Trevella Park in Autumn ~ A Review

I have been kindly offered to return to Trevella park this year and review the park plus some of Cornwall's attractions and see what we all think. It's great to come here at a different time of year. When we last came we were holidaying in the summer, Little A was 2! You can read that review here, it was a great time so returning is just wonderful. I've decided to write this blog as a type of diary, so each day I'll write about our day, a different way of reviewing!

Monday 26th

Today we arrived at Trevalla Park, all very excited despite the rain. We are situated in The Meadow which is a lovely area to be, and it appears to be host to the dog friendly caravans on the park which I have to add as lots of people have asked about the park and rules on dogs. Our caravan feels slightly smaller than last time but it is cosy, it's a 2 bed luxury caravan with plenty of heating and actually pretty spacious given that there is an eating area and a large sofa plus generous storage space. We brought our own food but yet again there are plenty of things I appear to have forgotten! It's okay though because there is an on site shop. We are using it for top ups and those items we forgot to bring from home.

The children have been incredibly excited despite arriving to pouring rain. We had trouble with our TV but a member of staff sorted this straight away and so CBeebies is going to be viewed this evening! We have just enjoyed a simple sausage, mash and peas all cooked easily in the caravan with all kitchen equipment provided by the park.

Tomorrow we are heading to Newquay zoo! I've been using the App for Cornwall to check what attractions are near by as we are using taxis and I've found this app to be really useful. You can also find places to eat and other things too, it's worth checking out and downloading if you're visiting Cornwall. Using it, I've been able to see entry prices of the attractions we want to visit which is very handy as my Internet isn't working great here and it saves me using my 3G for ages looking on line!

Right now though, I'm going to put the children to bed in the same room and Mr B and I will chill on the sofa having cake and watching television. It won't be long before we go and enjoy our rather comfortable bed in our warm room!

Tuesday 27th

Slight change of plan today! Because of the pouring rain we have decided to head to the Blue Reef Aquarium. We've just had breakfast and showers, it took me a while to get my shower to be as hot as I like but once I looked properly I was in shower heaven! We were up pretty early this morning so time has gone very slow, it's okay though because I've got lots to do before leaving for our day trip!

***

We had an amazing time at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay, it's a small aquarium and as it's half term was pretty busy but we had an enjoyable hour or so there. We booked our tickets online which meant it was slightly cheaper and brought our own lunch with us too. Before the aquarium we went to the beach, which the aquarium overlooks and it was so good to feel that soft sand. Check out our lunch view below.

We drew pictures and wrote our names in the sand ticking off one of the 70 Great Adventures in Cornwall on Trevellas website.

Then we enjoyed seeing the fish, sharks, turtles, frogs and various other creatures at Blue Reef Aquarium. I'm going to do a separate post on our trip so look out for that.

Once we were dropped back to the site (we don't drive so used 2 taxi firms, getting to the town cost us £7.00 each way. It certainly limits the activities you can choose because we can't afford to go very far) I nipped into the shop and then watched Midge and Little A play on the parks play equipment. Both are big fans of the tractor! I also checked out the Rangers activities for the rest of the week which were written up by reception.

Now I'm chilling with my hot chocolate and enjoying the peace. Despite seeing a lot of dogs around The Meadow you hardly hear them at all which is obviously a good thing. We had sunshine from 12pm, maybe earlier and the evening is lovely tonight as opposed to last night! Tomorrows plans are breakfast, crazy golf, on site party and then a spooky walk at 5pm!

Wednesday 28th

What a day! We started with crazy golf in the late morning (FYI I won!) that was 50p each and I have a feeling the cheapest activity will be the favourite one! We all had a laugh anyway. After crazy golf we headed back for lunch and to get ready for the Halloween party being hosted at the cafe. Little A wore his power ranger suit but Midge unfortunately left all her dress up at home. They still had fun at the play area, playing pin the boo on the ghost, getting a face paint and eating cupcakes. We didn't win the raffle but I got some lovely bits at the table top sale and all the money went to a good cause. There were some fab pumpkins on display too:

In the evening we wrapped ourselves up for the spooky walk. We were early so went to see the rabbits, degus and Ollie the owl. We got to go in Ollie's cage! It was wonderful seeing him fly over for his food.

Then we joined some other families for a short circuit of the woods. All but Mr B got suitably spooked by the dressed up staff! We loved the pumpkins dotted around and the hanging ghosts! I could tell the staff thoroughly enjoyed their Halloween roles! To warm up we bought chips from the on site cafe which were really good. For £2 a portion they were generous and the ideal ending for a busy day!

Thursday 29th

It's my birthday! I've had a big cooked breakfast, my lovely cake and opened my gifts in bed. Looking forward to trying out my new wellies in the woods later and going to the zoo!

***

We have had a great day. I'm writing this tucking into more chips and feeling totally shattered. We had a little walk this morning then headed off to the zoo. I was given a press pass for 2 adults so after we paid for the children we were off on our zoo adventure! We saw zebras, fossa, lions, lots of birds, penguins, frogs and a lovely racer snake too. There was so much more there to look at as well. Little A enjoyed it the most I think but we all had a great time and spent all day there. I would recommend bringing your own packed lunch though, the cafe is so incredibly busy and high priced but I will say I thought their food was tasty. I had a good look round the gift shop which was full of great cuddly toys, nick knacks and games. We're now at home snuggled under blankets and all feeling a bit sad it's our last night here. We've had a great time though.

We had such a wonderful time at Trevella Park and hope to go back next year. I wondered what we would get up to at this time of year but I'm pleased to say, as you can see we were not short of things to do. A big thanks to Trevella park who provided us with accommodation for our stay.

