If you are spending time at Piran Meadows and are searching for family fun activities in and around Newquay look no further…

Piran Meadows Resort & Spa offers an amazing Go Active+ programme, where you can enjoy archery, fencing, water walkerz and body zorbing among many others! But if you are looking to explore the local area for fun family things to do, then here are our top 10 family things to do in and around Newquay…

pirate’s quest

Join in on the swash buckling voyage through Cornwall’s pirates past! (Who knew?!) You will come face to face with smugglers, mermaids and buccaneers as you travel back 300 years and visit The Republic of Pirates. You will escape a shipwreck with the Flying Gang and their Captain Blackbeard, travel through mystical caves and murky 18th Century streets of Cornwall, while looking for new buccaneers to join the gang! The Pirate’s Quest is family fun for everyone!

blue reef aquarium

A place where there are new discoveries everyday, with over 40 naturally themed habitats, you will travel from Cornish waters to exotic seas! Marvel at the fresh water turtles, pulsating jellyfish and mesmerising pufferfish, and at the heart of the Blue Reef Aquarium is the Ocean tank and underwater tunnel, where you can view fascinating sea creatures. The Black Tip Reef Sharks, who grow up to 2 meters long, as well as the completely unique Giant Pacific Octopus who are very intelligent and have 3 hearts, blue blood and a doughnut shaped brain! (wow!) Learn so much at the aquarium and see the masses of colourful fish too.

newquay zoo

With over 1000 of the world’s rarest and endangered animals, Newquay Zoo is surrounded by 13 acres of lush tropical gardens, you can run wild and explore to release your inner animal! See the penguins, lions, tigers and the breathtaking beautiful zebras, and adventure to the topical house if you dare to see the rare and unusual animals there, including a sloth (my favourite animal ever, for obvious reasons. I want to be one, I’m already half way there). There are activity trails, a café, face painting and a loads of education about conservation too, fun for all ages!

jungle jacks

At Jungle Jacks in Newquay you can let the little monkey’s run wild in the 1700 square feet purpose built play frame! Providing a safe places for them to have a blast, burn off some steam and have endless amounts of fun, challenging climbs, a fun rope bridge, astra-glide slide, crafty crawl tubes and cool peekaboo bubble windows. For the adventure seekers there is the super fast racing slide and spiral tube for the brave kids, as well as dedicated baby and toddler play area for the little ones too. There is ample seating, positioned so you can see the whole play area, free Wi-Fi and a well stocked café.

lusty glaze adventure centre

This sheltered beach cove is the perfect place to kick your shoes off and feel the sand between your toes, take a break and breathe in the fresh salt air away from the stresses of everyday life. Take a spade, bucket, ball and a picnic and you have the perfect, free, fun family day out at the beach! There are also plenty of adventure activities taking place at the centre, from abseiling, tightrope walking, a cool surf school, jet ski lessons and a fun banana boat ride! The on-site restaurant has a relaxed and intimate atmosphere with panoramic views, along with mouth watering food on offer too. Relax by the log burner on a colder night, or dine al fresco in the sunshine, Lusty Glaze has something for everyone.

lappa valley steam railway

You can have the ride of your life at Lappa Valley Steam Railway, meet the one of a kind trains and journey through the woodland while sitting back and relaxing. But there is more than just trains here, jump in the canoe and navigate your way around the islands on the canoe lake, have a round of crazy golf, walk the fascinating nature tails and use the outdoor and indoor play areas! There is even a toddlers maze for the little ones to get involved too, the small brick walled maze is a replica of an 1804 locomotive! Don’t forget to enjoy the sand pits, pirate ships and coin operated cars!

crantock beach

Crantock Beach is a 15 minute drive from Newquay town centre and was voted Best British Beach in 2013 by the BBC! Walk over the looming sand dune and marvel at the awe inspiring view on offer, the beautiful expanse of golden sand and glittering blue sea will wash all your stresses away and makes for a great seaside family day out! Drop into the Fern Pit where you can order a cooked lobster that has been freshly caught that morning, and take a walk along the headland overlooking the bay too. And if you have a fur baby with you, dogs are welcome all year round at the beach too!

