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You are here: Home / ADVENTURE / Half term adventure part 2: The Isle of Wight with Blue Chip Holidays

Half term adventure part 2: The Isle of Wight with Blue Chip Holidays

February 29, 2016 by Molly 2 Comments

The Hermitage IoW

Have you ever been on holiday and had literally no idea what to expect, only to arrive and have a really delicious feeling of anticipation, as you realise you DID make the right decision? Well, that’s EXACTLY what the first day of our holiday to the Isle of Wight with Blue Chip Holidays was like over half term.

It was the first time the husband had even met Not Another Mummy Blog’s Alison Perry and her family, who we were staying with, so it could all have been a bit of a disaster. Thankfully, we knew within minutes of meeting up on the ferry that this wasn’t going to be the case.

We were staying at the rather grand Hermitage near Ventnor, on the southern tip of the island. Set in remote countryside (it’s the remotest country house on the island, apparently) overlooking breathtaking scenery across the rolling grounds, this ten bedroom house somehow manages to be both cosy, inviting AND luxuriously spacious. It’s perfect for a multiple family holiday where you don’t necessarily want to be in each other’s faces 24 hours a day.

The Hermitage entrance

Within minutes of arriving, the house was full of laughter as Frog joined Alison’s five year old in checking out every single room (and testing every bed) in the house. The open plan kitchen / dining room provided an ideal base for everyone to drift in and out of, and the fact it adjoined a well stocked playroom went down very well with my toddler.

Kitchen at The Hermitage IoW

This became the place we would all congregate in the morning for a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea. I loved sitting here as the sun came up in the morning, watching the red squirrels (yes, really!) dart across the extensive lawns outside. It’s amazing how quickly you can feel at home in a place.

Kitchen Hermitage

There were some lovely personal touches to The Hermitage which, for me, really made the Blue Chip Holidays offering stand out. For example, there were fresh flowers on display, along with a welcome hamper including wine and delicious local cheese. I know from experience that you don’t always get this welcome every time you visit a holiday property.

Playroom The Hermitage

Once we’d unpacked the cars it was a case of exploring the house, which was so big you could get lost in it. This is the type of place I’d imagine a very happy week could be spent with extended family or a few families looking to share the cost of a holiday together.

As well as the kitchen and playroom, there’s a cosy living room (with TV, natch), a large drawing room with French doors opening onto a terrace area, a games room and gym, as well as an upstairs reading area and ten (did I mention TEN?!) bedrooms. In fact, it’s so big our five year olds got an entire wing of the house to themselves. Frog even tested out various beds throughout the week (as did the NLM in a game of musical beds one night!). You can see a full tour of the house over at Roost TV, if nosing around big gorgeous properties is your thing.

Drawing roomThe Hermitage entrance hall

The games room was stacked with plenty of games, as well as a big TV, table tennis and pool tables. From here you could access a gym and separate shower room, although we kept this locked due to little people running around (little people and heavy weights don’t mix).

The games room was loved by young and old alike. The girls spent hours in here making up dance routines and playing gymnastics, while the adults enjoyed a few table tennis tournaments fuelled by prosecco and gin. Everyone was happy!

The Hermitage games room

Perhaps the biggest draw to this property though is the outside space. Like inside, you’re spoilt for choice. You can sit on the terrace and drink in the views, run across the lawn, wander around the edge of the gardens and look at all the flowers, or (as our girls chose to do) play in the house’s very own outdoor play area.

Outdoor play area Hermitage

On the second day of the holiday Baby Girl broke out in chicken pox, which meant one of us had to stay behind with her every day. If you’re going to get chicken pox though, THIS is the place to get it. The house and gardens were so big that bubs didn’t get cabin fever. In fact, she cried when it was time to go home!

Outdoor play area The Hermitage

We were very lucky with the weather and spent lots of time outdoors. One day me and Alison took Baby Girl for a walk down the lane leading up to the house. The blue skies, birdsong and idyllic scenery was like something out of a Disney film – or Country File. Either way, it was rather perfect.

Isle of Wight Blue Chip HolidaysThe Hermitage Isle of Wight

We managed to get that elusive balance between relaxation and planned activities throughout the week, largely thanks to the Blue Chip Holidays Experience we opted for. This is a concierge service that works in much the same way as a hotel concierge does. You let Blue Chip Holidays know what kind of things you like to do and they put together an itinery for you, complete with sorting out table and ticket bookings.

It means you don’t have that last-minute stress of looking up activities and can spend your time actually enjoying the holiday instead of researching ways to keep the kids occupied. Again, this would be a big bonus on a multiple family trip where you have lots of different needs to cater for.

Beach huts Shanklin

During the week we went to an evening festival in the woods, explored the local seaside town of Shanklin (where me and Alison indulged our love of Instagram-friendly beach huts), ate at the fantastic Cow Co. at Tapnell Farm and Frog and Alison’s little girl went to Isle Jump – an indoor trampoline park on the island – with the dads.

Me and Alison

In between all of this there were plenty of moments to unwind with a cup of tea and a magazine, do some colouring, play in the play area or just run around the house playing hide and seek – and that was just the grown-ups.

The Hermitage on the Isle of Wight

On our last evening the Blue Chip Experience gave us a treat that I’ve never experienced before: a private chef coming to the house to cook us a three course meal. It was so fancy, I felt like an actual movie star! We ate crab and prawn salad, the most mouth-watering chicken wrapped in parma ham I’ve ever tasted, with profiteroles for pudding. It was one of those evenings I know I won’t forget in a hurry.

