The most Romantic Place in the UK

Posted on June 16th, 2018 - Fiona

OK so I’m cheating somewhat this week, I’m stealing a couple of photos sent to me by our guests. Their story is so perfect I have to share. It was the half term week and here on the farm and we had a lovely family staying in our Honeysuckle Cottage. What none of us knew was that there was a marriage proposal in the making. We have had the most beautiful weather for the whole of April, May and June to date and sitting out in the evening has been a real treat with temperatures holding up into the 20’s. Anyway, during half term, while the children were tucked up in bed, a romantic scene was being created in our outdoor BBQ shelter. Candles and a tablecloth made a perfect shabby chic alfresco dining experience. Monitors easily reach from the cottage to the lawns, so while little ones slept a romantic scene was being prepared under the stars. Who knew Coombe Mill could actually be the most romantic place in the UK? To me this is the most beautiful place in the world so it makes sense. With all quiet except for the relaxing sound of the river, all still bar the flicking of the candles, what better place could there be to propose?  

 

 

I think this next photo tells the rest. I am beyond thrilled for the couple and their family. That this wonderful event happened here at Coombe Mill makes me so happy.

 

 

It just goes to show a family holiday here is not just for the kids, it is truly for parents too. I hope we will see the family again; after all it is not a moment they will forget in a hurry! While I can’t guarantee the beautiful weather we have had this year, I can guarantee all the makings of a relaxing holiday in the most beautiful setting.

Could we be your most romantic place in the UK too?

---

Country Kids 16th June 2018

Posted on June 15th, 2018 - Fiona

Welcome to Country Kids from Coombe Mill

Country Kids is the original outdoor family fun linky designed to:

“Encourage family fun outdoors, in an age where technology and screens are such a draw to a sedentary indoor life”

Welcome back if you are a regular to Country Kids and if you are new please join in. You will find plenty of inspiration for enjoying outdoor space and please do share your own adventures. We support the National Trust #50 things along with all other ideas for family fun outside. 

 

 

A hot and muggy week, great if you are on holiday!  

What a blinder of a week we have had. Here in Cornwall it has been summer wear from dawn to dusk and a real joy for our holiday guests. My own boys taking their GCSE’s and A levels have been less than happy, I just hope the weather holds for them into next week when they finish. We even had to move the ponies to a new field last week as their water trough had run dry! Whatever your plans for the week ahead I hope it includes some outdoor fun and as always please come and join me with your adventures on the link up below. 

Guidelines for Joining in: 

• Post must be predominantly outdoors such as in the garden, the park, the woods or the beach with crafting, learning, exploring or playing.
  • Despite the title, both countryside and urban outdoor adventures are welcome.
  • Unheated covered areas like a barn or tent count as outdoors.
•  Please comment on my host post and a minimum of 3 others of your choice.
  • If you use #CountryKids when commenting the post owner will know where your found them and hopefully come back to visit your post.
• Please take my badge, without it you won’t be considered for winning the lovely Rockfish Wellies.
• Linked posts should be written and made live within the last 2 months.
  • I understand sometimes you need to do catch up posts and write about something from a couple of months ago but the publish date should be within 2 months.
• There is no restriction on the number of posts that can be linked up, however please be sensible, if you have more than 3 consider linking over a few weeks.

My top commenters from last week:

1. Joy from Pink Oddy who commented on 20 posts.
2. Jo from Where Jo Goes who commented on 19 posts.
3. Kim from Northumberland Mam & Louise from Little Hearts Big Love who commented on 15 posts.

Thanks to all of you who joined in last week and for the comments you took time to leave, we had a week with no link dumpers so a pat on the back to you all! 

Rockfish kindly sponsor Country Kids 

Win a pair of wellies from Rockfish Monthly

 

I am delighted to have Rockfish as the sponsor for Country Kids. Rockfish are a local Cornish company specializing in stylish quality wellingtons for all the family. We have been offering their country wellies in our borrow room here on the farm for over a year and they are always popular for their style, comfort and durability.

Each week my favourite #CountryKids posts, which include my badge or a link back here,  will be considered for a free pair of Rockfish Wellies at the end of the month; the perfect way to enjoy the outdoors whatever the weather throws your way. Keep your posts coming, it could be you winning next!

For more more information on the Rockfish Wellies on offer with us and terms and conditions to win see here.

Favourite posts from last week added to the shortlist for winning the June Rockfish Wellies:

Top commenter: Joy from Pinkoddy

If you’ve not yet read this post I warn you it is a tear jerker but beautiful from Little Hearts Big Love

Never has an old wooden boat looked so dreamy as in this post from Four Acorns  

Country Kids 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.

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

 

Join the growing Country Kids Instagram Community with #CountryKidsFun.

I'll like and comment on all and share my favourites from the week with a tag on a Friday on Instagram and Twitter. We crossed the 10.000 post mark with outdoor fun in this community today which I find really exciting. Thank you to all who join in. 

My featured photos from the week came from  @carahutchisoncrane, @mylittlebabog, @_country_momma_ and @born.voyage.  Please do check out these lovely folk on Instagram if you are not already following.