st eval kart circuit

This is perfect for children aged 7 and above, the St Eval Kart Circuit is a massive outdoor track and one of the UK’s biggest, as well as being the Southwests largest and fastest adult kart circuits too. Its only one of its kind in Devon and Cornwall, so you are rest assured for a fun and unique family day out here! If you aren’t into racing but the little ones are, no worries, you can watch them zoom around the track for free as spectators aren’t charged! It is an all weather track so you can go rain or shine and have the time of your life zipping round the track in the Powermax kart!

skullduggery lazer tag

Skullduggery is Cornwall’s premier lazer tag arena, you can even become a member if you wanted to! With jaw dropping lighting and adrenaline pumping effects you will have the time of your life here, hiding and dodging your family and friends. You can play on your own, so every man for himself, or you can team up and protect your bases, like in Halo (I love that game), sneak around and hide from your opponents in the arena and lazer your way to the leader board!

Those are Darwin Escapes top 10 family fun things to do in Newquay! If you find any hidden treasures or have any ideas to add to our list let us know!

Happy adventuring & family frolicking!

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Take trip down maritime memory lane with the The Shipwreck Centre and Maritime Museum in the Isle of Wight, a fun family day out! There is something for everyone at this thriving exhibition of maritime history; The Shipwreck Centre is located in the Isle of Wight at the wonderful Arreton Barns Craft Village so there really is something for everyone there! With gold treasures, antique equipment and thousands of exciting relics to feast your eyes on!

pirates, gold & a merman?

The Shipwreck Centre’s collection is one of the largest in the UK and is bursting with treasures of the deep sea! Marvel at the Spanish gold and silver from the hidden depths and shipwrecks from around the coastline, take a trip to the past and see the antique diving equipment that would still work today! Feast your eyes on the thousands of relics in the museum, from the exciting Pirates famous ‘Pieces of Eight’ to the strange, wonderful and life-questioning discovery of the ‘Merman’. There are also fun games for the children at the museum, (just in case a Merman isn’t enough…) the free activities include the treasure hunt and pirate trail worksheets, as well as crack the code and knotting activities, as a bonus for them all activities come with a free prizes at the end!

The collection was created by owner Martin Woodward who has been a professional diver since the 1960’s, and with decades of experience he has literally dived on hundreds of shipwrecks. Diving in and around the Isle of Wight, as well as other locations worldwide, scouring the coastlines and shipwrecks for their hidden secrets and treasures to share with us all in his wonderfully fascinating museum. He first put his collection on display in 1978 and has been adding more relics over the decades, and after 28 years in Bembridge the museum was moved to the Craft Village in 2006, surrounding itself in good company on this thriving complex.

lifeboats too!

Check out the adjoin Lifeboat Museum and see the original rescue service boats from the Bembridge Lifeboat Station, you can learn the history of the station which dates back to 1867. You can even see the famously historic Queen Victoria RNLI lifeboat from 1887, she has featured in numerous re-enactments and events worldwide since her loving restoration in 1998.

So the next time you are visiting us at Woodside Coastal Retreat, pop along and visit Martin at The Shipwreck Centre and relive the golden age of shipwrecks, pirates and treasure diving (it’s really nothing like that Paul Walker movie ‘Blue Crush’). You will learn about the many sad and tragic stories of shipwrecks, as well as about the magical and mysterious wonders of the deep blue sea.

This family run zoo has a rags to riches tale, and is now one of the most important and knowledgeable zoos that specialise in tigers and lemurs. The Isle of Wight Zoo, known originally as Sandown Zoo for the beach it is located on, came into existence in the 1950’s and was originally very popular. However by the 1970’s the zoo had fallen into disrepair with The Sunday Times calling it “the slum zoo of Britain”, it was on the verge of closure, but this national panning was ultimately its lifeline.