Thanks Blue Chip Holidays for a fantastic week. And thanks Alison and gang for fantastic company.

You can read Alison’s review here and watch her video here. Check out Roost TV for home tours and read more about why we loved The Cow Co at Tapnell Farm on Roost.

We were guests of Blue Chip Holidays for the purpose of this review. For more information about how I work with brands see my Work With Me page.

Blue Chip Holidays offer 7 nights at The Hermitage in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight from £2,635 on a self catering basis, based on a 6th June 2016 arrival. Blue Chip Experience can organise a number of activities and unique experiences for guests who book a Blue Chip Holidays property including but not limited to those activities mentioned in this review. www.bluechipholidays.co.uk / 0333 3317 913.
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Family Mini Break to Isle of Wight

Filed Under: ADVENTURE Tagged With: Family holidays, family travel, half term activities, Isle of Wight

« Our half term adventure part 1: The Grand Harbour Hotel with Holiday Extras
What “being kind to yourself” really means as a mum »

Comments

  1. Pamela | Life With Munchers says

    February 29, 2016 at 10:27 pm

    Woah…that house is quite simply stunning! My jaw is firmly on the floor x

    Reply

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  1. INFLUENCER OUTREACH PART TWO – Blue Chip Holidays with Mother’s Always Right and Not Another Mummy Blog | #DMWF Dubai says:
    September 15, 2016 at 12:08 pm

    […] we came home we both each posted a review on our blogs, (you can read them here and here), made YouTube videos of our trips and continued to talk about the trip across social […]

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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Image description: A close up of Molly’s bare skin as she hugs herself. It’s dark and part of her body is illuminated by light. She has her eyes closed and is smiling.
“Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. “Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. And my heart swelled. Maybe I’m doing an OK job after all 🤞❤️💕 #BodyHappyKids 
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I could leave this caption here but I need to make something clear: if you think it’s great that my daughter - a thin, white, nondisabled, cisgender kid - feels good in her body but you’re not here for the self-love of any kid who doesn’t look like her.... then you’ve missed the point.
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ALL bodies are good bodies, and without this important piece of the puzzle ALL children will be at risk of doubting their body. And what happens when they doubt their body? Well... hating our body doesn’t make us treat it with love, and the same is true of kids. 
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Image description: Effie, age 6, stands against a white wardrobe holding up a letter she has written to herself. It is spelled phonetically and reads “My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me.”
I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I ha I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I had any spare cash - not just treats, but basics like pants and tights that fit properly. I’d tell myself I didn’t need it, didn’t deserve it, couldn’t justify the expense. There’s still that little voice (the habit of putting everyone else’s needs first and my own last dies hard it seems) but I’m leaning into exploring why it still sometimes rears its head, instead of always listening to it. 
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This is what teaching kids to idolise thinness and This is what teaching kids to idolise thinness and fear fatness looks like and it hurts my heart 💔
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This is what happens when we only give children a very narrow representation of what health / beauty / success / happiness looks like, and when we don’t incorporate mental health into conversations about health. The body image, self-esteem and wellbeing of children suffers. And it IS suffering.
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Last week @Childline_official launched their #NobodyIsNormal campaign and released figures showing they’ve run 43,000 counselling sessions for children since the first UK lockdown earlier this year. These are quotes from children they spoke to, showing that low self-esteem is a major issue for many of the kids they’ve been in touch with. 
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I was at my desk all weekend so here’s a throwba I was at my desk all weekend so here’s a throwback to September when we hiked along part of the South West coast path and discovered three new beaches. I miss the outside. 
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If you’re interested in learning more about this stuff there are lots of resources in the link in my bio, but for fitness specifically I recommend following @emmafitnessphd @tallyrye @thephitcoach & @amysnellingpt for starters and also check out @drjoshuawolrich recent post on this subject too ✨ #JoyfulMovement #BodyHappyKids
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Image Description: Molly and her two daughters on a beach, smiling. They wear hiking boots and Molly is wearing purple leopard print leggings and a neon yellow jumper. The sky is blue and the sun is shining.
Did you know the same area of the brain lights up Did you know the same area of the brain lights up when we experience the pain of social rejection as when we experience physical pain? True fact. Which is why I think 
it’s wild we spend so much energy in kids’ health education on nutrition (or “good food and bad food” as is so often the case) and so little on prepping them with the skills to navigate social media in a positive way. 🧐
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Social media can be a great thing, but it can also be a scary and anxiety-inducing place too (watch The Social Dilemma on Netflix for more on this!). We’re having conversations with children about the dangers of sugar but not even touching on the dangers of social media and the impact it can have on health (because mental health is health too FYI). 
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I’m a 37 year old woman and social media still messes with my head. What chance has a tween got? 
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I could lie and say that I always take the “other people’s opinion of me is none of my business” approach but the truth is I’m a sensitive people-pleaser so when I experience negativity online it stings. 
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I don’t read hate forums and am quick to block trolls, but that doesn’t mean this stuff has no impact. 
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I had a conversation with my pal @jskychat that helped me through a difficult phase recently, and I’ve shared the tweets that started it off in case they’re helpful for you too. I think Jsky should be brought in by the government to help design a PSHE social media lesson for the curriculum to be honest, but that’s a fight for another day. ❤️
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In the meantime, I’m teaching my kids the affirmation that “Their opinion is not my truth”, which works well in all life but seems particularly apt when it comes to social media.
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