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children arrive just before 9am. Even outside the peak
of the tourist season, the eight cottages on this estate
in Cornwall are chocka with families, tempted by Glynn
Barton's mix of child-friendly facilities - from an
indoor pool, to a playground, to a games room, and a
collection of toddler toys and videos. But perhaps the
pièce de résistance is animal-feeding.
Andy Orr, who runs the place with his
wife, Lucy, emerges with a bucket of feed in one hand,
and his son, Duggy, three, clasping the other. Andy
puts the bucket down, and eager mites dig in. The sheep
and cattle will eat the food from a child's hand. The
donkeys need to be treated with a little more care -
tiny fingers look a lot like food pellets to them.
Once this mixed herd is fed it is a short
tramp up the hill to the pigs and chickens. Two kunekune
pigs from New Zealand squeal with delight as the gaggle
of toddlers approaches, clutching pig nuts and apples
which are dispatched over the fence into the animals'
field. Then it's on to the poultry - ducks and chickens
scamper around as small children throw bird feed at
them. After that comes a search for new-laid eggs in
the chicken coops. Any spare ones are handed to the
tiny guests to take home to Mummy for her breakfast.
The animal-feeding takes only about half
an hour. But it transforms the whole day's routine at
Glynn Barton. The children are taken out of the cottages
just at the point when their parents are desperate for
a few minutes for a shower and to pack the bags for
the day's trip out. Having said that, one parent should
go too - it is not advisable to send your toddler on
his or her own; Andy has enough trouble keeping Duggy
in check.
Once out of the cottage, you can easily
tempt your offspring into another half hour running
around the fields or swinging in the playground. The
daily ritual cuts down the stress of holidaying with
small children.
The same can be said for Glynn Barton
as a whole. The cottage complex, overlooking a stunning
valley at Cardinham, about five miles outside Bodmin,
has been completely renovated by the Orrs since they
arrived from London four years ago. The cottages have
always been popular with families but now Glynn Barton
is being targeted specifically at the under-fives market.
This is a fast-growing, but still rather
undernourished sector. Groups such as Luxury Family
Hotels, which includes the superb Moonfleet Manor in
Dorset, are tapping into a lucrative vein, providing
crèches, toys and all manner of entertainments
(though a week at one of the group's hotels would probably
cost so much you'd have to sell the child). But if you
are looking for the sort of charm you get from English
Country Cottages, with an added something to entertain
the kids, there is still little to chose from.
For a parent, Glynn Barton is almost ideal.
Bodmin is bang in the middle of Cornwall. Half an hour's
drive will get you to the beaches of Rock, Polzeath,
Gorran Haven or Par, the culinary delights of Padstow,
the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the Bodmin and Wenford
steam railway, Bodmin Moor or the Eden Project. It is
only 45 minutes to Newquay with its surfer dudes and
(more importantly for children) a small but well-stocked
aquarium. St Ives and the famous harbour at Mousehole
can be reached in an hour.
But what gives Glynn Barton the edge is
not what you can get to if you go out - it is what is
there at the complex. Large, comfortable and newly renovated
units can sleep up to seven, cots can be provided, babysitters
can be booked. The Orrs have even arranged for Tesco.com
to deliver to the estate. And if you are too lazy to
cook, outside caterers can be booked to provide such
delights as salmon en croûte and fisherman's pie.
Scenic grounds stretch to 13 acres - Andy
was a garden designer back in south London. Two barbecue
sites have been provided. This leads to a great deal
of socialising among the guests, who will sit out drinking
wine on warm evenings, while cocking their ears to their
baby monitors.
For less clement conditions, a good selection
of videos can be found in the games room, which features
pool and table football, as well as a selection of toys.
Better equipped is the "vehicle park", which
has toddlers' cars, tricycles and a digger to ride on.
A playground with swings, slides and a climbing frame
has just been added. And recently the Orrs have built
a roof over the swimming pools, so that when it is tipping
it down outside (as it is wont to do in Cornwall) you
have a good alternative to the beach.
So are there any downsides? The place
is a little polite, though if you have small children
do you want raucous? It may also be a bit off the beaten
track for some. And then there is the cost. Regulars
say that because the Orrs have upgraded the facilities,
the prices have more than kept pace. A week's stay during
high season at the large cottages will set you back
£1,200.
But tired and happy children are what
you get for your money. Which, as any parent knows,
is the perfect combination.
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