10 Reasons we loved Glamping at Crealy Adventure Park

We have recently arrived home from a few days glamping in Crealy Meadows at Crealy Adventure Park.  It was our third time glamping and we have discovered it is the perfect way for our family to get away.  Situated in Devon, close to Exeter and Exmouth beach, Crealy Adventure Park is a theme park for children with onsite camping, glamping and lodges.

As we visited in April, we went for one of the safari tents and I think we made the right choice.  The tent was spacious even with six of us in, warm even in the rain and it was the perfect base for exploring Crealy Adventure Park and the local area.  Our tent was called ''Jambo' and was located alongside 7 other tents and about a 40 second walk (if you take the short cut) from the toilet block. 

The campsite had a newly opened 'Clubhouse' which served food all day, a reception and a little shop selling the basics. There were two wooden playgrounds situated centrally which would have been great an any other campsite but they were overshadowed by the fantastic ones within the adventure park! The children all played in them every day still.

Here are the 10 reasons we loved glamping at Crealy

1. The tents had radiators in them which was so needed during a rainy April week.  It meant the tent felt as warm at night as our house does and it means camping during the quieter months would be a lot more comfortable!

2. The adventure park next door runs shows in the animal area every day, but some of them were brought over to the Clubhouse just for the guests staying.  We went to the reptile show and it was small and intimate and the children got to hold a snake!

3. One thing I often worry about with camping is security, but we had a lockable front door on our safari tent as well as lockable windows all around so the tent felt secure.  There were always plenty of staff around too.

4. Every night at 7pm there was a quiz which was comprised of 20 questions with a prize of a beach towel for the winner and an hour of the family bikes for the best team name.  We entered twice and we have brought home a lovely Crealy beach towel as well as winning a go on the family bikes (which sadly we didn't get to use).

5. There was a secret gate from the camping site to the park which meant you didn't have to queue to get in, you could just slip through.  The week we went was quite quiet but I imagine in the high season this would be really useful!

6. Every night the big soft play in the Adventure Park opens for overnight guests and we loved running off the last of the days energy there! It is open until 11pm and there is a bar there as well as family games, shows and entertainment.  The soft play was designed with all ages in mind and is great for teens as well as younger ones.

7. One of the highlights for the children was the unlimited pancake station in the mornings.  We ate breakfast in the clubhouse most days and they all went for pancakes with fresh fruit and syrups.

8.  The toilet block was exceptionally clean, well set out and modern.  There was also two family bathroooms which had proper baths in as well as two toilets in each, one of them being a lower toddler toilet.  With children that hate showers, having a nice bath there was really great!

9. The tents are perfect for bigger families like ours.  The six of us fit in with space for more as the top bunk and the sofa bed were still free.  You could sleep 8 plus travel cots in each one.

10. It is a family camping area and everything is designed to bring families closer together.  We loved the whole experience and getting to experience it all together.

I made a little video tour of our tent to give you a better idea of where we were staying too.

                     

Disclosure : We were invited to stay for free in exchange for sharing our honest opinion.

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Sleeping through with Sleep Origins.

A magical thing happened recently, at 20 months Cora started sleeping through the night. It isn't every night and I am sure we may still go backwards at times, but it has been long enough not for me to announce it to the world without feeling like I should be touching wood.  Of course this means I am staying up later and playing on the fact that I will *hopefully* get a good night's sleep when I eventually close my eyes.  

Now that I have solved in part the amount of sleep issue, it is time to move on to the quality of sleep one.  We were sent a new mattress from Sleep Origins which came rolled up in a box and it wasn't until I saw it rolled out and fresh white on our bed that I realised how much I wanted a new mattress! If you have never watched a mattress come alive after being vacuum packed, it is one of the most amazing things and I wish I had filmed it! I was worried about the thickness when I saw it rolled out but it transformed into a full size (25cm) thick mattress in a matter of minutes.

The best feature of a Sleep Origins mattress is the way it contours to your body.  It features five innovative contour zones to provide support and pressure relief where you need it most meaning what sleeping on your side is so incredibly comfortable.  When I unpacked the British made mattress I could see the wavy lines which signal where these zones are and when I lie on it I can really feel the support it offers.  At the head of the bed, there are little pockets on the side designed for holding any essential oils you may want to add - we have lavender in ours which helps me to relax.

Sleep Origins hypo-allergenic mattresses combine award winning  micro pocket springs and next generation fresh cell technology to keep them cool, comfortable and ventilated.  The fact it is vacuum packed means I was the very first person to touch the mattress and of course I had an early night the first day to make sure I was the first person to sleep in it too!  I am finding the mattress really comfortable and it is silent and still when the other person turns over or moves which is brilliant.

