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.
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Health and safety in the UK has taken the fun out of many things. Not so for the French forest equivalent of “Go Ape”. We all spent an afternoon up in the trees, swinging from branches, struggling through tree top obstacles and whizzing down zip wires. The challenges ran through 3 stages. Nick backed out after the first worried for a shoulder prone to dislocating, the triplets managed stage one and two and the older ones, me and our French cousins carried on to the hardest run. I was absolutely terrified yet determined to keep up with my boys. Georgia did say to me as we set off, “now wouldn’t be a good time to discover you are scared of heights” “Oh I am” I replied “but don’t worry, I’m determined to do this”. Risking life and limb I took this shot down from one of the high platforms hanging on with one hand as I did so!
I should qualify at this point that we had full safety harnesses on and completed a safety circuit first where many of my photos below are taken to ensure we knew how to move our harness clips safely from one wire to another. Having said that we were alone up there after the practice run and I had to remind myself and the children several times not to unclip both harness clips at the same time when moving from wire to wire. There was no feeling that the harness was there as it didn’t take the slack, the work and balance really was down to the individual with the harness just there to kick in if you did happen to slip. I confess to losing grip and missing a cargo net. I was hanging on by my legs having to haul my body up by my arms, while the French teenagers behind laughed their heads off at my antics with my bum in the air. Not my finest moment! The final tightrope crossed the canyon; it was thrilling and terrifying all at once.
Farmer Nick looking all at sea up in the air.
Fortunately there were some animals too to make him feel more at home!
The boys were all on a total high at the end; I was shaking like a leaf but so proud of myself. My tummy and shoulders killed for the next few days but it was so worth it, the views when I dared to pause and look were tremendous. We showed Farmer Nick how it should be done:
The Triplets were only just tall enough; you can see Jed struggling to reach the platform in the video. They did so well.
Nick sat and watched us and took the triplets canoeing on the river as we trapeze flew over them. Whist he did this his brain was whirring on the possibility of a zip wire across the valley at Coombe Mill. Watch this space on this one; project 99 on the list of things to do on the farm, but he is a man with a plan and has already made contact with a company specialising in these large scale zip wires, I just hope it will prove to be workable and that our insurance company will go for it!
Joining In with Country Kids
Country Kids is simply about enjoying some family time in the fresh air. Weather it is a picnic in the park or sandcastles on the beach I’d love to hear about it. A little outdoor time away from sofas and screens is good for us all. So from learning to play, crafting to exploring, please come and share your outdoor fun here. There are always some lovely ideas to inspire each week so please take a look at what others have been doing.
Just a few of my favourites from last week were:
Mum turned Mom for a great adventure day across the globe with plenty of active fun
Adventure Togs for a great learning day and a chance for you to claim a free outdoor play guide and 10% off their lovely range. Perfect for any Country Kid!
The Brick Castle where the North West Bloggers Group do Country Kids proud in the forest
Chelsea Mamma for her kayaking adventure, we tried this summer and so I know how much fun it is for all the family.
Our epic visit to our cousins in France held another highlight apart from the kayaking on last week’s Country Kids. We had arrived in time for the local village Fête (pronounced fet). I’m not sure I agree with the whole thing but It was an experience and as house guests we felt it only right to join in their fun and see things as locals. It has much in common with the English fate or carnival season in that it travels from village to village but is far less gentile. The main event is bull racing through the streets which is followed by a fairground with plenty of food and drink.
Alistair found himself in poll position up a giant tree, (I don’t call them Country Kids for nothing!) while the rest of us jostled for a front view near the makeshift railings. I had only taken my compact camera and found it very hard to capture the speed of the chase, it was all rather thrilling, a little scary and I felt very sorry for the bulls and the horses in the evening heat. However I was assured they return to their green pastures after an evening of torment!
A red flare in the street was our warning that they were coming though. The railings were spaced such that we could squeeze through and I spent much time dragging the kids back whenever the flare appeared. To this day I’m not clear if the flares were to warn us or excite the bull!
I barely had time to assemble the children before the stampede of horses, shouting French men and an over excited or possibly angry and terrified bull came charging through with more village men in hot pursuit. Apparently the aim was to halt the bull and bring him down in front of us, which they managed a couple of times. It was a frenzied whirl of hooves and feet. An experience I will never forget, the kids too!
As a loud horn signified the end we followed the crowds led by our cousins to the fair ground.
My children have hardly even been to a fairground and were captivated. I must say the knives they won were a bit of a surprise on the shooting range; French health and safety clearly has a very different rule book to the UK where a cuddly toy might be more common place!
As the light dropped the side stalls gave way to the big rides. The children had the time of their lives; I had the best time watching their excited faces, you wouldn’t catch me on the giant ride for anything, yet they all staggered off beaming with excitement all shouting over one another with how “epic” and “awesome” it was; certainly an evening to thrill.
Joining in with Country Kids
If you have been outdoors enjoying the fresh air with the family please come and link up. From the park to the woods, weather your activity is play, craft or learning for pure fun I’d love you to join in. Country Kids is all about getting the most from the outdoors, having fun and leaving the sofa and screens indoors. Do take a look at some of the other posts here as there are always some lovely ideas to inspire your next adventure.
“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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