The Magic of the Secret Beach

I have been keeping my promise to the family to ensure we manage some winter beach trips. There is nothing better on a crisp winter's day than to feel the chill of the sea breeze and enjoy some quality family time. Usually we head out to Polzeath which has all the facilities you might need as a family and where we know all the sneaky places to park for free! However I really fancied a bit of a cliff walk too and so Clio and Guy came with me for a quick expedition to the "secret beach". This is just a 10 minute drive from Coombe Mill, parking is simply in the lane by a farm and there is a beautiful 15 minute farm and coast path walk to Tregardock beach.

This beach is simply stunning, with caves, waterfall and plunge pool, not to mention beautiful soft sand, the bluest sea and always quiet even in August. There is a catch though and that's that with a 15 minute farm and coastal walk and a very steep decent over rough steps caved into the rock it is very unsuitable for young children and the elderly. I have to confess to shuffling down the last sections on my bottom while Guy and Clio laughed at me from below! It is also tidal so that the beautiful beach disappears completely at high tide and I am always nervous to make sure our escape route is in sight. This said when you walk the path down a couple of hours before low tide on a sunny day it is one of the most magical places around.

Guy took a short cut down one of the mountain passes and left Clio and I watching in dismay, thankfully he finished feet first!

We were the only ones there and I followed the kids as they explored the caves and rocks.

This soon turned into a game where one would make a spade trail across the sand and round the rocks to a hiding place while the other had to follow the trail.

Those giant rocks became a climbing and jumping challenge. I managed the climb but not the jump! To be honest I was more interested in the giant mussels on the rocks and had a go at building a fire as we have done in the past with the idea of cooking a few but with only the remains of a box of matches in my pocket my attempts were in vain. Next time I will come prepared!

The shining nuggets of crystal embedded in the rock were glistening in the sunlight and Guy took to chiselling a few chunks with his spade. I said that would never do it and he should bring a hammer next time, of course he proved me wrong!

For us this was a wonderful couple of hours of sea air and discovery. Tregardock beach you have our hearts.

All the photos were taken on my iPhone 6  courtesy of Simply Business. This is my very first i movie, I love the slow mo app on Guy's heroics. I hope you enjoy it too.

Joining in with Country Kids

The temperature is beginning to warm and the days are drawing out. I hope this means you are finding it easier to grab a little fun in the great outdoors. Adventures needn't be expensive; our day didn't cost a penny and was just what we needed. Why not have a look around your local area and see what treasures it hides. Whatever you do, if it is family time away from screens and enjoying some fresh air please come and share with me here on the linky. Grab the badge and remember to check out some of the other posts too.

Country Kids is around in these communities, I'd love you to join me:

Pin on the Pinterest Board Just ask for an invite to pin and include Country Kids on your pins for me to stop by on your boards too (no need for a hash tag in Pinterest)

Follow Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays's board Country Kids  from Coombe Mill on Pinterest.

Join the Google Plus community page  for Country Kids and add #CountryKids to your tag elsewhere for a +1 from me

Share your posts on  Instagram and Twitter with #CountryKids for a like or a re-tweet

A few of my favourites from last week:

I wasn't the only one on the beach recently, My Family Fever and Let's Talk Mommy have been out enjoying the sea air.

Bubba Blue and Me stayed closer to home exploring their farm with a metal detector, something Guy's desperate to try. 

There was lots of outdoor activities for Randomnest to try out at Hill End.

The park was full of friendly animals for Mummy M's Memories to meet.

Whilst Mummy Shire went to the local farm park to meet some greedy goats. 

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Concerns for my teen boy.

Move over pop stars and actors, there is a new craze hitting our teen generation. As a parent I restrict time spent in front of screens, instead preferring to promote healthy outdoor fun. Whether it is helping us with the farm chores or playing out in our 30 acres, I have a real belief in the benefits of fresh air and exercise. My Country Kids linky which runs each week could have you believe my kids never get to slob out indoors. However the truth is I have one almost teen who if I let him could spend all day in front of a screen with his pet rat perfecting his next video, learning from the YouTube masters and watching so called experts play games and pass on tips.

I had been worried with everything I read about teenagers spending too much time in their rooms as to what he was watching on YouTube and how this might be affecting his development at this vulnerable age. He has been deep in the pre-teen grumpy hormonal boy stage and the first of my children to combine this with a love of modern technology. I was regretting the PC he had saved up for in his room a few years earlier.

I continued to restrict time spent in his room, to force him into helping outside at weekends and felt I wasn't really making any progress as he only resented my actions. The only time he would chat to me and sound like the animated boy I knew and loved was if I showed interest in his pet rat or what he was watching or doing on his PC.