Drawing the attention for a very successful businessman, who took over the zoo in 1976, and still owns it to this day, the zoo under his stewardship has gone from strength to strength, regenerating and innovating new facilities for both guests and animals, it has firmly established itself as a centre for wild animal management and conservation!

care, conservation & education

Built within the ruins of an old Victorian Fort, the zoo faces one of the islands most beautiful beaches and back in the day the zoo was locally famous for walking its tiger cubs along the beach front. Nowadays, however, they are more focused on taking care of older tigers and giving them a happy retirement, with their fundamental values being care, conservation and education.

Every single person who works or volunteers at the zoo makes a contribution to the animal’s welfare, from maintenance and horticultural staff who take care of the enclosures, to the vets who look after them and the keepers who specialise in that animal and take the time to get to really know them, and what makes them tick. The Isle of Wight Zoo funds projects in India and Madagascar, as well as participating in the European Endangered Species Breeding programme for some of the Madagascan animals, all helping the global conservation efforts. As well as taking trips out to local classrooms, hosting school trips and guided tours all helping to educated people about conservation and making the experience a fantastic interactive one for everyone!

meet the animals

On your visit go and meet Casper, (not the ghost), the strikingly beautiful pale lion! Casper is a rare white lion who was born snow white, and as he has aged he is now a beautiful pale blond colour, he is in his prime and likes to tell everyone with is very impressive roar. His half sister Frosty will also be around, and lovely lady Nahla too.

Specialising in tigers the zoo is home to 5 of them, with 2 having backgrounds in the circus. Lola was rescued from a French circus along with her brother Sultan who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. The other tiger rescued from a circus in German was Simi who arrived at the zoo relatively recently in January 2016.

The zoo doesn’t currently breed from the tigers as they don’t know about the bloodlines, they are also a little bit too old and breeding white tigers is not ethical practice due to inbreeding and genetic health problems. However the tigers are very well cared for and the keepers know all their own individual quirks and personalities. For example Aysha is small in stature but big in personality, she greets her favourite keepers and then never leaves them alone, she gives lots of affection and endless purring!  Zena and sister Zia are polar opposites, Zena is a tomboy who shows no regard for her beautiful rare white coat, often jumping in muddy puddles and bouncing on her hind legs to ‘bite’ a jet of water from the hosepipe!

Zia is often seen relaxing and looking down ready to pose for all pictures, never hair out of place on her pale coat, although she isn’t as bouncy as her sister, she is still a loveable character, on her terms. Zena is a great spokescat for tigers, who creates the most impact, she is a sharp contrast in personality, between the loveable, overgrown kitten and the cat who could literally obliterate your existence in seconds if she chooses – lucky she’s fond of her keepers! Zena has actually lost an eye to glaucoma, a genetic problem caused by inbreeding, but it does nothing to take away from her beauty and stunning markings.

bank holiday weekend

This Bank Holiday weekend (1st May 2016) the zoo has partnered with the National Poo Musuem, and together they are hosting a ‘Really Wild About Poo’ event with BBC Springwatch host Chris Packham.

It is widely known that Chris has a fairly extensive collection of animal excrement, with his most precious being his giant tortoise poo! Chris has said he is “greatly looking forward to sharing my poo passion” and will even have a fun ‘Really Wild About Poo’ quiz ready for you to join in too! Pop along this Bank Holiday to the Isle of Wight Zoo and learn all about the Sloth’s infamous poo dance (once a week!) and many other fascinating facts!

Don’t worry an animal hasn’t escaped! The Darwin HQ team were spoiled with a day out at Chester Zoo! The Darwin HQ team don’t often leave the office, but when we do we get completely spoiled, and this was no exception! We were treated to a morning out at one of my favourite places on earth, Chester Zoo, to have breakfast with the bears. In celebration of Milli and Toni’s new home at the zoo we went to see them play and munch away in their fancy enclosure!

The two sun bears are the first to live at Chester Zoo since 1976, and with a 40 years gap they have been missed. I adore the bright faces and intellect they show, both bears were rescued separately from the wild, Milli and Toni’s mothers were killed by poachers in Cambodia. They were both found by conservationist team Free the Bears as mistreated pets before being moved to the UK, and now look how happy they are…

And of course, once we were there to see the lovely bears we couldn’t resist a little wander around…

I love Chester Zoo, it is my favourite place to spend the day because as we all know, I’m an animal lover. The next time you are visiting New Pines Holiday Home Park why not pop along the Chester Zoo and visit Milli and Toni in their new home, along with all the other fascinating species!