* We were provided with a 2 bed luxury caravan by Trevella Park for our stay. I also received a press pass to check out some of Cornwall's attractions which we used at Newquay Zoo but we paid for the Blue Reef Aquarium. I was also asked to review the App for Cornwall which I have mentioned within this post. This is a free app available to download now.

Cupcake Mumma

Our Week that Was ~ Week 35

Another week and it was the last one of October. Last week was half term and we spent 4 days of it at Trevella Park. On Monday we finished packing up and tidying the house. My mother in law collected Peppa and then my aunt arrived to collect us! We arrived just after half 3 to our home for the half term. We settled in pretty quick. Mr B checked out the on site shop and cafe while the children and I battened down the hatches for a rough night! Our first night wasn't great because I'm not used to the noise and A was unsettled (as expected away from his room and bed).

It's okay though because on Tuesday we all got showered and dressed and headed to Newquay. We lunched on the beach, drew in the sand then went to the aquarium. We all loved the aquarium, I want to visit the Plymouth one next year I think. I loved the turtles and the fire bellied frogs, Mr B loved the Sharks and giant turtle, Lils loved the sea horses and turtles and A loved the Sharks and getting splashed by the ray! On Wednesday we went to a Halloween party and on a spooky walk at the park which was great fun. We also played crazy golf in the morning which was really good fun for us all. Wednesday was the best day of the holiday for us all I think!

On Thursday it was my birthday! I opened my cards in bed and my presents. I got notebooks, decorations for our home, new welly boots and a hamper of yummy goodies from my Gran and Aunt. I may have sneaked a free from rocky road slice for breakfast. We sorted a taxi in the late morning and headed off to Newquay Zoo for the day.

At the zoo we saw loads of different animals, the children got to pat the goats, we saw the zebras and lions and the Penguins being fed. I checked out the gift shop and bought the most adorable little teddy plus some postcards (naturally) which I am very happy with. We ate out at the cafe (Mr B wasn't happy, he thinks you need a mortgage to eat at these places, he is kinda right to be fair!) and after our long but fun day we went back to the caravan for chips and birthday cake. I also had to sadly start packing for our early leave the following day.

Over the weekend we unpacked and did all the boring chores you have to do. The children dressed up for Halloween and Mr B took them out to the neighbours for trick or treating while I stayed home to dish out some of our sweets. As I get older I find I'm getting more mixed emotions about many things and one of them is Halloween which I've always loved! The children had a great time anyway and we also made cupcakes for our pudding, yum!

If you've blogged about your week, share it with me in the comments below!

Cupcake Mumma

Back From Our Jollies!

Yes we are back! We holidayed in Newquay at the beautiful Trevella Park near Crantock beach,Cornwall. I love a good stay-cation but what I love even more is staying in my beautiful home county and finding out what's on my doorstep.

First, a little about Trevella Park. I found it incredibly family friendly with kind and helpful staff and plenty of facilities. There is everything on site; from a swimming pool, games room,playground and park to an on-site shop, cafe and laundry facilities. Put it in the simplest of terms, you don't even have to leave the site to enjoy yourselves. The site does not have any bars, cheesy night do's or kids clubs making the park a wonderfully peaceful and ideal get away

***

We arrived in the late afternoon on Friday to find a clean and spacious caravan. I've never stayed in a static caravan before and forgot quite a few things so we headed to the on site shop as soon as we could! After that it was all about the pool until bedtime!

We woke up the next morning to one of the hottest weekends I think we'll have in July! We started with a family breakfast with 2 excited children looking forward to their Ranger Adventure with Wayne who works on site. Wayne introduced himself and we met another lovely couple before we set off for just over an hour of nature fun! The Ranger Adventures is a new addition to Trevella Park offering your little ones a chance to get up close and personal with the bugs and small creatures of the park's beautiful surroundings.

  

Beautiful bed-head babies!

Here is Wayne showing the children a vole. None of the animals are harmed at all when they are trapped hunting for food and Wayne knows exactly what he's doing. The children loved seeing such a small creature up close and with more luck, next time we'll see more!

We ended the trail with leaf rubbings, looking through magnified tubs at mini beasts and ticking off all the creatures,leaves and plants we'd found along the way.

The Ranger Adventures will also include pond dipping, fishing, den building and much more for various ages (and adults! I had great fun!) Sessions start from the end of July so do ask at the reception when you arrive!

We spent Sunday relaxing on site, enjoying the heated pool which was amazingly refreshing, venturing into Newquay town where we visited a handmade market and found a mini carnival! Midge played on the bouncy castle and we sat overlooking some gorgeous views from the cliffs.

The beautiful view of one of the parks lakes. 

We also got to meet Ollie the Owl who lives on site very happily watching the world go by. We were extremely lucky to be offered to see him be fed and for that I am very grateful because the children adored him!

On Monday we enjoyed Newquay Zoo! (Yes we loved the park so much we paid to stay an extra night!) Called Cornwall's largest zoo, it is packed with birds, otters, meerkats and of course your monkeys and lions. The zoo is not a large zoo when compared to other zoos in the country so do bare that in mind when visiting or you'll feel disappointed like a few people I spoke to. We however had a lovely time and enjoyed the fact that the trails weren't too long and the park wasn't so big we missed anything.

Some very old bird cages from all over the world were showcased in the tropical sanctuary . Here, we saw a variety of beautiful looking birds, snakes and other colourful reptiles. Oh yes, we mustn't forget the bats! (Little A liked those!)

This handsome chap came to say hello

I think it's fair to say that we enjoyed our little get away and had a lovely stay. I can honestly recommend this park and we can't wait to go back next year!

CupcakeMumma

*We were offered a 3 night stay at Trevella Park for the purpose of this review. We paid for the fourth night ourselves. As always the opinions expressed in this post are all of my and/or my families own. It really was a fabulous weekend.