Apple-adore – a family holiday in Devon

For the past week, we’ve been enjoying ourselves in Appledore in North Devon.

Going on holiday is always an opportunity for a few gadgets to come into play, and had we not had to have all the baby stuff (car seat, hospital bags etc…) in the car just in case, I’m sure a lot more would have made the journey with us.

However, as space was limited, the only gadgets that made it were the flexibath, the Fisher Price booster seat, and an IKEA farmyard play set. As it happened, the place we were staying actually had a choice of two baths, so the flexibath on this occasion was rendered unnecessary – but it did double as an excellent travel toy box! Basically its a plastic contraption that folds down fairly flat, which when opened up turns into a decent sized travel bath for little ones. Rubbery seals between the plastic sides and base parts ensure that its fully waterproof, and it has a clip on one side to hold it all together when its folded. Definitely a very useful piece of kit, and its been fab when we’ve gone to stay in places that only have a shower – the Wee Man isn’t too keen on standing in showers at all and he’s got too big to be bathed in the kitchen sink now!

The Fisher Price booster seat is not as small as some options out there on the market, but its height adjustable to grown with toddlers, has a removable tray with a separate food time insert, and its dishwasher proof – not that we currently have a dishwasher, but if we did, I’d fully appreciate the ease of cleaning the seat! It will attach to pretty much any chair and allows the Wee Man to participate in mealtimes without the need for lugging around a full size highchair. While we were on holiday in Devon, this was great as we sat down together with the rest of the extended family to eat every breakfast and dinner time – an unusual occurrence generally the rest of the time.

While we were in Devon, we went crabbing (which the Wee Man thoroughly enjoyed, swiping around in the sea with a net whilst the Other Half dangled a crabbing line with bacon attached to the end along the side of the sea wall) and visited some caves, paddled in the sea, and made a day trip to take in The Big Sheep.

This is not actually a big sheep, but the name of a sheep themed activity park, with duck herding, sheep shearing, sheep racing, tractor driving, a train ride, sheepdg trials, a soft play area and bouncing on a giant ‘pillow’ all being some of the many activities on offer. The Wee Man was not entirely sure about sheep feeding, but was extremely pleased by the giant pillow, spending a delighted half hour bouncing up and down relentlessly.

Following this outing was the perfect opportunity to introduce him to the third ‘gadget’ – the IKEA farmyard set. This was a massive hit – a barn whose front folds down to create a green yard area with duck pond and pathway. Inside the barn is a selection of animals (including a sheep of course!) as well as some fences and a ladder with velcro on the bottom, to allow the barn and yard to be customised. The barn has a carry handle at the top for easy transportation and everything just folds up inside again once you’ve finished playing.

At the end of the week, despite the strange and wonderful typically British weather we were sad to leave Appledore, and hopefully one day (when I’m not pregnant and therefore unable to partake in local cream teas) we’ll be back for more crabbing, bouncing, and splashing around in the sea.