DAY OUT WITH THE KIDS || DARTMOOR

Last day of half term and with the guilt of having spent too much time doing house work and odd jobs we thought we would make up for it by getting out and about and enjoy the amazing woodlands in the Dartmoor National Park.

Backpack packed full of fruit, crisps, sandwiches and biscuits, a hot flask of tea and some spare dry clothes, we all piled into the car (dog included) and headed down the Devon coast to Parke National Trust.

Our long walk involved lots of leaf racing down the river bank, trying to spot out mushrooms and collecting lots of 'treasures' which included dry leaves, sticks, pine cones and anything else Henry could stuff into my pockets and his. The colours were absolutely breathtaking and if you ever get a chance to visit the area then autumn time is a definite winner.

With our tired legs, wet dog and hungry bellies because we pretty much ate all our picnic on the drive down (doh!) we scuttled into the warm 'Home Farm Shop' and treated ourselves to a jacket potato and a flat white before Oscar decided that sitting in a cafe wasn't very much fun. 

Before we knew it, it was time to head home. On the way  down the A30 and with no sign of the children falling asleep and O on the verge of kicking off we luckily spotted Otter Valley Ice Cream with a sign saying 'Last Day of Trade'. Well any excuse to get our last award winning ice cream in of the season, it didn't take us much convincing to pull over.

I think this was the most indulgent and rewarding part of the day. Watching the sun set on the valley, the cows mooing in front of us and our big pots of ice cream filling our tummies nicely and seeing the boys faces gleaming with delight. 

We made it home just in time to eat some left over bolognaise I had in the fridge and get them both into bed before 7pm.


Its true what they say that a sunday well spent brings a week of content. Monday - give me all you got!