Day Tripper: Portreath

My next post is another “Day Tripper” but it’s actually more of a weekend tripper! It was such a lovely few days away that I simply couldn’t not share it.

Back at the end of April, me, my husband Mark, my Mum & Dad, my brother and Lola the puppy went for two nights away to Portreath in Cornwall. We bought it for my Mum & Dad as birthday presents as their birthdays are only a few weeks apart. We stayed at a lodge called Cedar Creek which is set in the grounds of many other lodges. However, you’d have thought we were somewhere all by ourselves, it was so quiet and peaceful!

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We made sure we had the Friday off work and headed down early afternoon. Lola isn’t great in the car – she used to get physically sick and even though she hasn’t done that in a while we made sure she had some travel sickness tablets. She wasn’t sick but you could tell she didn’t feel well. She was as good as gold still though, as usual ❤

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Does anyone else get that buzz of excitement when they arrive somewhere to stay? I always get excited and this wasn’t any different. The lodge was brand new and you could tell – it was clean, bright, beautifully laid out and had its own, private hot tub! The kitchen was one of my favourite areas, with a gorgeous breakfast bar for everyone to sit around.

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The weather wasn’t great but we didn’t let that stop us getting out. We headed off for a walk on a trail which was literally a minute from the lodge. If you follow the trail all the way it takes you to Portreath but as Lola was still only 4 and a half months we couldn’t walk her too far, so we turned back after half an hour. It was a beautiful walk.

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It was so snug inside the lodge, especially with the weather outside not great but we couldn’t not have a go in the hot tub! It was bizarre to be outside in the dark, wind and drizzly rain but feel so warm. It was a real treat, something we’re not very used to.

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Portreath itself is a small, Cornish town on the coast. There’s not as much to do as somewhere more touristy, such as St Ives, but it’s the quietness I quite liked. We went a lovely walk up through some woodland which Lola loved again and on the Saturday evening we had fish and chips from a takeaway in the town (highly recommended!)

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The rest of our time was spent completely relaxing: we ate lots, played some Star Wars monopoly (I lost), went on a few more walks, another hot tub session and just spending time together as a family. I would really recommend the lodge. You can find booking information here: https://www.holidaycottages.co.uk/cornwall/west-cornwall/cedar-creek

It’s so lovely to get away sometimes, even just for a few nights. It felt like a truly relaxing break and we actually had some real holiday blues for a while after!

Share your favourite weekend getaways in the comments 🙂

Love KH xxxxxxx

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Day Tripper: Mount Edgcumbe

For my first “proper” post of this blog, I’ve decided to go with a trip out. I love hearing about people’s favourite places, what to do there, best places to eat (this one is obviously really important) and browsing their photos. Even if it’s somewhere a long way away that I’m unlikely to be able to visit, it’s lovely to see where people enjoy making their memories.

Earlier today, me and hubby took our puppy Lola (you’ll see lots of her on this blog I’m sure!) to Mount Edgcumbe. It’s a gem of a country park situated just across from the city of Plymouth. There’s beautiful scenery there, cute cafes, quirky shops and we love that it’s completely dog friendly! Often very busy during the summer/school holidays/nice weather, today’s drizzle meant it was really quiet, which I have to admit was really nice!

We started off walking from the car park through to the Italian Gardens, which has a lovely eatery called The Orangery. The colours are beautiful, even in drizzly weather.

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From there, you walk along a path overlooking Plymouth, more notably the Royal William Yard (renovated naval offices, transformed into trendy apartments and restaurants). It’s a really special place for me and my husband as it’s not only where we had our first date but where he proposed to me!

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Along from here, there’s an Apiary, which houses hundreds of bees! It’s part of a new project to protect and conserve our bees. It’s definitely worth a look – they even have a bee cam!

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Walking up through the French gardens offers many more beautiful flowers, including a wide selection of roses and cork trees – some are so old they have grown right over into the ground!

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By this point, we’d worked up quite an appetite and a rather heavy shower had set in, so we headed to The Stable for some lunch. It’s name is rather accurate, as it is literally a converted horse stable, with original stone floor and water troughs! I had a fish finger sandwich which was very delicious.

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Walking back around took us past some more beautiful plants, and the impressive man-made Green Man – built for a festival the previous weekend, he sits made out of a variety of foliage, leaves and sticks. Lola wasn’t quite sure what it was!

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Old canons remain pointed towards Plymouth…Lola was determined to achieve World Pawmination, but we managed to pull her away last minute!

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A leisurely 3 hours later and we were back at the car. Despite the occasional drizzly shower, we all had a lovely time. We almost didn’t go this morning as the sky was very grey and the weather forecast wasn’t promising but looking back we’d have missed out on such a lovely time! Nothing a pair of wellies and a coat can’t fix – and Lola certainly didn’t mind!

I hope you enjoyed reading the first of what I hope will be many Day Tripper blog posts. Mount Edgcumbe is probably one of my favourite go-to places for a walk and a spot of lunch. Do you have any favourite places or suggestions for lovely days out? Share them in the comments below! 🙂

Until next time,

KH xxxxxxxxx

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