Hi Honey I’m Home!

I should have really mentioned before, I’m a bit hopeless, but last week I dug a tunnel out of the house with a teaspoon and the 4 of us escaped on holiday for a week!!

We had a lovely week away, 3 days (ish) in North Devon followed by 4 days (ish) in South Devon – We have THE worst travel luck getting to Devon, last year it took us an additional 4 hours because Elliott threw up repeatedly in Bristol and this year it took us an additional 4 hours because we hit the worst traffic going down. The kids were really good but once again we lost the first day of our holiday sitting in the car!!

It was worth it though as we havent been away as a family at all this year and its been a hectic one with the arrival of Sam and all the other everyday dramas. Elliott really seemed to bond with his baby brother and they spent a lot of time playing together in the caravan – it was especially lovely to see Elliott share his own toys with Sam and they spent many a happy 20 minutes playing “Pat vans” together — Elliott’s obsession of the week this week was Postman Pat, which he hasn’t watched once since we arrived home but he tortured us with for a full week in Devon.

We did some lovely day trips while we were away, The Big Sheep is always a nust for us when we are in Devon because Elliott LOVES the place, it was a 4th visit and our 1st time with Sam and Elliott still loved it as much as he did the first time. At the end of the day it is essentially a farm park based around sheep – although to be honest you don’t see that many of them – but it has the nicest atmosphere and I think that’s what Elliott thrives on and the staff are really lovely – last year Elliott fell over and cut his head on his buggy wheel, they made a big fuss of him and gave him an easter egg for being so brave. It is a lovely way to spend a day with young kids, there is a big indoor play barn for bad weather and Elliott absolutely loves the lamb feeding; here is a tip if you go – there are 2 lamb feedings a day, the first at around 10 and the other around 4, the first one is packed and you often have to “share” a lamb but the 4 is a lot quieter and your children have a better chance of having a lamb to themselves to feed.

We also went to Pecorama in South Devon – this was a recommendation from my Dad and Elliott LOVED it. If you have a train obsessed little boy (or old boy because they outnumbered the little ones) then this is the place for you. It is based at the Peco factory (who my dad informs me make bits of model train track etc) and they have made Pecorama around that – there is an exhibition area where there are set ups of lots of model trains and then outside in the beautiful gardens are bigger model trains which you can have a ride on and oh my goodness the view is AMAZING. It is situated in a small fishing town called Beer and if we go again in the future we are defiantly going to make some time for a wonder around. It is another great place for a quiet day out, lots of play areas to explore – defiantly one of those days that would suit a day with kids and elderly relatives. I have to say I was impressed by the pricing, it wasnt an expensive place to visit with tickets costing around £7 per adult but as it was a little chilly the day we went we were charged £1.90 per adult to visit the exhibition and the same if we wanted to ride the train! The gardens were free. We didn’t get all round the gardens but would defiantly visit again to get a better look around and Elliott loved the play area with a big fort to run around and a dungeon to lock Daddy in!

Here is a video of Elliott on the train – this is probably one that would only really interest my dad!

We defiantly had a week of contrasting weather; here is a visual demonstration using Sam

Day 1 – TOO hot!

Day 5

You wouldn’t have thought that it was the same week! Having now done both North and South Devon I have to, annoyingly, agree with my husband that although the south is lovely I much prefer North Devon – it’s a lot more rugged and has a lovely feel too it. We also had our first experience of a BIG caravan park, staying at a Haven. I think as the boys get older Havem and Butlins are going to have an appeal as there are a lot of on site activities but for now as long as there is a decent pool for Elliott to throw himself into I prefer the cosy approach — I think this wasnt aided by getting lost on our first night on site and walking in the PITCH BLACK along a nature trail trying to push a buggy!

Sam and I had to return to smelly old London early as I had a concert to go to but that, as they say, is another story!