Since becoming parents arranging a holiday is significantly more considered, no more of this last-minute-hop-on-a-plane-somewhere fancy free attitude. There is now a detailed bunch of specific requirements, not to mention a whole extra person to pack for. And my goodness,  these little people need so much stuff.

If you have come on over from Rock My Style then you will have read about our successful summer break in Portugal. I say successful but that’s not to say it wasn’t without it’s headaches, I know my husband in particular was worried about the whole airport/travel scenario with a 14 month old. When we decided to book a weeks getaway for October initially we looked into going abroad, not least to make the most of Mabel benefitting from a free journey as she’s still under two. Then the opportunity to stay in Cornwall with St Mawes Retreats came up and it seemed like the perfect option, I still say there is no where on earth as pretty as the British coastline. And a three or so hour drive from the West Midlands to UK shores is certainly easier and less time consuming than juggling a baby and all that is required to take a trip overseas.

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James and I have never self-catered prior to the arrival of Mabel, we both prefer the on-tap service and little luxuries that you would automatically associate with a hotel. What a hotel room doesn’t offer however is the space and facilities to manage a toddler. Or in Mabel’s case – a teeny tiny angelic looking ninja whom has zero fear and the innate ability to seek out danger.

St Mawes Retreats however offer the best of both worlds, every modern convenience you could think of in a beautiful luxurious setting with amazing views and the opportunity to have everything from a private chef to beauty treatments, in the comfort of your own “home”. We stayed at the Dreamcatchers property which would be wonderful for a large family group – there are five bedrooms and five bathrooms so plenty of privacy for grandparents, older children or friends, depending on the the kind of break you are looking for.

After a straight forward journey we arrived* to home baked scones, fresh flowers and all of our supermarket shopping unpacked and put away courtesy of the housekeeper. Not to mention a kitchen with more equipment than we do in fact have in our own abode. We spent the first half an hour unpacking, checking out the vast array of books, puzzles and games for if (ha ha when!) the weather took a turn for the worse and admiring the aforementioned views. Truly stunning.

Our packing was easier (and lighter!) than anticipated as Dreamcatchers supplied us with a highchair, stair gates (no we didn’t think of this but luckily they did), a play pen full of age appropriate toys and distractions and even baby specific toiletries and towels. We didn’t take up the offer of a buggy but perhaps we should have – our pushchair although super in many ways, isn’t exactly built for beach life terrain.

When staying in hotel accommodation James and I eat out all the time which can become as I’m sure you’ve all experienced, really quite expensive. Self-catering of course meant we had the option to cook ourselves which frankly when you are presented with that view, was cheaper and offered a lovelier setting than any luxe restaurant could I’m sure.  On one of the evenings we were spoilt with the private chef, a treat neither James or I are accustomed to but certainly one we would indulge in again. I’m not a huge foody but the meal and the service was perfect, and it’s great to know you are supporting local businesses as all of the produce is sourced from the area.

James had “the best massage of his life” whilst I minded Mabel for an hour on one of the days and as a fair swap of “me” time I wallowed in one of the three baths available in the property (it was tempting to try them all out as per a kind of modern day Goldilocks scenario but there are only so many hours in the day). In terms of what to do in St Mawes there are a wealth of activities for families right on your doorstep and within a 45 minute drive radius. I’ve compiled a list of what we did in the cream boxes to the right but there were so many options we didn’t get around to looking into as we simply ran out of time. Who knew Cornwall was such a hive of activity?!

All in all we had a truly relaxing and fun time as a family, if anything Dreamcatchers felt more luxe than a hotel as it was ours, and it was so peaceful. And we really could do what the ruddy hell we liked when we liked. Ok apart from maybe a lie in, a 6am ninja alarm call comes as standard wherever we go.

Ahem. Did I mention the spectacular views?

Please do check out the St Mawes Retreats website for more information on their property portfolio and a gallery of images – which are far more impressive than my rather amateur attempts 🙂

*I tried to make this piece sound as uplifting and positive as possible so I’m leaving this real life disaster until the end, because it really was one of the best holidays ever. What I must mention though is how important is was that the property came equipped with a washing machine and dryer…. Two miles away from our imminent arrival Mabel decided to projectile vomit all over herself, her brand new car seat and most of James’s recently valeted car. We were actually greeted by delicious home baked scones and fresh flowers covered in semi digested strawberry yoghurt and cheese. A road side attempt at clearing up with a pack of wipes and a hysterical child did not prove successful.

All the glamour folks. ALL the glamour.

I certainly didn’t put any of those pictures on instagram.

Do let me know about other lovely things to see and do in Cornwall and your self catering experiences, I think this feature could offer lots of ideas for future family getaways in the comments section below….

P.S Did you notice I’m wearing the hooded cardigan from Becky’s Kid Proof Casual feature in the slider above? I wore it EVERY.DAY.

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{What We Did}

  • We visited Falmouth which is a pretty seaside town with a lovely harbour and various shops and cafes. We were gutted that Dollys Tearoom was having a refurb the day we visited as it looked amazing! Willow & Stone sell some lovely unique decor pieces and cute gifts and books for children.

  • We went to the Idle Rocks hotel in St Mawes for lunch and the food was excellent. The most impressive aspect however was their dedicated “kids” room – full of toys and games and it’s own changing room. Mabel was in her element.

  • Fern recommended The Lost Gardens of Heligan  which is in St. Austell and about a 40 minute drive from St. Mawes. It really is a wonderful place with so much to see and do for children of all ages. Mabel loved the farm animals and the opportunity to toddle around in such vast open space….I wanted to take the walled garden full of Dahlias home with me.

  • The Hidden Hut  at Porthcurnick Beach was recommended to me on instagram. And I’m so grateful – we wouldn’t have had a clue it existed otherwise. It was only about a 5 minute drive from St. Mawes and oh.my.goodness. – who knew a fancy shed that serves soups and sandwiches would be so awesome?!. It’s positioned up a cliff face but only a short walk to get to, and you sit on benches that overlook the sea to enjoy your lunch, the tables even have the most beautiful fresh flower arrangements – it really is something else. I had the best hot chocolate of my life. No word of a lie.

  • St.Mawes has a stretch of beach that Mabel adored – she was mostly interested in collecting shells and stomping in the shallow waves with her new wellington boots. We did the walk from Dreamcatchers there pretty much every day, you walk across the seafront and you can see the whole of the coast line, it really is WOW. And there’s nothing quite like sea air is there? it’s almost magical.

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