Every year we travel from our home in Kent

To Tilda’s river

At Coombe MIll Farm

In Cornwall

We love Cornwall

It is a place that holds a very special place in our hearts

I think I would live there if I could

The beautiful countryside

The quirky towns and villages

The history, myths and legends

And, of course

The sea!

We always love Cornwall

Once we are there

But getting there is not always much fun

Over the years we have trialled different things

To break up our journey

To make it more bearable

And affordable

More and more we find that treating the journey

As an extension of the holiday is a good idea

We have four living children

Aged 0 – 7

Here are top tips for travelling

From Kent to Cornwall

With a car full of little people

Holiday Pyjamas
It has become a tradition of ours

That on ‘holiday eve’

All the children have new pyjamas

Holiday pyjamas

PJs that they will sleep in

And start their travels in

Very early the next morning

Leave Early
We try to leave for Cornwall at 5am

If we are much later than that

We end up stuck on the M25 for ages

Which is no fun for anyone

But can be truly awful with little people

Our children love being woken

‘In the middle of the night’

To go on holiday

We bundle them into the car

In their pyjamas

With their ‘bedtime cuddlies’

And blankets

And a real air of excitement

Especially if it is still dark!

Stop for Breakfast (Packed Breakfast)
Our aim is always to reach Fleet Services

On the M3

We always stop there for coffee and breakfast

It is generally clean

And has space for the children to run around

David and I usually have a coffee

And we eat our packed breakfast

The perks of packed

Is that you know your children will eat it

You do not have to pay service station prices

And it can be eaten in the car if necessary

Once breakfast is eaten

We get the children dressed

And head back to the car

Use Parks as Pit Stops
Day time driving

We try to plan a stop

Every 90 minutes

From Fleet we can reach a range of places

A short stop can be a picnic lunch at Stonehenge

Or a day out can be had at Longleat

This is definitely one of our favourite things to do

And will be part of our plan for 2018

This year we diverted to Dorset

Which is also en route

Where we visited Wimborne and Weymouth

And made a special stop in Exeter

Paultons Park is another place

Perfect for a Kent to Cornwall travel plan

Words and Pictures
In our car we usually begin any long journey quietly

Listening to Radio 4

As the children become more awake

We start listening to stories and songs

Our most recent trip to Cornwall

We listened to Roald Dahl audio books

At the moment we are listening to

The Lion Storyteller Bible

Our journeys are much more peaceful with stories

Than without

We used to have a DVD player in the car

For extreme traffic situations

But we rarely used it

And we do not have it anymore

Play Games
We often play games in the car

Spotting coloured cars

Being a favourite

I used to love Pub Cricket

When I was a kid

Use a Lie Flat Car Seat
When travelling with little babies

We have always stopped every 60 – 90 minutes

Now with our Jane Matrix Light 2

We are able to drive for as long as we need to now

And Edie is able to sleep

Lying flat in her car seat

It does not stop me worrying

I am not sure anything ever will

But it is better than any upright seat

And I would not now travel without it

At almost 6 months

Edie still has plenty of room to sleep safely

In the carry cot

And when she wakes it is super easy

To sit her up and spin her round

So that she can interact with her siblings in the back of the car

Priority Packing
If you are planning stops along the way

Make sure the bags you need are accessible

Make sure change bags, picnic bags and outer layers

Can be got at

Do not bury your buggy with stuff

And if you are staying over night

On the way to your main holiday

Pack a separate overnight bag

And don’t forget your toothbrush!

Overnight Stops
When time and money allow

We love an overnight stop

We like to stay close to Longleat

To allow us a full day at the park

Before continuing on our way

Gain A Day
By travelling Friday

For a Saturday check in

We gain two days of holiday

The Friday but also the Saturday

We get up early on the Saturday

And stop again on the way to Coombe Mill

At a beach usually

Or National Trust property

Aiming to reach the farm

Mid afternoon

With time to play and unpack

Time to settle before bath and bed after tea

Travel Home at Night
When our holiday is over

We again leave very early in the morning

Or we leave late at night

When the children would ordinarily be going to bed

If we do this the younger two will sleep soundly

But Esther and William unable ti sleep in the car

Stay stoically awake listening to audio stories

Thank goodness for Roald Dahl!

What are your top tips for long car journeys

With little people?