Family farm holidays in Cornwall magical for children, toddlers and babies.
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Coombe Mill Blog
"Tales from the farmers wife" shares the funny and interesting happenings on our lovely holiday farm with Farmer Nick and our 6 children. A behind the scenes look on balancing family, farming, the holiday business and cooking for all.
Easter Card and Decorative Log Craft
Easter card and decorative log craft session inspired by nature and a few recycled bits and bobs. A great way to let creativity florish for ... Read More
Baby Robins Hatch in Farmer Nick's Shed
From a clutch of eggs to fledling baby robins, we have watched the plight of Mummy Robin and her brood this spring in Farmer Nic'ks shed.... Read More
Sticker World Farm, Castle, Airport
Sticker World Farm, Airport and Castle books from Lonely Planet Kids are perfect for children to learn and create on each topic. ... Read More
Scratch and Learn Human Body is a great KS1 help to understanding human body for 3 - 7 years. An interactive nonfiction book, friendly and f... Read More
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.
From Snow to Rainbows
The weather has jumped between sunshine and showers at an alarming rate giving us some spectacular rainbows and the temperature returned to double figures however I do miss the novelty of snow here in Cornwall. Thankfully all the animals survived the cold snap and were delighted to see our solo little helper this week who has had the farm run all to herself and joined in with everything each morning.
My post this week is looking back at our snow days last week. As ever the link up is below for you to add your outdoor fun.
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.
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 March Rockfish Wellies:
Top Commenter: Karen from Two Tiny Hands
Dear Mummy made the most of Snowmaggedon, with some outdoor family snow time.
Julia Donaldson trails are great ways to encourage adventure for the kids, check out the fun the Stopping at Two family enjoyed.
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.
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. With over 8520 posts this community is flourishing with outdoors photos.
For the past 10 years we have watched in envy as others have shared their snow day fun. Days of school, rosy cheeks on sledges and snow man building in the garden, it all looked like such an adventure and one my own children were missing out on. My oldest teens can just remember playing in serious snow but the triplets were too young to remember it at all. Oh the joy when storm Emma was forecast to hit us and the schools closed in anticipation. Finally it was our turn.
Fake Snow Day
Schools closed at lunchtime amidst the most glorious blue skies and it really felt like this was a fake snow day that never should have been. My Instagram stories were more and more sarcastic as the afternoon progressed and the blue skies continued. Though the college bus was heavily delayed from snow further south in Cornwall.
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A real Snow Day
The following day we actually woke to a dusting of snow. It was picture postcard pretty, very delicate flakes but not enough to be useful. The kids were dashing in and out all day willing it to build a little. Finally it did just as night fell. We grabbed the sledges, I turned off the dinner and we made the most of it in the dark. Sadly it was too dark for any photos, but these were the last I took as we headed for the big hill beyond our cottages here.
Satisfied we had seen some snow and actually been able to dust off a sledge (and broken another that had long since been outgrown) we settled in for the night. To our relief we woke to find the snow still there. It was melting on the south facing slope from the previous day but there were still in useful drifts in the sheep field. We improvised with body boards, the section of a little tikkes slide and enjoyed an hour of fun on the slopes.
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Down by the lake the snow was still frozen and throwing snowballs across the lake soon became a mass snowball fight. I had quite forgotten the chilly sensation of wet snow sliding down your neck!
I had a constant machine load of soggy things washing and drying and kept mopping the floor from snow laden boots. Meanwhile snowmen were being built around the farm.
We even had an igloo building competition. They worked to some extent but we need another snow day now to perfect the designs. Sadly I fear we will have forgotten our learning by the time we see snow again!
Our snow day was a long time coming and so much fun. Never has it been easier to get all my grown up kids outdoors just being kids. I can see how you might end up with snow fatigue after days of this, but I have to say one day was amazing.
For a little escapism on a Sunday evening I have loved curling up to watch Call the Midwife, the smash hit BBC series created by Heidi Thomas, inspired by the memoirs of Jennifer Worth. Living in the modern age there is something quite romantic and nostalgic about digging back into our past for this series. The program takes the viewer back to a time long before computers and the internet when life was so different, when basic wholesome living was a priority for the staring nuns and nurses and the first world worries of today feel a million miles away. Now series 7 is out on DVD, a chance to recapture the nostalgia of the nuns and midwifes at your leisure through this epic drama of their everyday life. For your chance to win the latest DVD from the series, out on 26th March, read on.
