I want to thank everyone who participated in a thread last May about things to do in Cornwall! I did a search on the topic before our departure in October and found a treasure trove of info. We had a GREAT time! A few details. . .

I read that Janis recommended holiday-rentals.com. That was a great find. We booked a farmhouse cottage near St. Blazey (practically at the back door of the Eden Project) and it was the perfect setup. They obviously get a lot of kids there and were equipped with high chair, crib, baby gates, etc. Very spacious accomodations with two bedrooms, 1 full bath, dining room, full kitchen, washer, tumble dryer (outside in shed, but brand new and worked well), and lounge with fire and tv/VCR. Totally clean and nice and there were fresh scones, jam and cornish clotted cream on the table when we got there--yummm!

We flew from Chicago to Heathrow on AA. First time to fly overseas on them--really nice. We had our kids (ages 3.5 and 1)--I know, I know, horrifying to some but we were visiting my husband's family. The kids crashed out within the first hour and slept until the gate. An amazing stroke of luck combined with some ibuprofen. Picked up the car (a Vauxhall Zafira--a necessity since with the addition of a second child we no longer fit in a Mondeo or Vectra wagon!) which we rented on the Web thru Alamo.

Spent the first four days with family in Luton mostly visiting, but really enjoyed a morning at the Stockwood Park (a museum and park)--lots of old carriages, coaches, cars, etc. Very pretty gardens that I'm sure are amazing in the summer.

Then we headed out to Cornwall for a week. The drive was not bad--it wasn't quite half term yet. We had heard horror stories about the traffic in Cornwall during the summer, but we had great luck and really enjoyed spending a lot of afternoons driving through the lanes and getting lost while the kids napped in the car.

Every time we go, I think I've found my favorite part of England! Now, I'm in love with Cornwall. Our first day we went to Lizard Point to England's most southerly point. We also hiked (kids in backpacks on our backs--whew) down to Kynance Cove--very beautiful--where our 3.5 year old son enjoyed playing on the beach and throwing rocks in the water. Spent the afternoon exploring the area via car and driving thru small villages. Every one of them quaint and lovely. Everyone was so friendly and very into talking to and playing with the kids.

This is getting long so I'll post this and write more later. . .

One of my dream trips is to go to Cornwall and just wander. I look forward to reading more of your report~

More trip info if anyone is interested in reading on. . .

Our second day we went directly to St. Michael's Mount. We didn't get there in time to walk across the causeway so we took a boat (1 pound pp, under one year old free). I have to mention that all three times we have gone to England in October, we have had GREAT weather, in fact, the weather has been better than when we were there in the summer! We had some rain on two days while in Cornwall, but it would shower and then stop, shower and then stop, so we all just put on our raingear and kept going. The kids' raingear also worked well on windy/cooler days as a windblocker so that turned out to be a good investment.

I was surprised at our son's interest in watching the video at St. Michael's Mount. He then was excited to look for the well and the heart shaped walk on the hike to the top. Thought I would need CPR by the time we got up there with a 30 pound baby on my back, but it was worth it. The castle and view were both beautiful. It's a self-guided tour--a plus for us with the kids because we can duck out if they get noisy and not offend a guide. We ate there at the castle--not ideal in terms of selection or price, but it was lunchtime and little tummies were growling.

After lunch we drove on to Lands End. It got very windy and cold, but we went out and took a picture at the signpost to celebrate our son's 1st birthday. Our older son had fun climbing on the boats and then we all indulged in some cornish ice cream (this became a daily habit).

Day three:
Thought we'd check out the Eden Project. This was a surprise. I thought it sounded kind of boring when my in-laws mentioned it, but we were amazed at how big it was and how it was developed. Also, the humid tropics biome was so hot it put our 1 year old straight to sleep so any tourist attraction that does that gets an A+ in our book. This is another place that I'm sure is even more amazing in the summer when all of the outdoor gardens are in bloom. It also looked like there were a lot of outdoor activities in the summer. The whole things was well organized. I was surprised by how many people were there at this time of year. There were a lot of students there for school as well. Our friends who went over the summer said there was a line of cars 5 miles long to get in. We had no such problem fortunately. This was definitely money well spent (good run around space for the 3 year old, too).

