Thinking of staying in the UK for hols next year. Devon/Cornwall area....recommendations?

[McDreamy]

Baby no 3 due in Feb so thinking of a low maintenance holiday next year. Moving back to the UK from Cyprus in 4 weeks so have doen our fair share off beach based living in the past 3 years here.

Thinking of Devon/Cornwall, either renting a cottage or camp site.

Can anyone recommend anywhere lovely with lots to do? Maybe farm based? Children will be 6, 4 and 6 months.

[McDreamy]

Bump

[Slouchy]

Ooh, we went to such a nice place on a farm a year or two ago.

Hang on, will try and find it...

[twoluvlykids]

i live in devon and it's lovely for holidays, plenty of farms where your dcs can get involved with feeding the animals if they want. lots of places to go. low maintenance - yes, cheap - no.

[WideWebWitch]

Thoroughly recommend This company Have stayed in 2 of their houses and they're fab

[Slouchy]

here

Pool was lovely, there were good indoor and outdoor play areas (huge, fenced trampoline and a wooden pirate ship thing), lovely animals to stroke etc.
Close to Totnes which is lovely, good beaches in 20 min drive.

[WideWebWitch]

This, The Cove looks fab but I havent stayed. (so check tripadvisor first)

[bossykate]

i have and it is indeed fab!

[ChasingSquirrels]

we have been to bosinver 5 times now, and are going again next year.
personally wouldn't fancy cornwall in school holidays if the traffic heading that way on the May half-term weekend is anything to go by.

[piratecat]

Pit Fram is just up the road from me.

The South Hams ( southernmost devon)is a lovely area, have a look here,

www.coastandcountry.co.uk/ my ex inlaws always use them.

[WideWebWitch]

There you go, BK has been and is discerning so forget tripadvisor! I really like the look of it.

And I've just looked up the words to Larmorna, which I remember hearing my family (some of them members of Cornish male voice choirs) sing a lot during my childhood.

[rookiemater]

We stayed one week in Bosinver, and its great for toddlers with loads to do in the local area, including the very underrated tortoise sanctuary ( I kid you not). Eden project worked really well with our 2 yr old and we loved the sea side resort of Megavissey.

The second week we stayed in Barton Court www.barton-court.co.uk . Whilst not quite as superbly child friendly as Bosinver, there is a lovely swimming pool generally unusued, loads of grounds to romp around, a bouncy trampoline and you can get spa treatments on site and home cooked meals delivered. The cottage we stayed in was vast.

[forevared]

We've just got back from a week in South Devon and there's so much to do we ran out of time. We're going back next year for 2 weeks instead.
We have a nearly 3 year old and a 6 month old. Stayed in a cottage on Dartmoor but everything still within easy driving range.

There's a fab company called helpful holidays, www.helpfulholidays.com that do self catering cottages in the SouthWest, their 2009 brochure has just come out. Beautiful cottages and great website with loads of internal pictures of the cottages.

[nappyzonehasastroppytoddler]

is bosinver in the middle of knowhere or coastal and is there a hospital nearby?

[ChasingSquirrels]

bosinver is just outside St Austell, 10 mins maybe to nearest beach, and loads of others a bot further.
No idea on hospital.

[llareggub]

Definitely Bosinver! We went twice last year we enjoyed it so much. It has everything you'd want down to child size cutlery, a spotless playbarn and stair gates. They have spades, buckets and nets that you can borrow, and a very welcome box of toys in each cottage.

It is fab!

[wheresthehamster]

Not farm based but have spent great holidays at River Dart Adventures when the children were younger.

[llareggub]

There is a District hospital in St Austell. No idea what they do there however.

[nappyzonehasastroppytoddler]

yes it looks love.y - its the 1035 for a week thats putting me off.. will have to explore keeping dd out of school a week...

[ten10]

Anywhere near Lyme Regis is my recommendation,
we went last year and it was lovely,
loads to do - great beaches, farms to visit, countryside to run around in, lots of attractions with little trains and the electric tram at Seaton
we booked a cottage through www.westcountrycottages.co.uk

[ChasingSquirrels]

£1k would put me off aswell, we have been going since ds1 was 20mo, apart from one year when we went in late April we have always gone the week before May half term - and continued this when he started school last year, and again for 2009.
TBH even if the £1k a week didn't put me off, the traffic queues that we see going into Cornwall at the start of the May half term holidays (when we are leaving) would definately stop me wanting to be there.

[nappyzonehasastroppytoddler]

really so last week in jkuly would be hell? its 8 hrs from here so were going to break up with an overnight at worcester - wondering if anywhere not so far but just as good iyswim. DS doesnt travel well!

[ChasingSquirrels]

I presume that July wouldn't be fun, but no experience.
My friend's inlaws are down past Truro and they always go in teh may half-term and sometimes for a week in the summer. But they always travel down really late (leave Cambs mid afternoon so missing the rush into Cornwall - ie Bristol onwards) and don't do much except go to the local beach when down there - so missing most of the tourist trade.

[ChasingSquirrels]

have you looked in Wales?
I fancy somewhere nearer really, and they are probably places in north devon that would cut a couple of hours off the journey (for us), but I do love Bosinver.

[VaginaShmergina]

Try here

This is a lovely park in North Devon, but they also have others all over the country. Can highly recommend Ruda and also Warmwell in Dorset.

[OrmIrian]

Fowey in Cornwall.
TIs my favourite place. But a bit pricey these days.