So I am driving to Cornwall from Cheshire ......

[twofishes]

with three kids under 6yrs and DP (autoroute reckons 5hr 38 mins without stops) anyone recommend anywhere kind of half way perhaps off M5 to stop to let kids run around etc before doing the rest of journey ( thats not the hard shoulder or service area )
Thank you!!

Bristol.

We sometimes stop at the Ikea in Birmingham near where the M6 meets the M5 (or there's one in Bristol too) - we can put all 3 of ours into the creche for 45 mins which is an excellent break for us all on a long journey.

I would say with three under 6 that you probably want to stop twice rather than once as they can get rather uncomfortable in their car seats after a couple of hours. Gourdano services on the M5 was reasonable last time we stopped there a while ago, but we're not doing the Cornwall trip for a while (DH's parents live there) as it's just too far at the moment with a 2.6 and 15 week old.

Must make list of stuff I need from IKEA on way back!! reckon you're right PigeonPie..thanks for the ideas all of you, will go and dig my road map out of the car boot and have a look at doing a couple of breaks there and back...WilSelf is there a big park/open space in Bristol you can recommend?...the kids normally do about 1 1/2hr in car at one stretch so can see lots of 'I need a wee!' type stops happening (and thats just me! )

i don't live there actually but there's also an IKEA there! Or head for clifton suspension bridge, drive over it and down hill to park whose name escapes me (Ashton...?) Or I believe the city centre has a big leisure development by the docks these days...

don't go in the day! go at night. We did, was much much easier. we put the boys to bed, had a few hours our selves and got up mega early - 4am!! packed teh car up and semi woke the boys. they dropped off again in minutes and we stopped for breakfast at 7 ish and got them changed, we were in devon at 9. DP slept most of teh first day but that was ok as i unpacked and the boys ran round everywhere!

When I do long distances I go at night so they sleep and I don't have to stop!!

Nothing worse than 3 hot grumpy children stuck in a car

There have got to be Bristol Mumsnetters who could recommend a park for a run around.

If it were me, I'd plan three stops, so be starting very early in the morning - 5am-ish, and aiming for a service station or Ikea Birmingham for breakfast, a park in/near Bristol for elevenses, then a picnic and good march over Exmoor/Bodmin Moor for lunch.

If you are whizzing along and everyone is happy, you can always delay the breakfast stop, and then head for a field in Somerset/Devon (there are lots of them with public footpaths or nearby hills to climb) rather than stopping Bristol

Best of luck!

unfortunately can't go at night as kennels have no spaces for our dogs until the morning..so we can't actually leave until 10am after we've dropped them off..NIGHTMARE, hence trying to plan to make the journey 'more interesting' (in a good way)

When we go Cheshire to Cornwall (where are you? - we go to St ives) it can take 7 hours. Our 'record' was 11 hours, when dh didn't take my advice and we set off at 9am on a hot august day. oh joy.

The best times we've done have been when we've set off before 6am and therefore have cleared Bristol by 9am.

fortunately, my brother lives in Taunton, so we now stay overnight there each way

If you're looking at Bristol then Ashton Court is a good suggestion. It's off the same junction as Gordano (think it may be called Easton-in-Gordano - can't remember off hand) services, you just need to follow the road for a couple of miles. It's a huge open space, lots of hills, trees to climb over, etc. Great for running off some energy and having a picnic.

IKEA in Bristol involves going off the M5 onto the M4 then onto the M32 - might be a bit complicated for a quick stop.

We used to live in Bristol and the journey to the PILs near Nantwich took us under 2 and a half hours on a clear run. So it's a pretty good place to stop as a halfway point.

I live fairly close to Gordano services.

If you get off the Gordano junction but head for Portishead, 5 mins away there is a Brewsters pub with softplay for you to have some food and let them run around.

If you want to go to Ashton Court, don't get off the motorway in Bristol, get off at the Gordano junction and Ashton Court is about 15 mins down the road.

Also, if you get off at the Clevedon junction (the one after Gordano services) and head for the seafront, there is a good play park and promenade. Would take about 15 mins to get there off the motorway. Same junction but heading towards Congresbury, there is a place called Puxton Park which is a big softplay.

Just trying to give you indoor and outdoor suggestions depending on the weather.

I live on the Wirral and am going down to near Newquay in July, and are thinking of camping somewhere for the night on the way down.

I used to live in Wiltshire and that took 4 hours to get to Cornwall, and swindon to Wirral was 3.5 hrs, so was banking on it taking us as least 6.5 hrs! and that was at night time.. Hate to think what it would be during the day....

Not sure where exactly you are travelling from/to, but reckon your 5.5 hrs could be an under estimate...

Will watch this thread with interest though to get some ideas...

can you drop off the dog a day earlier?

travelling from nr Chester to Bodmin ...kennels have no room 'til the Sunday morning , in my head am allowing 7-8 hrs inc stopping times, we are sharing a cottage there with family so will probably arrive in time for tea and to fight over bedrooms!!
In my pre child days have done same in 5 hours with a stopover but that wasn't at 'peak' travel times ...
WestCountryLass & Olihan Ashton Hill sounds good though aswell as the indoor places ( as the weather may be on the turn I hear [misty cornish emotion])
Thanks for all the suggestions though MN at it's best!

I regularly do West Yorkshire to West Cornwall (nearly as far as Penzance, so a bit further than you're doing) and it takes anywhere from 7 hours with one very short (wee only) and one longer (wee, lunch, run about, wee again!) stop. Not sure how long my longest trip was, as it got so bad (took me about 3.5 hours to get from Stroud to Weston-super-Mare ) that I stopped for the night with my sister in Taunton and finished the journey the next day. That was on a Friday in August, though. Never again!

I normally just stop in a service area to save time and hassle pulling off the motorway.

I stopped trying to do the trip at night when dd1 decided to fight sleep and stay awake all the way there. She was about 4! Have done it in the day since then! I am not normally one for sitting my kids in front of the DVD for hours on end, but our in-car DVD system is a godsend on long trips (especially when only one adult in car).

Hope you have a lovely holiday. Have a pasty for me!

don't know if this site will be helpful to you.

When are you going? If you are travelling in any of the peak school holiday times, be prepared it will take a LONG time on the M5, especially around Bristol. Try to get past Bristol by 9.00am.