That afternoon, while the kids napped in the car, we discussed driving to Polperro. It was a place that several people, including Fodorites, mentioned that we should see. We drove via some lanes and got there in the late afternoon. We almost skipped Polperro because we were tired, but this was our favorite place by far. A beautiful, quaint fishing village, we rode the horse-drawn carriage into the village and stayed for hours. We walked around munching Cornish pasties and warm sausage rolls just enjoying the scenery. I didn't want to leave and while we took about a million pictures, of course they don't come close to capturing the beauty of it.

The next day we headed for the Forst of Dean to meet some friends and go hiking, but I'll put that in another post. . .

Scarlett, I just saw your post and Cornwall is a wonderful place just to drive around, wander and get lost. My new plan is to live there. My husband says we'll see, but I don't think he means it!

On our fifth day in Cornwall, we left, very sadly I might add, to meet some friends to go hiking in the Forest of Dean. We first went to Tintagel. WOW! My advice if you're going there, as you hike down the road to it, start your tour by going up the path to your left first--the original entry point to the castle. You'll actually see a sign numbered "1", but we didn't realize we were passing it (duh) and entered a different way which meant two very steep, tough climbs up to the separate portions of the castle. If you head up to the left first, you walk up a path as opposed to climbing two steep sets of stairs. This may not make sense as I'm explaining it, but it will when you get there.

So we climbed up this very steep set of "stairs"--some were actual wooden steps, but most were stone and it was pretty narrow. It was kind of comical and a little scary trying to climb up there with the kids in the backpacks. My quads were shot by the top. But the views were breathtaking. We bought the tour book at the ticket office and took turns reading about the various areas. This is another must see in our book. When we got home, I rented Disney's the Sword in the Stone and explained to our son that this was the king's castle that we visited. Corny, I know, but he got a kick out of it and kept asking why the castle we visited had fallen down.

In the afternoon, drove on to Coleford and stayed at a place called Poolway House. Very nice B&B, but B&Bs are always tougher with the kids--nothing like everyone sleeping in the same room for a little excitement. Ate at a hotel/restaurant/bar called the Angel right on the town square. The restaurant was actually kind of formal and it was full so they sent us to the bar area called the Kavern (yes, they play all Beatles music) which was perfect since it was a bar and it was early no one had arrived yet. We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed visiting with the international staff (Australia, New Zealand, Sweden).

The next morning (Saturday), had a "kid" morning and took the boys to a playzone/farm where they could run wild for a few hours. Had lunch, they napped in the car while we explored the area. Met our friends in the late afternoon, hiked, went back to the Kavern for dinner.

Sunday, more hiking and then a drive thru the country to The Narth and ate a tiny restaurant called the Trekkers--a family run place in a log cabin. This place seemed really remote, but maybe that's because we were following someone and I had no idea where we were, but it was a beautiful area. Delecious, friendly, great value. And Sunday night, home to Luton.

Spent a few more days with friends and family before flying home. Lucked out--the kids were great again on the flights. Had a comical discussion with customs who wondered why we were traveling with so much stuff. And they kept asking, "Have you been living out of the country?" Nope, just all of our baby junk. One bonus, when we arrived to check in at Heathrow, they pulled us out of line and took us right to the front. Maybe they do this for everyone traveling with young children? Don't know--it's never happened before.

Whew! Took a few days for the kids' bodies to adjust--the 3 year old got up at 4am for a few days. I was really nervous because this is the first trip we took with both of them, but it could not have been better. Thanks again to everyone who posted their great ideas and suggestions for Cornwall!

Sounds like you had a WONDERFUL trip! I'm so glad the cottage worked out well for you.

What a great trip!! I am so happy for you that you did not wait until the children were older to be able to have such a lovely holiday.
I know what you mean, my husband says "sure!" when I ask if he would like to go live in the Cotswolds or Cornwall, if only I could get him to move past the agreeable stage and into the planning stage
I guess one thing you can do is go back again and see if it is still as wonderful, then talk to him seriously about it!
Tell him Scarlett and Pup might be your neighbors before too long ~
I am keeping this report though, I need lots of tips for our trip.