos - complete with their motorbikes stored inside on a lift system.  Anyway no sooner had they arrived than they had moved picnic tables,  set up their big stoves and opened the numerous boxes of wine.  It was my night to do a walk around, as I walked passed I hoped they were not going to get too merry and noisy.  As it turns out they invited most of the guests around them on other pitches and all had a marvelous time.

We could easily write a book about some of the comings and goings on the park.  Perhaps one of the most frightening moments  was when Richard and I were in reception, we heard a dull 'boom'.  My instant reaction was to run outside fearing there had been an accident - in fact someone had pulled out of our entrance but their caravan had not followed - it had not been hitched properly.  Thankfully, there was no vehicles coming straight away and we controlled the traffic until all was re-hitched.  

Peak Season
This is when we take a deep breathe and we work every hour of everyday (well, almost!).  I bring the children to work so Richard gets to see them and we hope against hope for amazing sunshine.  This year the sun was somewhat patchy.   Now we did have a good amount of sun and lovely days to enjoy Cornwall at it's best but we also had some rain.   Instead of normal rain we were battered with monsoon after monsoon.  Normal rain is normal.  We are equipped to deal with it, we except it. Monsoon rain tested us to the limits.  The rain was without doubt epic when in came, a large holiday park on the seafront near by had to be pumped out by the fire brigade on one occasion.  The main saving grace was that the whole country was a bit damp!

We were lucky, if you can call it that.  We took a beating and we had some very muddy pitches, but on the whole most campers took it all in good spirits and accepted that we can control many things, but we cannot stop the rain.  Rain to us is very stressful.  I will not forget one night in August at about 3am we lay in bed listening to yet another monsoon and high winds and discussing what our plan was for the next day.  One entry for my 'book' will be the family who took umbridge with the rain, having pitched their tent in what can only be described in an 'interesting' way with over a foot from the ground to the outer tent, allowing all the rain in.  They took to digging trenches.  The trenches were about 10cm deep - we were not sure of the purpose, other than giving them something to do.  It did provide some amusement.

The odd monsoon aside the peak season was a roaring success.  We were full from June - September, with many repeat guests.   With returning guests comes the returning friendships.  One of my late evenings was made more enjoyable by being treated to a 'Talent Show' put on by a group of girls who have made friends at Little Winnick, their families come back at the same time each summer and the girls stay in touch throughout the year.  It was a lovely, heartwarming show, children playing how we all used to play.

Also of note were the animals who came as travel companions this season.  We had Rueben the Rabbit (my favourite!), Timothy the Bearded Dragon (I bumped into his owners at half term and apparently he has a play mate now), there were also tortoises and cats.

End of Season
September had an exceptional number of pre bookings; hard standings were completely sold out as was most of the park right up until closing.  This was helped perhaps by the amazing weather and the talk that Ross Poldark was heading to Charlestown.  The lesson from this September is book as soon as you can to ensure you get the pitch you would like.

So in conclusion, we seem to go from strength of strength with sensational bookings through June to September.  We are so very grateful to you for choosing to stay with us and we hope you had a fantastic holiday.  We are a family ourselves.  We save hard through the year to go on holiday and know how much holidays mean to you all.  We hope we can offer you everything we look forward in a holiday as a family.  We hope to welcome many of you back next season.

Next Season
2016 bookings are now open!  Please do book online, call or email us to make a reservation.  If you would like a particular pitch please do contact us as soon as possible as certain dates are already getting very booked up.

If you pre booked in 2015 for 2016 you should have been contacted us by now confirming your dates. If you have not been contacted but had made a provisional booking please do get in contact with us as soon as possible.

We are in the office everyday, albeit reduced hours, so if you do contact us we will get back to you asap.  When we are not at the office the phones are diverted to our home, so please do bear with me if you call and it is feeding time at the zoo with the children!

And Finally...
Well, we are still working away at Little Winnick.  It is without doubt a much quieter winter than previous ones, thankfully.  This week Richard and his Dad have been out everyday cutting the grass and picking up all the leaves - a never ending job it would seem.  We have plans and improvements for the park, as always over the coming months which I will keep you posted about.

Now we have settled back into normal life after our holidays I will update the blog more frequently about our adventures so keep an eye out for what we get up to.  Today we have been down Little Winnick practicing riding Jessica's bike.  It is heaven with all that smooth tarmac to ride around on, and Bethany has been taking advantage of an empty park going up and down the slide.  We are now home, next to the fire, snuggled in with the girls watching Frozen whilst I catch up on some office work.

We look forward to hearing from you about 2016 bookings.

The end is near

Well, we are days away from  the end of yet another season.  It has whizzed by in a blink to be honest and what a season it has been.  From kittens and rabbits on leads to caravans coming unhitched as they pull out on the main road...it really has been an exciting and enjoyable season.  I will leave the full round up for the next blog - just in case anything memorable happens between now and when we officially close at the weekend.