More about Series 7
Series seven sees the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House tested, both personally and professionally, as never before. They find themselves facing a wide range of challenging issues from breech birth to cancer, Huntington’s chorea, cataracts and unmarried mothers.
Poplar welcomes a new midwife, Lucille Anderson (Leonie Elliott), the first West Indian midwife to be featured as a series regular. Elsewhere, Trixie (Helen George) and Christopher (Jack Hawkins) continues to develop their romance, and Tom (Jack Ashton) and Barbara (Charlotte Ritchie) enjoy life as a married couple. Nurse Crane (Linda Bassett) finds her authority questioned from where she least expected it, and Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt) is finally facing up to her failing faculties. While Dr Turner (Stephen McGann) and Shelagh (Laura Main) find their lives change more than they could have imagined when they hire au pair.
Need to Know
DVD Title
Call the Midwide series 7
RSP
£20.42
Number of Discs
3
Includes
Christmas Special and DVD Extras that feature behind-the-scenes interviews and featurettes
Suitable for
Age 12+
Produced by
BBC Worldwide
Stockist
Amazon
Win your Series 7 Call the Midwife DVD set with Coombe Mill
We think this could be a perfect Mother’s Day gift or just a little treat for mothers everywhere to enjoy being wrapped up in the drama and life of the midwives of old.
To enter simply follow the instructions below. Good luck to all taking part.
We will be receiving a copy of this DVD in return for creating this post. Our copy will be available for Coombe Mill guests to borrow from the DVD collection in our Games Room.
Our first born lamb of spring is always a great excitement here on the farm. We had a feeling this little cutie may have been born on Christmas Day. Gill our friendly hand raised lamb became company for our new Ram last summer. We guessed she might be too young to catch this season being under 2 years old herself, but if she did a Christmas lamb would have enjoyed a Christmas in a Manger here. As it turned out we were right and there was no Christmas lamb born. We weren’t upset though as Gill had successfully provided much needed company for Admiral Plum. Anyway it turns out he was aptly named and she must have caught a month or so after joining the Admiral as last weekend we discovered the most beautiful little first lamb skipping behind Gill on the morning feed run.
First lamb born in 2018
Born in the early hours, the little lamb was on his feet and all cleaned up by Mum when we found them. It is amazing how nature kicks in, even though Gill herself was abandoned at birth and hand raised. This has one huge advantage, Gill is still so tame and trusting she will happily let all the guests pet her baby in return for a tickle under the chin and a handful of grain!
Cuddles for our new lamb
Gill and her lamb are thriving in our nursery field where all the new babies go to try and protect them from the foxes. The icy conditions are all he knows, it may sound harsh but it is actually much better mixed with sunshine than rain. There are some upsides to us missing out on the snow again!
The children have loved helping to top up their hay
And break the ice in their nursery water frog, aka my kids old sandpit!
Being hit by storm Emma isn’t the kindest end to a week on the farm for our little lamb.
Hopefully there will be plenty of playmates to join our first lamb over the coming weeks. Have you seen any in the fields yet?
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.
March is where Spring Begins
Yippee, we are into March and just when you might have thought the worst throws of winter must surely be behind us we have been hit by our first significant snow in 10 years! School has been shut for 3 days in anticipation of snow but on Thursday it finally arrived for us and the kids wasted no time enjoying it into the dark. It is hard to believe spring is knocking on the door, but the spring flowers and our first baby lamb confirms that is really is all about to change. Spring is my favourite season and I can’t wait to see our field full of bouncing baby lambs. I hope you have managed to make the most of the snow days. As ever the link up is 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:
.Merlinda from Pixiedusk who commented on 22 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.
February Welly Winner
Congratulations to Annette from 4 Acorns Blog who is our February winner of the lovely Rockfish wellies. Annette took Shrove Tuesday outdoors into the February chill with campfire pancakes that looksed both creative and delicious. Annette, do DM or email (mail@coombemill.com) your choice of wellies from the Rockfish range including size and colour as shown in stock.
Favourite posts from last week added to the shortlist for winning the March Rockfish Wellies:
Top Commenter: Merlinda from Pixiedusk.
Little Steps Twit went on a wonderful walk around Widemouth Bay over Half Term.
Monkeying around the Would Like to Be family were exploring Trentham Monkey Forest
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.
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. With over 8470 posts this community is flourishing with outdoors photos.
“Tales from the farmers wife” shares life on our lovely holiday farm with Farmer Nick and our 6 children. Step into our beautiful 30 acres and experience nature close up with farming and educational crafts in stunning North Cornwall. Family, fun and adventure start here.
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