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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.
So what to do with a group of preschoolers at the end of a week on holiday in the heat wave? The group was boy heavy and I knew crafts in the sun weren’t going to excite them. They needed to be active and somewhere cool. I knew just the place where we could light a campfire, make and sail bark rafts and be at one with nature.
I prepared a back pack with everything we would need and we headed off to the farm to follow the Welly Walk Trail.
Bark Rafts
A walk is always more fun with a little challenge. In this case the children were looking out for a tree with loose bark, a twig and a large leaf to make little sailing rafts. I have to say credit for the idea goes to an Instagram photo from Louise George.
The children hung onto their raft pieces as they came through the bamboo tunnel out into the open clearing at the end of the welly walk.
Here we assembled our rafts and floated them in the stream under the shade of the trees. It is such a beautiful cool place to be on a hot day.
Many faces of an old oak tree
Next we made nature faces on the tree with pieces of air dry clay as the base. Sticks, moss, acorn shells and leaves gave the faces their unique features.
Campfire
The children settled to a little colouring of our lovely picnic blanket and bag while we lit the campfire. I must say in all the time I’ve been making campfires this was by far the easiest thanks to the long dry spell we had been enjoying.
The sight of the marshmallow packet soon had pens being dropped and children crowding round. There is nothing quite like a campfire to spark imagination. One little one told me as he left this was the highlight of his week!
All that marshmallow eating is thirsty work. Thankfully I had anticipated this and brought squash and cups along.
Catch those bubbles
Revived the children jumped up to chase bubbles.
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While the Grandparents sat and watched the stream
There was even time for a little turn on the rope swing before heading back for the evening train ride.
It was a perfect way to spend a hot afternoon shaded from the heat of the sun on holiday. The cooling stream for a little paddle when needed was an added bonus.
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.
Country Kids moves on from Coombe Mill!
I am handing over Country Kids this week after nearly 7 years. It has been a wonderful journey and while I am still passionate about outdoor fun, my own children are barely children anymore. Please do come and join me for the last link up at Coombe Mill. From next week I’m thrilled to say Louise from Little Hearts Big Love will take over initially sharing with Helena from Queen of Collage and Lucy from Kids of the Wild over the coming weeks. I will still be posting up all the fun of the farm here on the blog and linking to Country Kids with the new team. I am sad to hand my baby over, but with growing kids and farm demands I need to bow out from hosting.
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 just 1 link dumper.
Rockfish kindly sponsor Country Kids
I am delighted to have had 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, have been 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. I want to say a huge heartfelt thanks to Rockfish for supporting CoutnryKids and Coombe Mill Holidays over the years.
For more more information on the Rockfish Wellies on offer with us and terms and conditions to win see here.
Posts in with a chance of winning the July Rockfish Wellies
I love the look of Drucillias, a childhood favourite place for my own children from Autumn’s Mummy
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Red Arrows in real life, but they look spectacular over Weston Super Mare as seen by Pixie Dusk
#CountryKidsFun.
I will keep #countrykidsfun running for now linking into the new team so please keep your tags coming.
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 now have more than 10,500 posts with outdoor fun in this community which I find really exciting. Thank you to all who join in.
We had visited the acropolis with our older boys in 2016 and were keen to return with the triplets on our 2018 holiday to Greece. Staying in Vouliagmeni, in our cousin’s holiday apartment, for the week was a perfect opportunity. May half term was very hot by English standards and the triplets at 14 were not best pleased with the suggestion of a sweaty bus ride followed by hiking up some ancient ruins. However part of the deal was that the holiday would be more than just sitting on a beach plugged into WiFi and so we had a truce. To all our delight we found a tourist bus service with open top buses running across the coast road where we were staying and up to Athens.
Our bus line terminated at the acropolis and covered a very pleasant 40 minutes with the wind in our hair on the top deck . There were free personal headsets for everyone with Greek music and a tour guide in 7 languages. We tuned into the English and found the journey very informative. We realised the stretch of coast we were staying in was developed as an upmarket holiday resort from the 1960s which explains the hotels, apartments, tavernas, shops and harbours with magnificent boats.
We also passed a ww2 cemetery beautifully maintained with foreign, unnamed graves, many of whom are believed to have been English. This may help explain why the Greeks are welcoming to the English.
The final stretch inland to the centre of Athens is busy with traffic, horns, heat and typical city scenes of shops and cafes.
Finally we reach our destination and prepare for a trek up the acropolis. I have been many times but the sight never fails to impress. Even in the heat of the day it is worth every step. We noticed the queues to pay for tickets were much less than in July, when we last visited, but May is early summer season Greece. Kids go free which is always a bonus with triplets. Students are also free with a valid student card and OAPs have a reduced rate but again you need ID, even my 82 year old Mother in Law needed to prove she was over 65! As we climbed, the kids took in their surroundings and began to take photos and selfies, a sure sign they were secretly impressed.
Even though virtually everything has been or is being restored, it still gives a huge sense of history. Replicas of the Elgan Marbles were in place, the originals were pinched by the Brits and our in our National History Museum! Hopefully one day we might return them. The size and scale is immense and how it was originally constructed is still a mystery with the lack of machinery available. We enjoyed a good hour looking round from every angle and out at the vast sprawl of Athens below.