As the season draws to a close we get to have a bit more time together as a family; this weekend will be our first full weekend off together since March and we are starting our holidays!  Earlier this week, with the park pretty quiet we headed over to the Isles of Scilly for a few days - a belated birthday present for Richard.   With the children at grand parents (what a treat - the house stayed tidy and the fridge remained full) we began our 2015 holiday adventures and.... Wow. Wow. Wow.  I cannot recommend it highly enough and with day returns from Newquay Airport why not try and squeeze a visit in the next time you are in Cornwall?  It really is worth every penny.

We flew out on a tiny plane, the pilot was within touching distance.  It kind of felt like you were in a catapult being launched into the sky.  On arrival I was taken back by the amazing plants, white sand and (luckily) the amazing weather.  We took a couple of boat trips over our few days to St Martin's and Tresco.  Both of which have magical beaches and gardens and plants that are just stunning.

Not only stunning, but the food is incredible too - I guess because everything has to be cooked fresh.  Even the sandwiches were delicious.  I pretty much ate seafood for the whole time we were there, enjoying not having to share any food with little mouths!  In fact I would have welcomed little people to share some of the food as I am well and truly stuffed now.

In conclusion I have been lucky enough to visit some pretty special places in my life, but rarely have I been somewhere that makes you relax and unwind in quite the magically way the Scillies does.  It is an incredible, special place and you really must try and squeeze a day or two there as part of any Cornish holiday.

Phase two of our holidays starts on Saturday - we are off to Norfolk to visit family and friends for a week then we are staying in a static caravan in the New Forest.  Much to Richard's dread we may even have a visit to Peppa Pig World as we have two little people who love Peppa!

As for things here at Little Winnick, well we welcome the last Rally of the season in later today, they are here for the weekend, then we will closing the gates for the very last time for this year. We have already closed many of our pitches as we begin work on reseeding the grass.  In between jobs I am spending far too much time cooing over Steve & Jude's (our Wardens) new family member - a boxer puppy.  Apparently no puppies are allowed in our house!

If you are thinking about next years holiday then check out our tariff page for next years prices.  Our online booking will open in the next couple of weeks or you can give us a call on 01726 843687. Please note our office will be closed until 19th October.

Poldark arrivies in town

It was with great excitement that I stumbled across the Poldark set yesterday.  Charlestown has been transformed into the port featured in the popular Poldark series.  Rumor has it filming starts next week so we will obviously be there frequently just in case Ross Poldark needs any help at all - we want him to enjoy his Cornish stay.  I will attempt to get some pictures for you (of the set not Ross!), inbetween looking at Ross!  In all seriousness blog followers will know how much I love a good film set and we do get a few in Cornwall.  I find it fascinating watching locations we know and love being transformed for films and watching how they disguise modern elements of where they are.    Watch the second series of Poldark and see if you can see the Gribbins Head when they are in Charlestown or the little hut at the end of the harbour!

You might have noticed last week we missed a blog.  Well it has been a long couple of weeks.  Our youngest, 17 month old Bethany broke her leg.  It has put an interesting spin on life.  Trying to keep an outdoor loving active toddler still has proved impossible, despite being in a full leg cast she has learnt to walk again and is testing my nerves further by climbing on anything and everything.  She is in cast until the beginning of October, so we are becoming more and more creative of how to keep her dry and vaguely clean - neither of which comes easily to us.  Talking of blog frequency, I will be doing monthly blogs over the winter months.

Today is glorious.  We have another two weeks of the season and it looks like we are set to go out on a bang in terms of great weather.  Richard and I both love the Autumn.  I think it is the excitement with young children that Christmas is on it's way, the change in colours that surround the park and the fire that welcomes you when you get home that we love.  Cornwall offers some amazing places to enjoy stunning views or warm fires after a brisk autumnal walk.  Our favourites include:

• The Polgooth Inn, walkable from Little Winnick this traditional Cornish Pub has welcoming fires, a fantastic menu and is very dog and child friendly.  If you want to experience a proper Cornish pub with a Cornish welcome to match then we highly recommend.
• Lenwinnick Lodge - nestled on the tops of the cliffs on the edge of Newquay this modern Lodge offers great food and drink with views to enjoy.  Particularly good if the seas are rough.
• Sams on the Beach - Sam's is a locally renown for fantastic food.  Situated in the old lifeboat station you don't get much closer to the water than this.  Book to avoid disappointment
• The Duchy Nursery - Enjoy a stroll around the large nursery followed by lunch in front of the fire.  A sign of how good the food is - it gets very busy - even in the Autumn so go early or late to avoid waiting for a table.
• The Hidden Hut - okay so this is outside, but if you go for a walk and wrap up warm why not enjoy a warm drink and delicious food from the Hut nestled into the hill just a short walk from the beach.  Views and food don't get much better.
• Caerhays Beach Cafe - this little cafe is right on the beach and offers delicious food and fantastic hot chocolates.  Whilst researching
  this blog I notice there have a Torch Light Procession in October looking for fairies...I will be booking tickets for that!
• Lanhydrock Cafe - talking of hot chocolates - this, in our humble opinion is one of the best and there is a roaring fire to enjoy too and a huge play area for the children as well.

I should just mention that Heligan is looking stunning at the moment - it is Harvest Festival, it starts today but we had a sneaky peak yesterday as they were getting ready for it - well worth a visit to appreciate the stunning displays.