For the last week of the summer holiday, we headed down to North Cornwall to visit my parents. The girls were so excited to see them for the first time this year, and were counting down the days until we left. Lydia meticulously packed outfits for each day – my youngest does like to co-ordinate her clothes, and she’s much better at it than I am!
We usually spent around a week in Cornwall during the summer holiday, and typically we would spend a day in Bude visiting the beach and the shops (excellent pasties and fudge to be found), eat at a favourite cafe with a large playground the girls enjoy and visit a couple of attractions in the local area.
This year, things were a bit different. The weather didn’t co-operate so much of our time was spent indoors just relaxing in the house which didn’t phase the girls at all – they got to play lots of games and read books with my parents and that’s all they cared about – spending time with their beloved Grandma & Grandad.
Usually, wet weather comes with the options of going to the swimming pool, or to the local bowling and soft play centre, or any of the other indoor attractions in the area – but this year almost all of them were closed.
So, we chilled out. Many board games and card games were played, and James and I got time to relax with our switches, the oculus quest, and in my case, reading lots of books on my kindle. Fruit was picked, crumble was made, and chutney was brewed in a giant pan with Grandad.
On days where it wasn’t pouring with rain, we still didn’t go out too much – we spent an afternoon on the beach and ate lunch in the sunshine after ordering it in a ‘Covid safe’ way. We braved a shower to go pond dipping in a local stream, and the girls went on walks with Grandma and Grandad to hunt for snakes or fly kites. We visited a local art gallery, then ran away back to the house when we saw how crowded the town was.
James and I enjoyed some child-free time – when the girls were occupied with my parents, and we even stole away for a nice lunch in a cafe my parents recommended.
It was so lovely to just get away from the house we have spent the last six months all together in. There’s no denying that at times our house has felt too small for the four of us! It may have been different than our usual adventure-filled holidays, but it was so lovely to spend some time away in the company of people we love after months of feeling cooped up and isolated.