Happy Adventuring Zoo Goers and keep your eyes peeled for some exciting news regarding Chester Zoo coming up soon.

Flambards Theme Park in Helston, Cornwall is a fantastic family fun day out come rain or shine

Only a few minutes drive from our own Mullion Cove Coastal Retreat the fabulous Flambards Theme Park has much to offer, ranging from daredevil outdoor activities to award winning indoor attractions.

First opened in June 1976 as the ‘Cornwall Aircraft Park’ by retired Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, Douglas Kingsford Hale, the park received 76,000 visitors in its first season! Work was carried out to a high standard and the park was added to with amusements and exhibitions. Today Flambards is owned by Livingstone Leisure Ltd, who constantly invest and improve the attraction, which continues to offer something for people of all ages!

in the sunshine…

The rides and attractions at Flambards include the daring sky swinger, fantastic hornet rollercoaster, the classic log flume, as well as the dizzying speeds in darkness of the space race ride! Jump in the go karts, the rocking tug boats or the traditional pirate ship for fun family thrills, meet the past in the Jurassic journey attraction and visit Ferdi the fox too!

Are you brave enough to try Cornwall’s biggest drop slide, the Demon Drop? If you are looking for thrills, without the scare, enjoy the outdoor adventure play area as well as the fun Ferdi’s funland!

and in the rain…

The indoor attractions are a trip back in time, with the popular Britain in the Blitz exhibition you can see the sights and sounds of one of the worst times during the 1940s with London at War. There is also a fascinating war gallery, plenty of shops and scenes to marvel at, as well as being able to read Flambards collection of original evacuee letters, you will feel like you are transported back in time. Also the ever popular Victorian Village attraction has up to 50 Victorian scenes, including the cobbled streets with horse drawn carriages, a wood-block floored school room, a fabulous Victorian Home, fire station and Pheasant Pub!

Explore William White’s apothecary lost chemist time capsule, which was locked away in 1909 after White passed away. The apothecary was left to his son Edward, who had no interest in it, so locked it up so it was forgotten about and left untouched for over 100 years! Flambards reassembled the shop exactly as it was found (apart from the dangerous poisons that were confiscated by the Home Office of course!), everything was numbered and photographed so it has been put exactly as it was. Marvel at the walls, lined with a century old medicines bottles, pill dispensers and apothecary jars, among the many weird and wonderful things!

The next time you visit Mullion Cove Coastal Retreat venture out Flambards Theme Park and spoil your family, travel back in time, be a daredevil on the rides and have fun family day out!

happy adventuring daredevils!

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Trebah Gardens has beautiful scenery, breathtaking flowers, mouth watering food and a whole host of shows in its Amphitheatre. What more could you want?

Records show that Trebah dates back to the Doomsday survey of 1085, at the time it was the property of the Bishop of Exeter, it has an amazing and fascinating history. The stunning Georgian house at the head of the valley was built in the 18th Century and pre-dates the gardens, a survey map from 1813 shows Trebah as a magical wooded valley.

The beautiful garden you enjoy today is the result of nearly 200 years of horticultural endeavour, over the long history of Trebah the house and gardens has been passed from family to family. And was even used for a regiment of 7500 soldiers from the US Infantry Division during World War II. Major Tony Hibbet and his wife Eira purchased Trebah in 1981 as a retirement home but were convinced by the Cornwall Garden Society to do work on the garden and open it up to the public. Trebah was eventually passed on in 1990 to the Trebah Garden Trust, who currently take care of and enhance the gardens and grounds.Today you can enjoy a mouth watering Cornish Cream Tea at the Planters Café, as well as stocking up on garden essentials at the award winning visitor centre, finding the Gallery and Garden shops as well as the Trebah Plant Centre too. The new feature of the garden is the wonderful Trebah Amphitheatre, providing a space for the performing arts, set within a natural bowl for added atmosphere. The Amphitheatre helps promote local theatre productions and events, with something for everyone from The Mousehole Cat to Duchy Opera. Be sure to check out the Neptunlia events in July and August, a fest for the heart and soul, as well as the belly, all culminating with fun celebrations and dancing down on the beach.

