We've just come back from a lovely weekend away in Cornwall, it was Ivy's first trip! We just decided at the last minute that we needed a bit of a break, and the best way to first take our 2 children on a trip would be a short trip that we could drive to, so that we could just load up the car with everything we needed! And we certainly did bring a lot of bags full of 'essentials'!
The Accommodations
We stayed at a really lovely cottage on the Retallack Resort close to Padstow. It was the perfect base for us to explore the rest of Cornwall, as the other towns that we wanted to visit were just a short drive away.
The cottage itself was just perfect for us, with a full kitchen (even stocked with a few essentials like milk and tea for when you first arrive), a lounge with couches and a TV, a cute outdoor terrace with BBQ, and 2 bedrooms and large family bathroom. Now that Ethan is in a big boy bed at home it's so easy for him to stay in a regular single bed while we're away. The resort is very family friendly, so we were able to request a travel cot for Ivy as well as a high chair, baby bath, and step stool for Ethan. It was really helpful to have these items provided as it meant that we didn't have to bring as much.
The Food
Part of the allure of the Retallack Resort was the Green Room restaurant, with head chef James Nathan who won on MasterChef a few years ago. Again the resort really made the effort to be family friendly, offering an early dinner seating for families with small children. We had a lovely dinner out, not easy with a baby and a toddler, but Ethan really enjoyed his sausage and chips and Ivy was happy as long as she was being held. Our hands were full, but we did have a delicious meal, our first like that in a long time, so we really were happy to have the opportunity.
Of course we were in Cornwall, so we also ate a lot of Cornish pasties! Ivy isn't eating solids yet, we easily made sandwiches in our cottage to give Ethan during the day whenever he was hungry, so we had a Cornish pasty for lunch from a different town each day!
On our last day we made a reservation for another special meal, we drove out to Watergate Bay to have lunch at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Cornwall. That was definitely worth the trip, this time Ivy slept through the whole meal, we had a gorgeous view of the beach and Ethan was happy with his kids menu that could be folded up into the shape of a fish! Not to mention the food, which was absolutely scrumptious, another great treat for parents of a small baby who haven't been out much lately!
The Family Activities
For us there doesn't have to be much to make the whole family happy, just some water! Being by the sea makes a holiday for us as Ethan is such a water baby (and it's looking like Ivy will be as well!) We went to a different beach everyday, and even though it wasn't particularly warm that didn't stop Ethan from getting soaking wet, running around through the sand and the sea and collecting treasures from the beach. We quickly learned how important it was to always carry a towel and a change of clothes for Ethan! When we went to the beach we would carry Ivy in the baby carrier, which left us with free hands to play with Ethan and kept Ivy nice and cosy when it got a bit chilly.
The resort itself had lots to keep the kiddies busy as well. There is a playground as well as an indoor soft play area which Ethan really enjoyed climbing around on. There's also a pool, where we took Ivy for her first swim! There are baby and children's sessions in the pool as well as music classes, but we didn't get to give those a try. There's also the flow rider for older kids, but that will also have to wait for a future visit!
We had such a fantastic time in Cornwall, we loved exploring the different little towns and watching Ethan's joy as he ran around on the beaches. The only thing that wasn't terribly easy was pushing the pram around, particularly in St Ives, which is gorgeous but very hilly! So I would recommend using a baby carrier whenever possible. We'll definitely be making another trip to Cornwall when the kiddies are a bit bigger, I can't wait to see Ivy running around with Ethan on the beach!
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