Baby friendly boltholes

[Madigan]

Hello - we are looking for super lovely 4 bed (or more) house to rent in September: main priorities are (a) indoor heated pool in the vicinity and (b) lots of activities for little ones (3 under 3!) - ideally, soft play, farm animals etc.
Any ideas? Ideally would love cornwall or devon, but wales also an option.
Have looked on Baby-friendly boltholes website .... are there any other websites I should look at?
On that website, have seen and like the look of Gitcombe Country Cottages Estate (Dartmouth), and also Clydey Cottages (Pembrokshire) and Libbear Cottages (Devon) and Bosinver Farm Cottages (Cornwall). Anyone been to any of these?
Thanks

Bosinver is throughly reviewed here by mnetters and others named too. Pool there is outdoor though.

devonholidayhouses.co.uk

You could try this one from www.totstotravel.co.uk:

Beautifully restored large farmhouse and barn conversion on country estate
Tranquil setting
Heated indoor pool
Sauna
Toddlers soft play area
Games barn and outdoor adventure playground
Trout fishing lake
Home cooked food available on request
?Wild wood' on site, perfect for nature walks and picnics

Libbear Cottages is a cluster of 4 gorgeous properties, consisting of a large farmhouse (7 bedrooms) and 3 cottages (each with 4 bedrooms), converted from a barn.

We have been to Gitcombe and Libbear - both are lovely. We have just booked to go to Compton Pool Farm this year. Last year, we went to Longbarn and Court Farm

you put your baby in a hole?

call the daily mail

Meant to say - a lot of people have recommended Compton Pool to us and this is the first year they've had the dates we want free. The accommodation looks fantastic here

Message deleted

Perfectly chilled - that looks absolutely GORGEOUS .... only problem is .... we live 10 mins away! so perhaps a bit too close to home for a proper holiday!

I just cannot decide between Libbear, Compton Pool, Court Farm ........... which one will be best???????????? such a difficult decision!

Thank you for all advice xx

Personally, I really liked where Court Farm was - in the middle of a little village with a shop and a pub (with good food, reasonably child friendly etc) and within 10-15 mins drive time of some lovely beaches, restaurants etc. However, the facilities and accommodation were absolutely fine but not really luxurious (a bit tired in parts). The DC's loved it though and the beauty treatments are heartily recommended.

As far as I can tell, Compton Pool has better accommodation and facilities. The Bickley Mill pub is in walking distance and it does really lovely food but is quite pricey (gastro pub stuff). Its close to lots of beaches and other stuff in Torquay, Paignton etc. which, whilst still nice enough, aren't as nice as the North Cornwall ones where Court Farm is imho.

Libbear is in a very pretty but quite remote spot. Beaches are farther away. The accommodation/decor etc. is a little bit more old fashioned than the others but still nicely done. The facilities are very good though.

Try Broomhill Manor - loads of outdoor space (and virtually no traffic), they provide all baby/toddler stuff, theres a nice warm indoor pool, a play room, and the on site stables do riding for tinies. V close to Bude with beaches etc too

I can highly recommend Gitcombe. It's got everything and is in a STUNNING area with loads to do.

Can anybody recommend somewhere either in Scotland or Northern England/Yorkshire/Lakes? Thanks x

I'm going to recommend Broomhill Manor too! Just back form there for second year in a row and it is fab. Not sure if they have any 4 bed places though.

We've also been here to Rooke Cottages which near Padstow and was also fantastic though no pool there, or you might want to look at the Premier Cottages website as they have lots of similar things.

Bosinver was FAB FAB FAB. Can't recommend highly enough. Pool on site is outdoor but surely there will be a public indoor one somewhere nearby! The soft play and animal feeding were almost as much fun for us as for 18month DD!! They really have thought of everything for pre-school kids....and no I don't work for them! Just a very relieved parent back from her first proper holiday with a toddler who after a long drive found that the place I'd booked was everything I needed and more. Just wished I'd booked 2 weeks instead of one.

I'd highly recommend Clydey Cottages. The cottages themselves are lovely, the views are spectacular, the owners feed the animals ever morning and the kids can join in, you can also pick up fresh eggs if you like. The facilities are fantastic, there's an indoor soft play area, an indoor, perfectly heated pool, a sauna, a games room, there are DVDs for you to pick and choose from, there's a gym, it really is perfect and to top it all the owners are really, really lovely. There was also a freezer onsite which you could choose ready made meals from if you decided you didn't want to cook. We also took the kids on a lovely walk through the surrounding countryside which was beautiful. We'll definitely be going back there.

Away with the Kids has a fantastic range of holiday accommodation in the South West ( and all over the UK and to suit all budgetsand what's more is that they list reviews for families that have been there so you can get a good idea of what the holiday accommodation is like. Properties get visited and verified to give parents peace of mind. Its fab and we have had so many great holidays with Away with the Kids - Coombe Mill, Bluestone and Full Circle Yurts for a unique holiday experience with the kids to name a few. If a place is not listed on there I won't book it!

We stayed at Coombe Mill in Cornwall - perfect for a family holiday with yound kids. It's on a farm and there's a feed run every morning to feed all the animals, and the kids get to ride in the back of the tractor's trailer! Farmer Nick a big hit with the kids! Two outdoor and one indoor play area, so kids never get bored. There's a fishing lake too and beaches nearby... can't go wrong!!