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We ventured to Cornwall this summer. We are a family of 4: Mum, Dad, and 2 kids aged 4 and 1.

The trip from the North West down to Rosslare was a good 4/5 hour drive and we opted for the early morning ferry, so we stayed overnight in Whites of Wexford, which we thoroughly recommend. Their Library Bar has great food, there’s a lovely pool for a swim & not far from the hotel to Wexford Town for an evening walk around the town. A big thumbs up from us.

Ferry from Ireland to England

We took the ferry first thing that morning which was great. The kids ran around, we found the staff very helpful, and there was a great play area with Curious George interactive screens, soft play area and video playing, plus we could sit at seating right beside it and keep an eye on the kids. As we travelled by car, we were able to bring bags on with our own snacks and toys too. No luggage allowance there!

We sailed to Fishguard, which was about a 3 hour sail. We got to Wales before lunch, so we just drove for a little while and stopped for a bite to eat. Then it was nap time for smallest one, so we pretty much managed to get all the way to Cornwall then in that block of time. The bigger one dozed a little and also watched a DVD. Myself and himself swapped driving too halfway there, so was very manageable!

Higher Lank Farm in Bodmin

We stayed in Higher Lank Farm located in Bodmin Moor which is the top of Cornwall. They offer unique farm holidays for families with young children, babies and toddlers. We actually teamed up with good friends who have small ones of the same age and booked one of the Self catering Nursery Rhyme Barns between us all so was very affordable. But they also do B&B and we met a family from Cork there at the same time.

I cannot recommend Higher Lank Farm enough. It was wonderful! The Barn we stayed in was very comfortable, had every item you need for small kids: high chairs, cots, changing tables, stair gates, small cutlery, small delph, toys, books etc etc

Outside there are plenty of places for them to play too with play houses, sandpits, bikes, swings, slide etc.

Plus every morning you can join the farmer and feed all the animals!!! So lots of egg collecting, giving lambs their bottles, feeding goats the leaves, feeding hens, chicks, ducks, pigs…. The kids just loved it! Don’t forget the wellies though!

Then you have the rest of the day to explore Cornwall and explore we did.

The Camel Trail

We were near one end of The Camel Trail, an 18 mile recreational multi use trail.

A particular highlight was hiring bikes and cycling from Padstow to Wadebridge and back. You can hire all combinations of bikes, big, small, tandem, baby seat, toddler seat, tag-alongs and we choose 2 ordinary bikes and put a 2 seater Child Trailer on one!

Well, we just LOVED it! What a great day out we had.

Cornwall Beaches

We also hit the beaches of which there are many! Plus indulged in a few ‘cream teas’ as well! The villages are so quaint; they are just lovely to walk around.

Other Family Friendly Things to do in Cornwall

• We took a day trip to the National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth on a wet day and whiled away a few hours.

• We had another nice spin down to Lands End where we got the obligatory picture with the signpost!

• And we visited the Minack Theatre which is simply stunning. Unfortunately we picked one of the weeks it takes school tours so we were unable to watch a show as they were completely booked out, so maybe next time!

• The Lappa Valley Railway was another lovely day out.

The Eden Project

The Eden Project was fabulous too. A really amazing place to go to. We spent the whole day there and enjoyed every minute.

There were also so many leisure parks & adventure parks you really won’t be at a loss for things to do. We feel we could go back again and do an entirely different holiday! Then as we were self catering, we chose some days to eat out, some to cook and always were able to bring a picnic with us, so food costs were small. We even were able to pre order a Tesco delivery that was in the Barn when we arrived!

Journey home…. we left Cornwall at 6am and kept going and got into our own beds very late that night! A long journey from England home but kids were great. Basically a 4 hr drive to boat, 3 hour sail and 4.5 hours this side. But accounting for booking in at boat, toilet breaks and mealtimes it was very do-able in one long day of travel.

We’ll definitely go back! Here are my final tips

• Do get a roof-box for more space and storage
• Do have in-car entertainment!
• Do have a sat nav & save any map arguments!
• Do have plenty of car friendly snacks.

More family holiday ideas: Camping in France, Camping in Italy and Family Holiday to Greece