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You are here: Home / ADVENTURE / A very special mini-break to Cornwall

A very special mini-break to Cornwall

October 11, 2015 by Molly 7 Comments

One Puddle Fowey

It was always going to be a special trip. So many things to celebrate. My parents’ 40th anniversary, my birthday (of course), my baby’s birthday, my mum’s birthday, my sister and her boyfriend moving to Australia (OK, not really a cause of celebration, but still something to mark), three generations of family who all get on rather well and actually enjoy spending time together. Luckily for us, the holiday home of One Puddle near Fowey in Cornwall provided the most perfect backdrop for our celebrations. And by perfect, I mean P E R F E C T.

This is the kind of house that Instagram dreams are made of. You walk through the doors and straight onto the pages of an interiors magazine. This is style with a capital S. It was all I could do not to take a photo of everything in sight and put it on Instagram right that very minute.

But first, the outside…

One Puddle outside shotOne Puddle orchard One Puddle outside seating

I know, I know. Idyllic, right?

The outside of the house boasts plenty of areas you can get lost in, from benches to enjoy a morning cup of coffee or an evening glass of wine, to an outside dining area, an enclosed grassy garden to play in, a stream, a mini orchard, a hill to run up (and down) and another grassy area overlooking the valley, complete with picnic bench and neighbouring field of cows.

One Puddle outside fun

One Puddle is a six bedroom house that sleeps ten people (plus a cot), situated in a little village called Lanlivery near the town of Lostwithiel in Cornwall. It’s about twenty minutes away from the stunning harbour town of Fowey and fifteen minutes from the famous Eden Project. Location-wise, it couldn’t be more perfect.

But it’s not just any holiday home. This place is something else. It’s like staying in a five star hotel, complete with Egyptian cotton sheets and plush towels, but with A-list appliances (waterfall shower, anyone?) and an attention to detail not seen in any other place I’ve ever stayed in.

One Puddle kitchenOne Puddle kitchen accessories

For a multi-generational group like ours it was spot on: big kitchen, two living rooms (one with a TV, DVD player and plenty of DVDs to get stuck into) conservatory, two bathrooms and various plush bedrooms. There was also a fully functioning laundry and boot room and another bonus room with a desk and day-bed just off the kitchen. In short, there were plenty of places to escape to, should the hectic nature of a busy break away with family get the better of you. There were rooms to congregate and spend time together, and nooks to retreat to if you needed a moment of quiet.

One Puddle gamesOne Puddle living room

I always think it must be hard for an owner of a holiday home to get the balance right between keeping things neutral and appealing to everyone, without turning the house into a bland space lacking in identity. This place gets that balance down to a tee.

It oozes personality, but in a restrained non “in-your-face” way. There are beautiful prints on the walls, for example, but no family photos. The colour palettes are just the right mixture of bold and mellow. The furniture is thoughtfully chosen and accessorised, effortlessly mixing old with new. This attention to detail and commitment to quality is maintained throughout the house, even through to the laundry room.

One Puddle accessoriesOne Puddle board

So the house looks beautiful. But it works beautifully too. The kitchen boasts stylish subway tiles accessorised with a stunning Art Deco sideboard and vintage antiques and china, but the cupboards are full of top quality John Lewis kitchenware, high end appliance brands and kit that would please any foodie. There’s even a little sewing kit – that’s what I mean by attention to detail.

Style-wise, the house has been thoughtfully and sensitively renovated. Period features remain and are given a new lease of life with clever colour palettes and print. I loved the way each bedroom had its own subtle theme, giving each space a real sense of character. This helps to make the house really feel like a home, instead of just a place to come back to and rest at the end of a busy day exploring Cornwall.

One Puddle Master bedroom One Puddle nautical bedroom One Puddle nook

We stayed for four nights at One Puddle. During that time we explored Fowey and the nearby Polkerris Beach (I definitely recommend both), Lostwithiel and The Eden Project for Baby Girl’s birthday. If browsing interesting shops is your bag then you’ll love Fowey and Lostwithiel. Both towns are packed full of stylish boutiques, antique shops and independent stores that you can easily lose yourself in for hours. Of course the surrounding scenery is incredibly picturesque too. Fowey has a beautiful harbour offering plenty of boat ride opportunities, and Polkerris Beach just down the road is in a lovely secluded bay that would probably make a fantastic swimming spot in the summer months.

Fowey 1 Fowey 2 Fowey 3 Fowey 4 Fowey 5

The trip was just what this slightly frazzled soul needed after an intense few weeks of being back into the school run routine and mum / work juggle. Although it wasn’t long, we all really switched off and relaxed, enjoying each others’ company and soaking up possibly one of the last times we’ll all have together for a while.

Despite appearances from this photo, both girls loved spending time with their aunty too, who they don’t get to see a huge amount of due to work and life commitments.

Polkerris beach family shotPolkerris skimming

Before I end up posting an entire essay and breaking the internet with all my photos, I just want to share this video I made of our time in Cornwall.

Our break to One Puddle won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

NEED TO KNOW: One Puddle is situated in Lanlivery, near Lostwithiel in Cornwall. It sleeps 10+ a cot, with 6 bedrooms and parking for 3 cars. There’s a cot, high chair and stair gate available at the property. There is current availability for Christmas 2015. To find out more, or to book, check out the website: www.onepuddle.com We were guests for the purpose of this post.

 

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Family holidays in Cornwall

Filed Under: ADVENTURE Tagged With: Cornwall, family travel, holiday homes in Cornwall, mini breaks in the UK

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Comments

  1. Fritha Strickland says

    October 13, 2015 at 6:43 pm

    Ah this looks like the perfect family break Molly! The house looks so warm and inviting as well as being super stylish, I love the idea of getting together with a larger group to have some chill out time x

    Reply
  2. laura redburn says

    October 13, 2015 at 10:14 am

    oh my goodness, this place looks amazing! i’ve never been to cornwall, but i’d really love to explore it sometime.

