It’s been a busy week at Boutique HQ but Friday is finally here and we are off to spend the weekend at the very beautiful Dawnsmen. We collect two very excited children from school and then we head off, picking up Grandma on the way.
We enter the village of St. Buryan and follow the directions to the hamlet of Tregadgwith and navigate through the pretty country lanes until we see the signpost for Dawnsmen, then head down the final track and see the retreat emerging at the bottom. The lawn is perfectly manicured, and I can’t wait to go inside.
We go in through the front door, stopping to admire the well thought out pergola with its comfortable outdoor seating and I can hear the soft bubbling of the hot tub. Once inside I look around and take in the beautiful interiors - the open plan living, dining and kitchen space is bigger than I had imagined and perfect for a family holiday.
A minute later and the kids are out of the car and charging past me, very excited to choose their bedroom. I find them in the master bedroom arguing over which of them is going to have this room, I steer them in the direction of the second bedroom which has been made up as a twin especially for them. They take up residence and start to unpack their toys, soon each bed has a selection of soft toys and the shelves are now occupied by colouring books, barbie dolls and Toy Story’s Buzz and Woody.
Grandma settles in to the third bedroom while Chris and I unpack our bags in the Master.
With bedrooms chosen and bags unpacked, we settle into the open plan living space with a cup of tea while the kids explore the house further with a game of hide and seek. Dawnsmen really is the perfect place for a family holiday, the house is so spacious and the open plan living, and eating space is great for the whole family to relax and spend time together.
By the time dinner is eaten it’s starting to get dark outside, we head outside to the pergola which is beautifully laid out with plenty of comfy seating. We light the outdoor wood burner and immerse ourselves into the gorgeous hot tub. Fifteen minutes in the hot tub is enough for the children so Grandma takes them off to bed for story time, whilst Chris and I take the opportunity to pop open the bottle of champagne generously left for us by the owners and relax into the warm bubbles, enjoying the peace and quiet of the surroundings.
We wake the next morning after a restful sleep. The super cosy bed in the master bedroom is so comfortable whilst the heavily lined black out curtains plus the quiet and tranquil surroundings of the property mean that the children have a rare and very welcome lie in.
I get up first and head into the spacious kitchen to start preparing breakfast, closely followed by the rest of the family. The kitchen is equipped with everything you need, and the open plan living space is the perfect social space to all be together. We all sit down around the large dining table and enjoy a leisurely breakfast and a rare break from our usual busy schedules.
After breakfast we head out to Portcurno, a nearby beach. We put on our wellies and head down the coastal path from the car park towards the beach.
As we approach the end of the path the beach below comes into view, and what a stunning view it is!
We pick our spot on the beach, and Dad heads off into the sea to catch some waves
while Grandma and I build sandcastles on the beach with the kids.
We have been so lucky this morning as the rain that was forecast seems to have held off and we have been treated to some Autum sunshine. We have the beach pretty much to ourselves apart from a few surfers - late September is a great time to visit Cornwall, after the busy summer season you can really enjoy the peace and quiet of the beaches.
The kids are enjoying themselves splashing about and paddling on the shoreline
I’m happy taking in the beautiful scenery and enjoying the calmness of the beach.
By the time Chris emerges from the sea it’s coming up to lunch time, so we pack up and head back to the car.
We make our way to the nearby town of Penzance, by this time the weather has changed, it is pouring with rain, so we park up and spot The Dolphin Tavern. We enjoy a leisurely lunch of beautiful sandwiches on thick cut, fluffy granary bread for the children whilst Chris and Grandma opt for the Newlyn Crab salad and I decide on the Halloumi salad. The food is lovely, made with fresh ingredients and enjoyed in a relaxed family atmosphere. This cosy pub was a good find!
The kids have managed to pretty much finish off their giant sandwiches and their attention is now on the dessert menu, so as we are so close to Newlyn we decide to finish off lunch by treating ourselves to an ice cream from Jelberts, this was the best idea! Beautiful vanilla ice cream, clotted cream and a flake. Simple, delicious, one flavour made to perfection.
Back at Dawnsmen it’s wet and windy outside, so we settle down on the sofa with a movie.
The kids choose Free Willy, we settle in to watch the film and tuck into the cream tea kindly left for us by the owners. Once the film has finished and the whale has been freed and is safely back in the sea the kids decide it’s time for a late afternoon dip in the hot tub. We don’t take much persuasion to sink into the bubbling warm water, especially as the hot tub is sheltered under the pretty pergola keeping you away from the worst of the rain.
We happily dwindle away the remainder of the afternoon with a game of Monopoly, this takes us into early evening so after a light dinner the kids are off to bed.
Once the children are asleep we settle down in front of the wood burner with some nibbles and a glass of red wine, we listen to music on the SONOS sound system and chat into the evening, it’s so nice to be able to spend quality time together as a family and relax.
We wake Sunday morning from another restful night’s sleep in the wonderfully comfortable beds. Breakfast is a more laid back affair this morning with the children enjoying their cereal at the table with Grandma, once finished Grandma takes the opportunity to enjoy a soak in the lovely deep bath in the family bathroom while the children start a game of Connect 4 in the lounge. Everyone is happily occupied so Chris and I perch ourselves at the breakfast bar and enjoy eggs on toast.
We spend Sunday morning lounging around, relaxing and enjoying the feeling of not having to be anywhere.
After lunch we head down to Sennen Cove, the beach is busy with people walking and enjoying the scenery and the sea is dotted with surfers. We walk along the beach, explore the rockpools and as we have out wellies on, we paddle along the shoreline.
We finish off our afternoon with a Sunday roast before heading back to Dawnsmen to enjoy our last evening.
By the time we arrive back at our home for the weekend it’s early evening and we treat ourselves to a dip in the hot tub followed by a family film on the squishy sofa in the lounge.
Film finished and nibbles eaten we settle the children into bed and light the wood burner. Grandma decides to have early night so Chris and I open a bottle of wine, bring out a cheese board, turn off the TV and make ourselves comfortable in front of the wood burner, making the most of the last few hours of our fabulously relaxing weekend.
Feeling inspired? Dawnsmen sleeps six and welcomes up to two dogs. It also offers a 'just for two' discount of 10% outside of peak season - take a look here for more information.