So the next you’re visiting Mullion Cove Coastal Retreat jump in the car for a short drive to the Trebah Gardens, a beautiful day out for all the family!

Adding theatre and dance to the North Wales coastline at the seafront Rhyl Pavilion, read about two of their up coming shows below…

The current pavilion is actually the third construction, with the first opening in 1891 and the current building opening 100 years later in 1991! Steeped in local history the Rhyl Pavilion is one of the favourite spots to catch a show for locals and holiday makers alike. Over the decades Rhyl has hosted international artists and a huge number of productions; it also plays a big role in community events. Generating more than £4 million each year for the local economy, holding recent shows like Mrs Browns Boys, Little Mix and John Bishop to get the crowds in. But they also facilitate many local amateur acting groups, as well as being accessible for school productions and local bands, creating a place for theatre and dance on the North Wales coastline.

Two of these nationally acclaimed shows that will be gracing the Rhyl stage are Welsh Wrestling and Dirty Dancing: The Tribute Show, read below for more information…

Welsh wrestling

When: 27th May / Cost: £12 for adults, £9 for children and £35 for a family of four

Grab a seat and enjoy the glitz, glamour and body-slamming mayhem in this American Wrestling extravaganza invading Rhyl for one night only! The brilliant and over the top Welsh Wrestling brings the crazy wrestling world and combines it with a fun entertainments show that the whole family can enjoy, screaming along with the thrills and spills of live American Wrestling. Including stars who have appeared, and are about to appear, on the world renowned, WWE! The sensational Stevie Starr, the all action muscle man John Titan (seriously, what a name!) and the masked Mexican flyer Magico! With fantastic stars from the UK, USA, Mexico and Japan, grab a ticket and enjoy the ride. So let’s get ready to rumble! (I bet you shouted that in your head…)

dirty dancing: the tribute show

When: 14th May / Cost: £21 per ticket

This fantastic feel good concert will be touring the UK extensively, but grab it at Rhyl Pavilion in May and enjoy the music, dance and nostalgia! Lead actor Julian Essex-Spurrier has starred in productions like Rocky Horror Picture Show, as Rocky (ultimate dream to see this live) and played Tony in Saturday Night Live. And the beautiful Amanda Coutts has recently joined the cast after completing a stint on the West End in the smash hit We Will Rock You (I loved that movie!). This production is not the movie, so don’t expect a retelling of the movie, this fun show is driven by the soundtrack of the movie. Paying homage to one of the best soundtracks a movie ever had, this high energy, emotional roller coaster has breath taking choreography and buckets of nostalgia, and is currently entering its recording breaking 6th year of touring! Book a ticket and enjoy the electric atmosphere, where the crowd are encouraged to jump up, dance and sing the night away with the actors, and immerse themselves in the nostalgia of Dirty Dancing, a completely unique experience! Definitely a show not to miss!

So folks I think Rhyl Pavilion is the place to be in May! Looking for a place to rest your head after dancing the night away? We have two beautiful North Wales parks close to the Rhyl Pavilion in the form of Talacre Beach Holiday Home Park and New Pines who both offer holiday stays and holiday home ownership, giving you the chance to visit all the shows at the Pavilion, with no booking, no packing, just get up and go!

The Wheal Martyn in Cornwall is the UK’s only China Clay Museum and Country Park, it helps to bring Cornwall’s China Clay industry to life!

Located near our stunning Mullion Cove Coastal Retreat in South Cornwall, The Wheal Martyn offers fun ways to discover how Cornwall’s largest mining industry changed the world. You can see first hand all the amazing uses of China Clay in our everyday lives today, learning about the rich heritage in the interactive visitor centre.

The Wheal Martyn has fantastic indoor interactive displays telling the story of the fascinating men, woman and children who lived, worked and even played in the China Clay tips. Marvel at Cornwall’s largest working water wheel and the fully preserved Victorian China Clay machinery and equipment exhibitions, as well as being able to feast your eyes on a working China Clay Pit, from a platform overlooking the area.

