We Love Rain - Natural Retreats

I love showing my children the world.  There are so many beautiful sights, so many amazing experiences to be had and you don't always have to travel far.  They delight in exploring the local park as much as they do a foreign country, but we are always looking for adventure.

Our stay at Natural Retreats, Trewhiddle was the perfect base for experiencing Cornwall and our villa was simply stunning.  With four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two balconies and enough social space for a family much bigger than mine, it gave us freedom, comfort and beauty.  

We woke every morning and opened our curtains to see fields of green.  Nature was all around us and it felt intimate and private.  We had all the amenities we could possibly need, from a toaster and caffetiere to a washing machine and dishwasher.  The living area gave the children space to spread their toys, crawl around like lions and curl up on the sofa.  Their favourite game had to be hide and seek though and our villa was perfectly designed for it.

The Trewhiddle Natural Retreats is located close to St Austell, and with a huge choice of beaches just a few minutes drive away as well as Cardinham woods, there is plenty to do.  Mevagissey is a beautiful harbour village that we loved visiting on our trip. 

We loved having a 'natural' holiday, making the most of the local forest and the stunning coastline.  Our Helly Hansen wet weather gear gave us the protection to go out and explore no matter what the weather (or the size of the puddles), and the memories we have as a family from our trip are just priceless.

The boys woke up excited every morning, desperate to know what we were going to discover that day, and there were tears when it was time to go home.  They loved being able to run around, go out onto the downstairs balcony in the morning to play and eat their breakfast, and the comfortable beds to rest in after a big adventure.  Natural Retreats can provide cots, highchairs and stair gates as well for the smaller folk which made travelling with Finn so much easier.

 We had such a wonderful weekend away, spending time together as a five before the big changes that school would bring.  The boys became more confident as they knew they were free to explore and we found every item in our kit waterproof thanks to Helly Hansens own technology - even the backpack thankfully as my poor camera had to be hidden away in there when the rain started.  The jackets were so lightweight that they could be stowed in the bag when  the sun shone and the kids' salloppetes had handy grips for under their feet to stop them riding up.

Archie's jacket was just perfect for him, with reflective strips all round making it easy to see him even in the depths of the forest.  The Helly Hansen performence technology kept the moisture away from his skin and the adjustable cuffs stopped any water creeping in.  It was windproof, waterproof and breathable making it ideal for any situation.

Dylan's overalls meant he could stand, sit, kneel or lay in the mud and sand without getting cold and wet.  The fully wealded seams stopped anything coming in and the elasticated cuffs and PU outer kept him nice and dry.

My leggings were made with Helly Hansen Stay dry material, meaning even when I waded into the river and got pretty wet, they felt dry next to my skin.  Crawling around in the mud in white seemed like a good idea at the time and I was amazed when they came out a 30 degree wash looking as clean as new!

The bloke's boots don't look like wellies in the slightest, but they did the same job, being waterproof and protective as we strode,  stomped and splashed.  They are the perfect mix of stylish and practical.


Helly Hansen still have a fantastic competition running over on instagram and all you need to enter is a picture of you enjoying getting out and about in the rain.  I think this is my favourite photo from our trip.  It had just started raining, but there were smiles all round and we were having such an amazing day.  We don't get many photos of us all together so it is extra special for that reason too.

Thank you to Helly Hansen, Natural Retreats and Badger Forest School for such a wonderful experience.  My family is all about the adventures, little and large and this is one of our favourites.