    Reply
    • Molly says

      October 13, 2015 at 1:13 pm

      It should definitely be on your list Laura – it’s beautiful!

      Reply
  3. Lori says

    October 12, 2015 at 10:10 pm

    It looks wonderful and the perfect family break to chill out and relax in a beautiful setting. Off to check out availability now. x

    Reply
    • Molly says

      October 13, 2015 at 1:13 pm

      It’s absolutely stunning. As an interiors lover, you would fall in love with the place, guaranteed!

      Reply
  4. Alice says

    October 12, 2015 at 2:23 pm

    It looks beautiful, Molly! I adore Fowey but have never been to The Eden Project (I KNOW!). I love the luxury of going away to such a big house, even though it’s so much cheaper than a hotel when you split the cost. This is definitely going on my ‘must-visit’ list x

    Reply
  5. Catherine says

    October 11, 2015 at 5:27 pm

    What a fabulous place…I’m experiencing holiday envy. Glad you had such a lovely time.

    Reply

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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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The summer is our favourite 🍦🍦🍦 . . . [I The summer is our favourite 🍦🍦🍦 
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[Image Description: A selfie of Molly and her six year old daughter eating icecream. Molly has a scoop of mint choc chip in a cone and Effie has a white chocolate Magnum (other brands and flavours are available!).]
Just in case your feed is full of glossy, perfectl Just in case your feed is full of glossy, perfectly posed beach photos, here’s something to correct the balance. 🍑
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Even with a feed full of gorgeously diverse bodies it’s easy to slip into objectification mode, seeing our bodies as something to be photographed in a moment rather than living in that moment. 
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There’s a place for beautiful photography and artfully styled photos for sure, but remember that art isn’t real life and real life is the one we’re here to actually LIVE. 
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When you’re on a beach IRL you see a whole range of different people with different bodies moving or not moving in different ways. So don’t compare your beach body to a body you see on Instagram, which is in a photo, posed and often nicely lit or shot on a snazzy camera or posh phone. Our bodies are for doing, not being, and Instagram often pushes us to forget this ❤️
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[Image description: A photo of Molly and her two kids, taken from far away. They are building sandcastles on the beach.]
Health 👏 Is 👏 Complicated 👏 (No matter ho Health 👏 Is 👏 Complicated 👏 (No matter how much diet culture tries to convince us otherwise.)
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One of the people I interviewed for the Let’s Talk About Health chapter in #BodyHappyKids was @mindbodydoctor. Tosin described health as a jigsaw puzzle, and talked about how we need to take all the pieces into account before we can know about someone’s health.
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Diet culture doesn’t do this though, and the weight normative ideas of health that diet culture perpetuates breed weight stigma, which can be incredibly dangerous when it comes to healthcare (see @fatdoctoruk @drjoshuawolrich and @everythingendocrine for more on this). 
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Me at 6.30am this morning. Between all my work and Me at 6.30am this morning. Between all my work and being a mum there isn’t much time left for me. So I steal it. I get up at 6am while everyone else is sleeping and tiptoe through the silent house, slipping out the door to be at the pool for 6.30am.
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I’ve been feeling stomach-churning anxiety this week. When I have these phases my self-esteem plummets. It almost stopped me swimming today.
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I worried I was putting the lifeguard to an inconvenience because I was the only one there. I worried about standing out... what would the dog walkers think?! I worried I was wasting time doing something nice when there was so much work waiting for me at my desk. I pushed the worries down and got in the pool anyway, and once I was underwater they immediately shut up. 
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As the sun skipped across the ripples I had that special euphoric feeling, like one of those really annoying cheesy motivational speakers in the 90s. I literally wanted to whoop and offer socially distanced high fives to strangers. It was magical ✨
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For me, a huge part of continuing to feel at home in my body is to just zoom into the experience of living in it. Swimming as the sun comes up. Dancing in the kitchen with the kids. Breathing deeply while a nice smelly candle burns in the background. Savouring the delicious in-between hazy gap bridging wakefulness and sleep. 
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I appreciate my body for allowing me to have these experiences. And I’m grateful to my brain for its whizzing electrical currents and the synapses that spark and fly, as it works hard to process all these thoughts and feelings. Aren’t our bodies amazing?
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[Image description: A selfie of Molly in a swimming pool, wearing goggles and sticking her tongue out.]
It’s the time of year when diet culture gets out It’s the time of year when diet culture gets out the megaphone and ramps up a gear. And this year, along with all the “bikini body”, “summer ready” BS that we get every summer we’ve also got to contend with all the “post lockdown glow up”, “quarantine body transformation” skullduggery too. Not OK 😕. And our kids are not immune to it.
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The Story of the Wetsuit . For my 30th birthday my The Story of the Wetsuit
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For my 30th birthday my parents offered to buy me a wetsuit. We’d just moved to Devon and it seemed fitting seeing as the beach was on our doorstep. Then I fell pregnant so wetsuit shopping was put on hold. We eventually bought one 18 months later, when my baby had arrived in the world and my postpartum body stopped bleeding long enough that I could face putting a swimsuit on to do some proper wetsuit shopping.
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The first thing the man in the shop asked me for was my size. Now, what you need to know about this moment was that the words he spoke and the words I heard were very different. 
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My diet culture, post-baby body insecure riddled brain translated “What size do you need?” to “Don’t you want to lose weight before you buy a wetsuit?”.
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One wetsuit but so many thoughts. 
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