Tin Box Traveller Diaries: July 2017
As I look out of my window while writing this post, it’s raining. Hardly weather for the height of the British summer?! It’s got me feeling a bit pessimistic as I think ahead to our staycation in the UK, during which we’ll be visiting three counties in our caravan. However, a quick scan through my Instagram has made me feel a bit happier. Even though much of July has been damp, there’s still lots of fun-filled outdoor adventures in my feed. Here’s a snapshot of what we got up to at home, away and on the blog in July:
Home
- It’s now less than six weeks until Tin Box Tot starts school. She finished her transition mornings in the middle of the month and I’ve been stocking up on school uniforms. A lovely thing to come out of the transition days is that Tot has been invited to a couple of birthday parties with her new school friends. While I’m not a fan of kids parties (I go all ‘socially awkward’), she’s loved it. I’ll now be in denial for the rest of the summer that school is happening to my biggest girl. Expect tears in August’s Tin Box Traveller Diaries!
- In other home news, I’ve started learning French. I did a little Instagram Story about it. If you’re inspired to have a go yourself don’t miss out on the offer on my blog.
- And I’m not the only one on a learning curve. Baby is also in the midst of potty training after a group of her friends at nursery decided to go for it. It’s been tough work so far but I’m hoping we’ll crack it in our few weeks holiday over the summer. Wish us luck!
Travels
- We started the month by towing Tin Box to East Devon where we spent the weekend at Andrewshayes Holiday Park. It’s on the edge of the Blackhills area of outstanding natural beauty and is very family-friendly. It made a great base for exploring this part of the country we have rarely done more than drive through.
- The girls and I joined Tin Box Grandma and Grandpa for a few days at Hendra Holiday Park in Newquay, Cornwall. It’s ideally located for the town and visiting the amazing beaches nearby. The site also has some great facilities for families.
- Our last trip of the month was a spa break at the China Fleet Country Club in Saltash, Cornwall. We haven’t tried to do something like this with the kids before but it was actually much more possible than we thought.
Adventures
- While staying in East Devon we visited two attractions that I’ve been itching to see. Seaton Tramway and The Donkey Sanctuary at Sidmouth. Both come highly recommended and we were not disappointed. There will be more on both these fab days out on the blog soon.
- From Newquay in Cornwall we visited Port Isaac. It’s a picture-perfect fishing village on the North Cornwall coast that doubles as the set of the popular Dr Martin TV series. We visited while filming was happening and saw the star, Martin Clunes in rehearsals. It turns out Sigourney Weaver was also on set but we didn’t get a glimpse of her.
- Our Devon beach of choice during July was Goodrington Sands in Paignton. It’s one of a handful of easily accessible beaches that allows dogs throughout the summer season, so was a good spot to let the kids and Tin Box Dog let off steam in-between running errands.
- We were invited to Palace Theatre at Paignton to see Peter and the Wolf by the Goblin Theatre Company. Mr Tin Box took the girls and they came home chattering about woodland animals and friendly wolves. I think it was a hit! Over the summer the Palace Theatre has all sorts of family shows on including Aladdin. Here’s the full programme.
- The very next day we continued the cultural theme by going to the Midsummer Dreams Festival at Dartington Hall Estate near Totnes. Here we enjoyed watching national and local theatre companies perform and took Tin Box Dog on a lovely walk around the estate.
- On our first day off during the official summer holidays the girls and I took Tin Box Grandma and Grandpa out. Our destination was Dartmoor Otters and Buckfast Butterflies sanctuary at Buckfastleigh in Devon. I’ve written all about our little visit. We followed this up with a wander around the gardens at nearby Buckfast Abbey.
- Towards the end of July we visited Compton Castle, which is a National Trust property near Paignton in South Devon. The castle has a special Tudor event going on and the girls loved dressing up, laying games and spotting squirrels around this 15th Century manor house.
- To round up the month we went otter spotting on Dartmoor. There’s a art trail around the National Park all holiday season and we saw several the Dartmoor Summer Fair at Princetown. Find out more about the Moor Otters.
Blogging
- My most popular post of the month was my barbecue tips for summer, followed closely by an old post about packing for a self-catering holiday. I’m guessing a lot of you are off on your holidays very soon!
- I’ve been invited to write reviews about our caravan weekend at Woodovis Park, Andrewshayes Holiday Park in East Devon, our morning cycling the Tamar Trails, our stay at Hendra Holiday Park in Newquay, our first spa break with kids at China Fleet Country Club, a visit to Dartmoor Otters and Buckfast Butterflies and my first impressions of learning French online with Rosette Stone.
- It’s great to have been featured in the following places: Dais Like These’s island holiday round-up, Suitcases and Sandcastles’s best British seaside resorts and a round-up of cruise reviews by Trips100.
Catch up with last month’s diary post or skip ahead to August 2017.
As ever, thank you so much for reading! I love hearing what people think about my blog so feel free to leave a comment below or browse around. You can also find me on Bloglovin’, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube and LinkedIn.
Wow you get about a lot! I’d like a little spa break but wouldn’t think to take the kids so it’s nice to know that you can. We love Hendra as well and have been there a few times. Thanks for the heads up on Goodrington beach allowing dogs all year round. Enjoy the rest of your summer x
Yes, I only realise how busy we’ve been by doing these round ups 🙂 Have a fab summer and thanks for sharing this post!