Is there such thing as a relaxing holiday for both parents AND children?
We were visited by Emma Bradshaw and her lovely family over the Easter holidays, who reviewed us on behalf of Canopy and Stars; click on the link to her blog or read the transcript below;
Our stay came at the end of the Easter holidays and after two ridiculously busy and stressful weeks for us for a variety of reason we were ready for a break. We arrived at Brownscombe to be greeted by owner Kate who was lighting the huge stove in our tent ready for our arrival, she gave us a quick tour of the safari tent we were staying in before leaving us to relax.
It was a blustery April weekend but tucked up in the huge safari tent we were very cosy and not cold at all. The beds were huge and so comfortable with fabulous long water bottles and luxurious bed linen we had the best nights sleep that we’d had in a long time and the boys loved the cabin bed.
You really wouldn’t believe you were in a tent, with iron beds, antique furniture, deep comfy mattresses and sheepskin rugs.
The huge stove is at the heart of the tent and fires up really easily but there is also an induction hob to heat up the kettle so you don’t have to wait too long for that morning cup of tea. There were also plenty of lamps, a fridge in the kitchen with a complimentary bottle of prosecco, candles, a loo & shower room with hot water and some electric points if you want to charge your phone or plug in a hairdryer – I’m really not sure you can call this camping at all! But you know what as much as I love camping it was amazing to have everything you need to hand and hot running water and a loo actually in the tent, it meant we could just switch off and instantly relax.
The boys having just been confined in the car for a few hours were bursting with energy for the opportunity to explore and run! There was a games room in the old barn with table tennis table, table football, board games and a pool table. Next to the games room is a small drying room with a washing machine and a little ‘honesty’ larder with a few essentials stocked and order forms if you want to book a home cooked breakfast in the morning or a home-cooked meal in the evening.
The boys roamed the fields enjoying the space and meeting the children staying in the other two tents and as the mizzle came in they gravitated towards the games room, playing happily.
Kate welcomes the children to join her to check and feed the chickens, pigs, lambs and ducks on the farm and is lovely making sure they all did a little to help. The boys followed her like the Pied Piper, meeting both the farm animals and her two gorgeous dogs Molly and Margot, they absolutely adored it and it gave my husband and I rare and valuable time to enjoy a hot cup of tea, cook breakfast and wake up lazily.
Brownscombe is situated in a quiet valley but near enough the English Riviera to take advantage of more traditional holiday fun. We ventured out for the day to Dartmouth about 12 miles away, crossing over the River Dart from Kingswear on the small car ferry much to the excitement of the boys, we managed to find parking on one of the narrowest streets I’ve ever driven down! We enjoyed brunch at Dartmouth institution Cafe Alf Resco before taking our (borrowed from the games room cupboard) buckets and leftover bacon bits to the quay for a spot of crabbing, which Stanley was most excited about.
After catching five crabs and then gently releasing them back in we watched the gig racing in the harbour with a local ice-cream.
We spent the evening back at the tent around the fire pit cooking tea over the flames and waiting for the sun to set so we could learn a few star constellations in the night sky for our first Year of the wild badge.
It really was a perfect weekend enjoyed by all of us in equal measure and over all too soon, Kate and her family have really thought about everything that a family needs to relax and enjoy a holiday. Of all of the glamping trips we’ve been on, this was by far the most luxurious. I would even go as far as to challenge anyone who says that they “don’t do camping” to stay here as I think they would be pleasantly surprised and their children would thank them too.
*The weekend at Brownscombe was kindly gifted to us as part of the Canopy and Stars Collective but this review is entirely our own opinions and words and we are hoping to return this summer we loved it that much