The Wheal Martyn is family fun for everyone, including the dog! With 26 acres of woodland walks and nature trails for your fur-baby to fall in love with, they are sure to enjoy the scenery just as much as you. And your adorable human children will love the children’s woodland play area outside, as well as well the indoor soft play area for the little ones. There are guided tours on appointment, lots of temporary exhibitions to feast your eyes at, as well as plenty of children and family activity days!

On Sunday 24th April the Wheal Martyn is hosting a fantastic family fun day celebrating their 40 year anniversary, as well as the Queens 90th Birthday! The beautiful woodland grounds will be brought to life with traditional fairground games, bouncy castles and pottery painting! With live music to bop along too, including the local Bugle Silver Band, a male voice choir and of course a female voice choir too, all with fantastic food on offer to feed those hungry bellies!

explore the woodland acres and enjoy the entertainment, food, fun and festivities!

The world famous Babbacombe Model Village is magical at day and night, and having featured on the BBC programme ‘the village’ it just keeps on growing…

You can feel like a giant for the day at Babbacombe Model Village as you explore 4 acres of award winning gardens. The attraction has appeared on TV on numerous occasions, including on The One Show with their bird cameras, and also on The Graham Norton Show for Eastenders 30th birthday with the ‘Little Enders’ miniature set of the long running British soap. This is a miniature world that captures everyone’s imagination!

You will find lots of sound and animation, with some fantastic British humour helping bring the small world to life, with loads of hidden secrets an wonderful characters to explore you can stroll through taking your time and see what you discover.

Visit the miniature fishing village, or the famous Stonehenge and the new miniature Paignton Zoo, with miniature giraffes, turtles, elephants and even the wonderful keepers! New for 2016 the Village Green is getting a makeover, introducing the new picturesque village canal featuring charming narrow boats to top off the peaceful and idyllic scene. Also new this year is the fantastic Celebrity Mansion, the display will be hosting many celebs and events, who will be there when you visit? The Mansion will be opening late May in time for the school holidays with a fitting X Factor style garden party, why not pop along and spot your favourite famous faces in miniature?

Don’t miss out on the fun evening illuminations, every Thursday, the village is transformed and enabling you to see the models inside as well as out! Also after a long day feeling like a giant, grab a bite to eat to fabulous Gulliver’s Travels Café and Shop!

The next time you’re staying with us at Hawkchurch Resort and Spa have a fabulous day out at Babbacombe Model Village!

Welcome to this month’s Hidden Britain post lovely readers! Let’s explore the stunning coast of North Cornwall and North Devon and find the hidden gems in and around beautiful Bude!

The Cornwall/Devon border is one of the most popular locations in the UK, it can sometimes be rushed and busy, however there is a beautiful unhurried charm about Bude. Our own Sandymouth Holiday Resort is located in Bude and offers a wonderful traditional family holiday atmosphere. With a fantastic family entertainment’s programme and great facilities, including a large indoor heated swimming pool, air conditioned and state of the art gym, and family activities to enjoy like our own football field. Even with all this going on you may still want to venture out and sample the local scenery, well I’m here to help you find those little gems off the beaten path…

Read on to find a few hidden gems of beautiful Bude below…

Docton Mill – the best cream tea in North Devon

This award winning RHS Partner garden, tea room and mill is a stunning place to visit at any time of the year. The Docton Mill, the leat, head weir and terrace have all been traced back to Saxon times, around 750AD, at the time it would have been promoting the relatively new technology of water-powered milling. The Mill continued to work for hundreds of years supplying local bakers with flower, ceasing to trade in 1910 it became a private house and in the mid 1930’s was modified to generate electricity and continued to supply the town with electricity until the 1950’s! The current owners purchased the mill in 1977 and gave it a massive overhaul, bringing it up to the 20th Century and beyond; the gardens were extended, adding the new and magical woodland gardens, the beautiful stream gardens and peaceful greenhouse areas, winners of the Gold Medal Award Flower Gardens. The Tea Room is equally as popular, winning Best Cream Tea in Devon and Best Tea Room in North Devon, serving local and homemade produce, such as soups, pasties, cakes and delicious desserts. With its beautiful wood burning stove, award-winning Devon Cream Teas, stunning garden terrace and wonderful range of loose leaf teas, you will be in heaven with the friendly and welcome service.