#countrykidsfun featured images week 89 with thanks to @carahutchisoncrane @mylittlebabog @_country_momma_ and @born.voyage thank you for all the lovely tags this week. We have now passed 10,000 in the collection. That's a lot of outdoor fun! Remember #CointryKids is live from midnight for all your blog adventures, hope to see you there too. Have a lovely weekend. 🎄🌞🌈🥅🍄🌿🌼 #outdoorfun #kidsoutdoors #outdoorsandhappy #CountryKids #fridayoutdoorfun #capturedmoments #lovelifeoutdoors #countrylife #seaside #happiness

A post shared by Coombe Mill (@coombemill) on Jun 15, 2018 at 2:33am PDT

---

Wild Gorse Flower Cakes Kids Love

Posted on June 15th, 2018 - Fiona

Clio told me back in February, as we wandered around the lake, that the bright yellow flowers on our gorse bush were edible.  I’ve been thinking about how to use them ever since. Then I saw a lovely post from Annette at Four Acorns who used them to make ice cream and I knew I had to try something. Ice cream sounded delicious but would take too long to set on an afternoon with the children here so I decided to bake wild gorse flower cakes with them instead. I tested a batch out on my own children first, and then happy that they were going to be popular with the holiday guests, I formed our afternoon activities around this idea.

 

 

We began with a walk over to the lakes where I knew there were a few bushes for us to raid. It was May and the flowers were nearly over. It was tricky to pick the flowers without getting prickled so the older children and grownups were in charge while the younger ones played on the lakeside play equipment.

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Back at the craft table with hands and gorse flowers washed the children helped me add all the ingredients into a big mixing bowl.

 

We divided the mixture into little cake tins and placed them in the oven.

 

While the cakes were cooking, the children created a little recipe cards. These had the cooking instructions and a few pressed gorse flowers.

 

 

Then they sat on our new picnic rug from Prezzybox and began to colour in the fun designs.

 

 

I think they could have been colouring away for hours if they hadn’t spotted me bringing out the trays of perfectly risen wild gorse flower cakes. I placed a plate of cooled cakes on the picnic rug and colouring pens went down as everyone tasted their baking.

 

Fun today making wild gorse flower cakes and eating them on our DIY colour in picnic rug from @prezzybox . We are loving these summer days on the farm.

A post shared by Coombe Mill (@coombemill) on May 18, 2018 at 10:54am PDT

 

I think its fair today they went down a treat. Foraging for edible flowers is a great way to encourage children on a country walk. Remember to take a container to bring your flowers home. Here is the recipe if you fancy giving it a go.

Recipe for Wild Gorse Flower Cakes 

 

All the fun of our foraging and baking afternoon on video

 

---

Now Make This DIY for kids

Posted on June 11th, 2018 - Fiona

If you have a budding designer in your family then it is a trait to be encouraged. Kids are naturally inquisitive, curious and learn through experimentation and creation. Anything that fuels this behaviour will aid their development. Phaidon have come out with a comprehensive new book containing 24 great DIY projects thought up by designers especially for kids. Turn plastic bottles into model people or buckets into drum sets. Create puppets lampshades and even character footwear from everyday household items. Read on to discover more about “Now Make This” and be in with a chance of winning your own copy.   

 

Now Make This and Coombe Mill

Here on the farm we like to get creative with the children staying for activity hour. Using nature and throw away items, we create treasures for the fairy gardens and holiday keepsakes for the children. I know just how much pleasure the children here have doing this and what a great learning journey it is too.

 

 

With this in mind I couldn’t wait to see the wonderful ideas real designers would come up with in the book. Every idea has step by step instructions, illustrations to guide you and a list at the start of what you’ll need. We loved creating the painted window in the Coombe Mill Games room and are going to compare nature with science putting the paper copters to the test against the falling sycamore helicopter seeds in the autumn. As plastic waste is right up there in the news right now, talking about this with children whilst building a plastic man seems a great way to learn about conservation and recycling.

 

 

Need to know

RSP	£16.99
Author	Thomas Barnthaler
Published by	Phaidon
Format	Hardback 120 pages
Dimensions	270 x 205mm
Stockists	Paidon.com, Wordery.com, Blackwel’s.co.uk

 

 

Win your copy of Now Make this with Phaidon and Coombe Mill

For your chance to get creative and see science in motion with these great designs just enter below to win your copy of the book.

Good luck to all taking part.

Now Make This

Disclosure

We were sent our copy of Now Make this for the purpose of this review however all thoughts and opinions on the book are my own. 

 

---

A wishing tree where dreams come true.

Posted on June 9th, 2018 - Fiona

Back in the New Year I made a commitment to create a new trail in the orchard. Farmer Nick had carved out a pathway so he could mow, but I instantly saw the potential for a new farm trail. I painted some kindness plaques and lay them along the slopes. We used the newly forming trail as part of our Easter Activity hour creating a wishing tree too. However as I showed it to friends in May, I discovered the plaques had been buried in spring growth. Farmer Nick came to the rescue. He screwed the plaques to some old balcony batons and hammered them into the ground. To these I added my painted wishing well under the apple blossom of the Wishing tree.

I’m thrilled with my newly named kindness trail and hope to add to it over the summer. For now it is a beautiful space to explore. Guests can wander through at leisure discovering the motivational messages on the plaques and add a wish to the wishing tree. With no traffic noise, just the distant sound of the river and nature going about its business, it is a peaceful setting to reflect, feel grateful and dare to hope for the future.

Wishing tree and wishing well.

Kindness plaque and wishing tags on the Wishing tree.

 

Kindness plaque standing proud on a banister in the ground. 

 

 

Coombe Mill Lodges located in front of the trail.

 

 

Wood chip paths for ease of walking the kindness trail to the wishing tree

 

 

---