Here at Get Fruity we love nothing more than jamming our bags full of healthy snacks and heading out exploring our beautiful Cornwall. School holidays are our very favourite time of the year as we get to spend oodles of family time together (in-between creating our delicious bars of course!). I thought I would share some of our best loved days out that can be enjoyed no matter what the weather.
My boys (2 fire balls of energy Jakey who is 8 & Jesse who is 3!!) and I enjoy nothing more than spending our days exploring the magnificent coastline of Cornwall; from the rugged, crashing shores of the North Coast to the relaxing, calm coves of the South Coast there is something for everyone. We enjoy a day at the beach come rain or shine; packing our wetsuits in the rain and bikinis in the sun; Cornish living is all about adapting! Constantine Bay on the North Coast is where we can be found most days, as the long sweeping beach never feels over-busy even in the popular summer hols, the RNLI patrol this beach so the water is safe for my little explorers, and the waves are awesome for budding bodyboarders. There are vast rockpools, shallow crab infested pools for my youngest and deep pools for my eldest who loves swimming around trying to catch fish in his hands!!! When the tide is on its way out the whole of the rock pool area turns into a shallow, rocky pool of joy for explorers both large and small, it really is amazing. The only time the kids are on dry land is for a scrumptious picnic packed with delicious treats, our favourite summery treat is Tangy Pineapple, Coconut & Lime Get Fruity Bar, which fills the kids healthily ready for more watery awesomeness!
When the Sun is shining brighter on the South Coast we jump in our car and head for Swanpool Beach, where the gentle lapping waves are the perfect setting for some kayaking. It is great fun wildlife spotting both in the sea and in the sky; with giant Lion Jellyfish bobbing on the surface and Gullimots and Fulmars gliding through the sky! There is a secret island (sssshhhh!!) where we even found buried treasure on one trip. Make sure to pack your Get Fruity bars to fuel your kayaking return to shore! If you mums and dads fancy a more relaxing day, Elemental are based on Swanpool and offer an awesome Kids Club for over 6s with kayaking, coasteering, raft building, snorkeling plus much more, my son Jakey cannot recommend this enough!
Although we are mostly found on one beach or another there are loads of other fantastic days out around Cornwall. Carnglaze Caverns is a great all-weather day out for all the family, the underground tour shows how a traditional Cornish slate mine worked and the ingenuity and skill of the miners. We loved descending the 60 steps down 150m into the hillside to the cool 10 degrees of the cave even on the hottest of summer days. Our highlight was the crystal clear waters of the underground lake where we learned about all the minerals mined in the South West, a real good mix of fun, beauty and information. Just enough time for a Moist Mixed Berry Get Fruity Bar to fuel the ascent back to the surface for a magical woodland walk where the zigzagged pathways lead to the enchanted dell and then through the quarry wood where we enjoyed the panoramic views of St Neots village and then looped back around to the main site – the whole walk took us 30 minutes, and we were fairy hunting along the way. We enjoyed a healthy picnic in the charming walled gardens, a really lovely day out for everyone.
Visit the Carnglaze Caverns Website
Often we travel further afield to the stunning St Michaels Mount in Marazion, where we have strided across the causeway, crab hunting along the way and then explored the sub-tropical gardens and medieval pathways. We have reveled in the outstanding views and concocted stories of times passed. We have never ventured inside the castle but it looks fascinating and is definitely on our hit list for this summer. Just a short drive away from St Michaels Mount is Penzance which has a flat promenade along the sea, where Jesse loves to ride his scooter and Jakey enjoys his roller-skates; a fantastic park is the boys reward for awesome riding, and there is a great coffee shop for mums and dads to refuel too. Just a stone’s throw away from here is Jubilee Pool, a huge outdoor pool open daily through the summer, we haven’t been yet but again is a must for this summer, we just need the sun to shine first! All this fun surrounded by the sea, it can only be Cornwall!
Along with the Summer Holidays this year though came a down-pouring of rain, again!! I have had no choice but to loosen those purse strings and try some of our local and best loved attractions, sometimes battling the crowds but always worth it for the smiles on the boys’ faces!
Visit the St Michael’s Mount Website
This is another all-weather attraction really, with something for all ages. We went on a grey day with threatening black clouds on the horizon and although it is fairly expensive the good thing is you get a return within 7 days ticket. We ensured that we spent the dry morning outside meeting the various animals, getting lost in the ‘Maize Maze’ and playing on the slides (Jesse is slide obsessed!), zip wire and trampolines’ before the heavens opened and we headed for the ‘Hay Barn’ which is a large indoor play area with death slides, obstacles; and more importantly a cup of tea and biscuits for mum and I!!! The kids had a ball in here, even though it was packed and they were extraordinarily sweaty and after an hour or so we ran though the rain to the new ‘Cannon-Bull’ where the kids got to shoot each other with foam balls until their hearts were content!!! I had foolishly promised them a pony ride (extra £1 per child) so we queued in the rain and off they went on the poor soaking ponies, the pony did not look impressed but the kids loved every minute! Just time then to fit in ‘Pat a Pet’ where we got to stroke a guinea pig, rabbit, rat and even a ferret!!!! A fantastic day out, and on the next rainy day we used our return ticket to head to the ‘Hay Barn’ for some indoor energy expelling!!
On a day when the sky felt like it was falling down the rain was so heavy from dawn we decided to brave the swimming pool. Now Jakey is 8, I am able to take the two boys together so we headed to Waterworld by opening time to avoid the queues. Although there were a few people there the pool was practically ours for the first half an hour. It was Jesse’s first time and his eyes almost popped out at the sight of the flume and the smaller slides for little bums; both boys dived straight in, I took a while to join them, it was freezing. We then spent the next 2 hours up and down the slides, climbing on the giant snake and chasing each other through the bubbles! I cannot describe how much the boys enjoyed themselves; from a fussy mummy point of view it does feel a bit run down and could all do with a good scrub but it was pure pleasure for the kids. The added bonus was that both boys were exhausted after and Jesse fell asleep and Jakey played his tablet and I read my book, a rare and welcome treat!
Visit the Waterworld Website for swim times
On yet another rainy day, there have been so many, and when the other half was off work we decided to head up the A30 to the services for the Clip n Climb for Jakey and Ben and Active Kids for Jesse, he is too small for Clip n Climb. Jakey and Ben had an absolute ball on the various climbing walls in Clip n Climb (I am not sure who enjoyed most!!), challenging each other and racing each other. The only downside was the wait for each wall but this is Cornwall and it is the Summer Holidays. Jesse loved Active Kids which is another indoor play area, he was so excited to be able to climb so high as the area is tall and narrow and kept climbing to the top and waving. I had the tricky task of ‘watching Jesse’ which meant drinking tea and reading my book, interrupted by waving of course – bliss!!! We then all had a scrumptious pizza and all went home extremely happy and satisfied.
Whatever the weather decides to do, Cornwall is packed with fun, scenery and laughter; just don’t forget your wellies!!!!!!
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