Pencarrow House – fascinating family history

Surrounded by outstanding garden the Pencarrow House has been occupied by the Molesworth family, and their descendants, since Elizabethan times, approached by a magnificent mile-long carriage drive, through an Iron Age hill fort you can feel the history surrounding everything. There was a period in the 20th Century where the house and gardens were left inhabited and overgrown, before being taken on by the current owners Lieutenant Colonel Sir Arscott and Lady Molesworth St Abyn, who spent decades reclaiming the gardens from the overgrown state and lovingly bringing it back to full beauty. Open to the public since the 1970’s, a guided tour around the 50 room Georgian mansion reveals a fascinating collection of antique furniture and paintings, the gardens include a large Victorian rock garden and ice house, with 50 acres of parkland, a lake and magical woodland. Today, the family inhabits one wing of the house, while the rest is a window to the past, the gardens are a combination of formal landscaping and woodland walks, with the Peacock Café on hand for a bite to eat and a cuppa!

the Tree Inn – music, food and friendly atmosphere

This former Manor House is one of the oldest and most historic inns in Cornwall, The Tree Inn dates back to the 13th Century and is situated around a beautiful courtyard. The restaurant is stunning with its ceiling beamed with timbers from ships wrecked on the local coast, and 13th Century Galleon, the gallery above is ideal for more intimate dinning and the Bevil Bar has a beautiful flagstone floor and a wood burner that creates a wonderful warm and welcoming atmosphere on those winter days and nights. On those days where the weather is on your side you can enjoy a delicious meal in the glorious court yard, soaking up the warmth in the natural suntrap. The Tree Inn offers modern British pub food, with locally sauced produce, a stunning Sunday carvery, selection of cask ales, draught ciders, as well as local bottled ciders. Live music is played every Friday night, with the house band playing traditional folk music, along with the blues from The Tree Dogs, and foot-tapping bluegrass from the Smoky Mountain Boys and visits from the ever-popular local Lifeboat Singers! Why not drop in and say hello to Bob & Emma the landlords, as well as the resident furry friends Bella & Brodie, and the stunning Cassie the cat, friendly atmosphere and fantastic food!

Port Isaac – breath taking scenery

Port Isaac is a place of pure beauty, a real coastal small town to marvel at, whilst losing your breath walking up those steep hills! It was a busy coastal port with an active harbour, where cargoes like stone, coal and pottery were traded, from the Middle Ages to the mid 19th Century, most of the old centre of the village is 18th and 19th Century cottages, many of which are officially listed architectural and of historical importance. Port Isaac’s beauty has graced the TV screen a number of times, frequently used as a set for Poldark, but is probably most popularly known as the fictional Port Wenn for Martin Clunes’ hit TV show Doc Martin, where Clunes’ tactless manner causes mayhem in the small Cornish community. With tourism becoming an increasing factor for the village, traditional jobs such as fishing and fish processing are taking more of a backseat, you can now book fishing and scenic boating trips from the harbour. The village was first registered as a fishing village in 1340, with its sheltered harbour, on an otherwise inhospitable coastline offering refuge to many boats and ships. Take a trip to Port Isaac and walk the street that Doc Martin does, see the stunning scenery for yourselves and navigate the narrow alleys and steep hillsides.

Tintagel Castle – King Arthur’s legend

One other place to visit while in Bude would be the stunning Tintagel Castle, located on the breath taking Tintagel headland, this castle is forever associated with the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Sometimes named as King Arthur’s birth place, but built by King Richard’s brother, Henry the Third in 1225, the castle became a tangled mixture of folklore and legend. Immerse yourself in the history, myths and stunning scenery on this rocky eminence battered by the sea.

So next time you are visiting us at Sandymouth Holiday Home Park venture to these hidden gems and let me know all about your adventure!

Happy adventuring kings and queens!

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