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By the time we reached the bottom we were all in need of a drink and a rest and sort out a pretty relaxing lunch spot.
Re-fulled, we headed back towards our tour bus, but not before Clio and I were taken in by a lovely Greek making named jewellery in Greek letters. Clio and I couldn’t resist a necklace each. This is her name in Greek.
The streets up to the acropolis are beautiful bordered with tall buildings, trees and flowers.
We sunk into our open top seats to enjoy the return journey and a late visit to the beach. Apparently site seeing isn’t so bad after all!
Recent Events
I can’t end this post without a mention for those effected by the tragedy there earlier this week. The fires were round the coast from where we were staying and my heart goes out to all affected. Our own family are safe but so many are not, a disaster this wonderful country should never have experienced.
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.
And the heatwave goes on…….
The farm is looking more brown by the day but our holiday makers are having a wonderful time while the animals are happily lolling around under the shade of the trees. Our kids have just broken up for the summer holidays and we are all looking forward to enjoying some family time outdoors. 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.
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 July Rockfish Wellies:
Top commenter: Pink Oddy and Glimmer of Hope
Little Hearts Big Love enjoyed school Sports Day. Something I really miss with older kids.
Check out the lovely Port Bonaire with Keithas Chaos
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. 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.
We were lucky enough to be offered Nick’s cousin’s summer flat for our summer holiday with the triplets in Greece. Vouliagmeni is one of the desirable suburbs of Athens down by the coast and popular with Athenians for beach days and holidays. The flat was just one block inland from the beautifully maintained private Vouliagmeni beach and needless to say we spent quite a bit of time here during our week away.
A Gramable Underpass
The beach may have been just a few minutes walk, but it involved crossing the main coastal dual carrigway road and I didn’t trust the kids to look the right way for oncoming traffic. Thankfully there was also a subway which to the kids delight was covered in Graffiti and in their words was “gramable” for their Instagram profiles so they were happy to cross this way and we were happy for them to come and go from the flat on this basis.
Vouliagmeni Beach
There is everything you need at the beach for a day there without leaving if you are visiting from further away. You have to pay to enter but it is only a few Euros and so worth it. Once inside the sun loungers and umbrellas are free, the whole place is clean and litter free and there are many more facilities including cafes, loos and showers. With large open grass areas, flower boarders and even courts for ball games it is a very comfortable day in beautiful surroundings.
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Safe swimming
Vouliagmeni beach is very gently shelving with little wave typical of the Mediterranean. In early June the water temperature was perfectly warm and my kids spent hours in the sea just throwing a tennis ball to one another and keeping cool. There are lifeguards at either end of the beach for added safety.
Anyone for Bat Ball?
Their other great love became the Greek Bat Ball. After watching the locals all play we bought a set and had a go. It is so much harder than it looks and we were so obviously the clueless foreigners. The locals managed to keep rallies going for minutes while we only managed seconds. Jed is my naturally sporty one and he spent most of his time perfecting his technique on each one of us.
Not completely unplugged
The flat had no WiFi and very little mobile signal so the kids were truly unplugged most of the holiday. That said there was beach WiFi, all be it with a very limited signal strength, this kept the kids up to date with their friends at home via Snapchat from their sun loungers. After catching up on the chat there was always time for more swimming and a little siesta.
The Free Beaches
There are many free beaches in Vouliagmeni and all along the coast to Glenfada. Here you pay for the loungers and umbrellas or sat on the sand for free. However by the time you paid for our loungers and umbrella the price is much the same as the one we used. Most beaches were supported by tavernas, which we made a point of trying each night.
The Verdict
We all had a lovely relaxing week in Greece and were very grateful to Nick’s cousin for the use of their flat. We wouldn’t hesitate to go back, there are plenty of hotels in the area and it all felt so clean and safe. The beaches themselves are still not a patch on our Cornish beaches, but we can’t compete on water temperature and guaranteed sun and it was blissful to swim without a wetsuit; something I rarely do in Cornwall.
Tips for visiting Vouliagmeni Beach
Entrance price is 4 euro kids, students and OAPs. 6 euro adults. Payment is for a full day and their is no late admission discount. OAPs and students need to supply valid ID, even my 82 year old Mother in Law was not trusted at face value as being old!
Prices go up at the weekend (8 Euros for adults) and the beaches are overcrowded with Athenians as are the carparks and local streets. There are not enough sun loungers to go around on Saturday and Sunday, these days are best avoided.
Toilets and open showers are free
2 cafes stock drinks, ice creams and hot snacks. There is seating there or you can take away.
Across the road from the beach is a supermarket if you’d rather take in your own picnic
Bat ball courts are provided though they are very busy at weekends and any spare space is used.
The Beach has 2 Lifeguards all day.
Free beach wifi but very patchy to actually use as demand way outstrips supply.
The beach is litter Free with plenty of bins and staff to tidy each day. In fact this was true of all the beaches.
“Tales from the farmers wife” shares life on our lovely holiday farm with Farmer Emma and our 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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