Headland Hotel, Newquay

So when you've got the Winter blues, and your favourite hotel pops up with a great deal on Secret Escapes, then what's a girl to do? Be a bit spontaneous and snap it up sharpish, that's what.

I know it's been a while, as we visited on the last weekend of November, but I had such a wonderful weekend that I just have to share it with you.

The deal with Secret Escapes was for a two night break at the Headland Hotel in Newquay, including breakfast and dinner for one night. I loved this hotel last time we visited (previous post here) and we received the same great service this time around.

We upgraded to a 'Splendid' room, which was well worth spending that little bit more! Take a look around our home for the weekend...

Undoubtedly the best views I've ever had on waking in this bed...

After running around the room squealing at every corner and new discovery, we calmed down enough to unpack, and decided to crack open the champers left for us. We toasted the weekend out on our balcony, and recovered from the 4 hour journey by taking in the view and watching the waves.

A little bit blustery!

After a few hours of chilling out in luxury, we decided to wrap up warm and head out for the night. First stop was The Stable, where you can find the best pizza and cider with incredible panoramic views over Fistral beach.

We shared a 'Headland Herbivore' pizza, packed with herby roast potatoes and creamy Cornish blue cheese. I know, carb heaven right?

 All washed down with a speciality cider or two!

All fed and watered, we prepared ourselves to face the bracing wind once again, and headed into town. The annual Music and Cider Festival was in town, with a giant marquee full of cider loveliness and the best beachy acoustic music to sway along to.

That night also happened to be the night that the Christmas lights were turned on, so we headed back outside down to the Harbour, to watch the best firework display I've seen in years! A pretty magical start to our winter weekend...

Beautiful Barafundle Bay

I could start off with an apology about the weighting of pictures to words in this post, but quite frankly, I'm not sorry.

I mean, I could look at these views all day.

By day three, I had the itch to jump in the sea and feel the sand between my toes. We jumped in the car, and within a half hour down some winding country roads, we were running around like big kids on a near deserted beach.

Barafundle Bay at Stackpole has been continuously voted as one of the best beaches in both Wales and Europe, and it's not hard to see why.

We parked the car at Stackpole Quay, and walked the half mile or so, up steps and over gently undulating cliffs to get to the bay, teasing us in the distance. It's the not easiest beach to get to, (certainly not pushchair friendly) but it's more than worth the walk.

There are no facilities at the beach, so we just enjoyed the morning splashing about in the sand, chilling on the rocks and just generally soaking up the sunshine.

A little tropical paradise, right here in sunny Wales!

Welcome to Bluestone

I was lucky enough to be invited by Bluestone to stay for a few days to chill out and enjoy some of that magical spring Pembrokeshire air. Even luckier, our break coincided with Mr P's birthday! A morning of presents, tea and chocolate for breakfast followed by a road trip - is there anything better?

We piled my little car high with wellies, chunky jumpers and enough pick 'n' mix to keep a 5 year old going for a week and set off to the West. Two and a half hours later, we arrived at at the super efficient drive through check in at Bluestone!

Having stayed before, we knew what to expect, and parked our car in the long stay car park to have a wander before the gates opened at 4.30pm. Cars are only allowed on site after 4.30pm to unload, and then have to be returned back to the car park until checking out. Buggies are available for those with little ones, but for us two it was the perfect excuse to get a bit more exercise in.

Standard first stop...find the pub!

We wandered around, stretched our legs after the journey and reacquainted ourselves with the little village, before walking back to the car to bring her in to unload.

We pulled up outside our lodge and ran inside like the excitable big kids that we are, opening all the doors, poking around in all the corners and jumping on the beds.

The lodge we stayed in was called a Ramsey Lodge, and its best feature is its quirky 'upside down' style of living. The bedrooms were downstairs, opening out onto the tranquil lake, and the living area and kitchen were on the first floor.

The lodges have all the comforts and mod cons that you could possibly need, and also include a helpful little starter pack in case you've forgotten any bits and bobs.

Just as we were walking back from dropping the car off, two glittering rainbows appeared over the lake, brightening up the grey afternoon sky. Promising that there won't be any more rain for the rest of our stay? We tried to hunt down the pot of gold, but to no avail.

A little tired and worn out after the journey and unpacking, we decided to spend our first night snuggled up on our sofa, and eating pretty much all of the nice food we'd bought!

And of course, a bottle of Chateauneuf-Du-Pape for the Birthday boy!

With full bellies and a glass of red in hand, we cwtched up on the sofa and watched the lights twinkle on the lake, dreaming of tomorrow's adventures...

Postcards from Tenby

I love a spontaneous adventure. We're a pretty indecisive couple sometimes, what film to watch and where to eat can take hours. This year however, we've become pros at just deciding that we want a holiday, so we're going on one.

Which is how, after a bit of a moan to each other on a Thursday lunchtime, we ended up in a lovely little B&B (Sunnybank, for those interested) with our toes in the Tenby sand by Sunday afternoon.

Tenby is one of our favourite places. It's home from home. Especially this place...

It's so picturesque, and such a jewel on the Pembrokeshire coast. Everything seemed to gleam a little bit brighter in the September sunshine. 

Two nights by the sea is the cure for all moans and groans! We were lucky enough to have a beautiful sunshine filled weekend, with temperatures in the early twenties and nothing but a few candy floss white clouds in the sky.

Looks like someone else wasn't ready to go home either...

These few days away for our anniversary were full of nothing but walks on the beach, lazy drinks overlooking the sea and huddling by the fire by night. Is there anything better?