A little slice of Cornish heaven

Georgina Fuller - 30 Mar 17

There is really nothing I didn’t love about Tredethick Farm Cottages and it’s one of the only places I’ve been to which caters just as much for the grown-ups as it does for the children. Our cottage, Hayloft, was nestled at the end of a quiet drive just outside the small town of Lostwithiel. It was at the far end of the courtyard of cottages, which were beautifully converted from farm buildings in the 90s.

For us there was a hot tub, an honesty shop with prosecco and cider (what’s not to love about that), Egyptian cotton sheets, fluffy dressing gowns, amazing DVD selection (wouldn’t recommend watching The Pianist after prosecco though – I was in floods by the end) and power showers. Not to mention the homemade scones on arrival. There’s also a babysitting service too if you want to venture out for the evening.

The children thought they were in heaven with the play barn (completely with giant sandpit, play house and slide, table tennis, snooker and football table), indoor swimming pool, outdoor play area, soft-play, ride-on John Deer tractors and outdoor football field. They also loved the animal feeding session in the morning where they fed the hungry lambs warm milk, picked out fresh eggs from the hen house and cuddled the pygmy goats. We had to get back for school on Monday so sadly missed the foraging and pony riding on the Monday.

We did get to have a lovely swim in the pool though and make full use of the playground and with cuddling the little goats. We also went to a beach in Newquay called Lusty Glaze, which was heavenly, thanks to the spring sunshine. And I got to revisit Padstow, one of my favourite childhood haunts. We ate at Rick Stein’s fish and chips place and were pretty impressed (just as well, seeing as he’s up there with Raymond Blanc and Keith Floyd in my food heroes/middle-aged man crushes!) Unfortunately, the five-year-old embarrassed us all by announcing at full volume he really needed a poo, but other than that we had a lovely time and the service and fish were fab.

We also stopped off at the Eden Project on the way there as it’s only 20 minutes or so from Tredethick. It’s a place I have been meaning to visit for at least a decade and it didn’t disappoint. They have just opened the new Weather Maker there – a contraption which wouldn’t look out of place in a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory stage set. Our boys (who are eight and five) were fascinated by watching the water go up the pump, ready to be turned into rain at the top.

I felt a bit like an extra from I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here on the new Rainforest Canopy Walkway bridge too. Just as well none of us are afraid of heights! The café in the main biome (the giant white domes which are always featured in the Eden Project pics) had a great selection of local and veggie options (bean pasty, anyone?), long, child friendly trestle tables and was very reasonably priced. The children also loved taking the land train, led by a giant tractor, back to the main entrance at the end of the day.

I really didn’t want to leave Tredethick and could happily have moved in. But it’s probably just as well I didn’t as I’d have continued gorging myself on Cornish pasty’s, scones and glorious Cornish fudge.

Georgina Fuller

Georgina Fuller is a freelance journalist, reluctant realist and mother of three; Charlie (8), Edward (5) and Jemima (3.) She writes for The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Red, Smallish, Little London magazine and anyone else who pays her. After eight years in London, she now lives in a Midsomer Murdersesque village on the edge of the Cotswolds.

View profile for posts, events and more info