To my relief whenever I entered his room the things he was watching all seemed in the realms of normality. Games looked more violent than I might like but there want nothing sinister. We talked about the sorts of things I was keen he kept away from and he reassured me I had nothing to worry about.

Slowly he began to ask me about how I edited photos and videos for my blog, we shared ideas and he told me he had started his own You Tube Channel. He was happy for me to subscribe so I took this as a good sign in regards to the content.  

For Christmas he wanted a hand held video, nothing fancy, just something he could shoot his own movie clips on and edit on his PC. This has proved a great move as he takes his fantasy computer world and combines it with acting sketches around the house and garden with his video recorder and is actually benefitting from some good old outdoor fun time in the process. His younger brothers are happy to enter into his world of make believe and form part of his recordings and I couldn't be happier than to see them all playing together. Back in his bedroom he sets to work editing.

His videos are now beating mine for number of views and people he doesn't really know at school are approaching him to find out how he does them. Right now he sees himself as the next big thing in You tubing, I have no idea how he creates the effects, but I have to confess they are quite clever. Whether he makes it or not in this strange new world, I am delighted the silence is broken, we are chatting and compromising on his time spent on his PC and I feel he is becoming part of our family unit again happily sharing his movie discoveries with us all.   

If you fancy a look this is his latest creation below.  It is far from perfect but has some interesting effects towards the end. We have talked about carrying on with ICT and perhaps taking Graphic Design at school when he chooses his GCSE options next year. 

If you have any tips on handling a screenager, managing time online with family communication and understanding their gaming world I'd love to hear about it.

The Eden Project with my Teens

The Triplets were all away on a sleepover for a friend's birthday enjoying plenty of fun on a bike trail and racing around at Laser Tag. Meanwhile I've enjoyed a rare day out with my three oldest down at The Eden Project. It was an opportunity to brush up on our ice-skating skills after our enjoyable session in Plymouth a few weeks earlier.

We set off at 10.15, trust me with teens this is early on a Sunday morning proving they were all keen! Eden is only half an hour from Coombe Mill so much closer for us than Plymouth.  We booked our skating for mid day giving us time to go exploring as we've not visited in over a year.

They reminisced over outdoor play areas they used to clamber over as younger children and Theo couldn't resist seeing if he could now race down the steps that always tripped him up when he was little. Of course it was easy, they are now all three taller and longer legged than me and I struggled to keep up with them stopping to take photos too.

Most of my pictures are from behind as they are not at a photogenic age and I was always trailing them, my interest caught on something that had passed them by.

In the Mediterranean biome the boys remembered the huts being much bigger, marvelled at the size of the lemons and testicles on the strange animal statues then tested their geography on the world map.

Theo couldn't resist taking the chilli challenge, apparently started on the many school trips to Eden.  He selected his chilli and bravely bit into it. We all laughed ourselves silly as the inevitable happened and he danced around like a mad man looking for a fresh water fountain his mouth on fire. Recovering the other two pointed out there was another plate twice the strength if he fancied another go!   

Down at the ice rink the boys were like lightning with their boots having mastered the knack of the awkward straps and soon in the queue to jump on the ice.

I hung back to capture them before joining in. the ice was definitely more challenging than Plymouth being like a sheet and it look us all a couple of laps to find our feet.

We felt triumphant at not falling over, though Theo did try to frame the rest of us throwing snowballs from the edges of the rink to our backs. The others soon had their own back tying him into his hoodie like a mummy whilst changing. No wonder he needed to show off with some acrobatics after! 

 I couldn't resist this last photo just for fun, ice creams and a little play on the way out! 

Our fun day captured on video

Joining in with Country Kids

Country Kids is around in these communities, I'd love you to join me:

Pin on the Pinterest Board Just ask for an invite to pin and include Country Kids on your pins for me to stop by on your boards too (no need for a hash tag in Pinterest)

Follow Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays's board Country Kids  from Coombe Mill on Pinterest.

Join the Google Plus community page  for Country Kids and add #CountryKids to your tag elsewhere for a +1 from me

Share your posts on  Instagram and Twitter with #CountryKids for a like or a re-tweet

A few of my favourites from last week:

Over 40 and Mum to One and Redpeffer spent the day together enjoying muddy fun at Packwood House. 

The beach proved too much of a pull after a trip to the cinema for Smiles and Trials.

Mommy loves Trees showed us some great activities for outdoor play in the winter.

Making the most of a sunny afternoon in February, Little Hearts Big Love went exploring Fassnidge Park.

Keitha's Chaos went on a snowy hike to hand feed the birds

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