As a busy mum, I need a mattress that will stay fresh, support my body after a long day and cope with the odd night time bed invader and this one ticks all the boxes.  I definitely find that due to the contouring it is designed more for side sleepers but I find it comfortable sleeping on my tummy or back as well.  The big challenge is keeping the children out now that they know how comfortable our bed is!  It is recommended to get a new mattress at least every 7 years so if you are approaching that mark then check out Sleep Origins 

This post is sponsored by Sleep Origins but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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London Adventures with Toddlers.

Trying to find something to entertain four children aged between 1 and 6 isn't always easy and we spent a long time discussing what to do with them all on our day in London last weekend.  We stayed overnight with Urban Villa which is on the outskirts of London and decided in the end to drive in to Central London and visit the SeaLife centre on the Southbank.

I had a little google on our way in as the nearest parking was showing as £41 and found a website called Just Park which showed us a car park about 10 minutes walk away that would cost only £12 for the day so we parked up there.  The walk was fun, going past Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament and then over the bridge and the Aquarium was easy to find.  We had stopped at a petrol station on the way to grab a couple of boxes of Coco Pops as they have a 2 for 1 voucher on them where the adult goes free so we only had to pay for the two children saving us about £44.

I wasn't sure how much the smallest two would enjoy the experience but both of them loved it! There was so much going on and so many different species and areas that they didn't lose concentration until the very end which is amazing for 1 and 3 years old.  Dylan at 6 was fascinated and could read some of the information and Archie couldn't get enough of the stingrays and sharks.

There was a hands on area with the starfish (although Cora was the only one who wanted to touch them) and an interactive area in the Jellyfish exhibit where you could design your own and see them pop up on the big screen which was a big hit.

There was a gift shop in the SeaLife centre but no cafe or anywhere to get a drink, although there is a McDonalds and Pret right outside.  It took us around 2 hours to enjoy the aquarium, although if we had just had Dylan I think we would have been there a little longer.

Afterwards we decided to walk down towards the London Eye as there is a great green area right behind it.  After concentrating for so long, the children were ready to run free and they loved it there.  There was a big playground but because of Archie's broken collarbone we stuck to the grass areas, playing games and kicking around a football.  The area was suprisingly quiet considering how busy the Southbank area is and it was perfect for them to run off their afternoon energy.  

There were also lots of birds and a couple of ducks looking for scraps so the boys donated the leftovers from their lunch and loved watching the birds running around.

If you were looking for other things to do in the area, there is the London Eye and the Shrek experience, both of which look like great fun and I know that the London Eye is definitely toddler friendly.  There was a carousel a bit further down from where we were playing too which we somehow managed to avoid!

There is so much to do in London with toddlers, but I would recommend a trip to the Southbank area and the Aquarium, although always check online for vouchers as there are very often BOGOF ones available.

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Overnight in London with Urban Villa

I love how even a night away is considered a holiday when you are five and six and when we headed up to London to stay with Urban Villa both boys were super excited.  They had packed a backpack each with their essentials and we decided to drive up as it gave us more freedom.  Urban Villas is in Brentford on the outskirts of London (very close to Richmond Park and Kew Gardens) and as we arrived we still hadn't decided what we were going to do on our mini holiday.

We were booked into a Master Suite which happened to be on the top (10th) floor.  It isn't easy finding hotel rooms that accomodate larger families like ours but the suite was perfectly designed and spacious enough for the six of us.  It had a master bedroom with a really comfy queen sized bed and then a living area with a small kitchen a double sofa bed with memory foam mattress and a table and chairs.  The idea was going to be that the three boys shared the sofa bed but with Archie having broken his collar bone a couple of days before our visit we decided that it might risk it getting knocked so we asked for a second cot which the staff brought up straight away for us.

We had one travel cot set up in our bedroom and a second in the living room and the villa still felt spacious and practical.  The best feature though, was a conservatory style addition along the long wall and round the corner with glass walls that looked over the city.  The children loved running round in a circle, through the big doors at the end of the living room and back into the master bedroom.  It made the room brighter and so interesting.  There was a little table and chairs out there too which was ideal for eating breakfast and admiring the view!

Our night was comfortable and peaceful and the children were so sad when we had to leave the next morning, despite us having an exciting day planned in central London. We decided to head to the Southbank which was a 25 minute drive or 50 minutes on the trains for our adventures and it was so nice to have been closer and not have to travel so far on the morning.  

Urban Villa is definitely somewhere we will consider staying again as the room was perfect for bigger families like ours, the kitchen was fully stocked which gave us the freedom to cook at home and the wifi was really fast and free.  We all had a great night's sleep and the room felt pretty soundproof to the outside world from other noises inside and outside the hotel. 

Our night with Urban Villa was complimentary for the purpose of this review 

but all thoughts and opinions are completely my own

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