Up until last Summer, we’d never been brave enough to take a car journey longer than three hours with the kids.
People say that children will sleep on long road trips. But not my two. Once they stopped taking daytime naps as toddlers, nothing could get them to close their eyes before bedtime.
So the idea of endless hours on the road had the potential for whining, shouting, pleading, tears and tantrums.
And that’s just from me!
But then I got to know the lovely Fiona from Coombe Mill via Twitter, and heard about the family farm holidays offered by her and her brood in Cornwall.
Mr G began to trace his family tree. Which led him to the Bodmin area and its various mining communities. Suddenly, he wanted to see where his ancestors came from.
We live just outside of Edinburgh, but decided this could be our test run of what it’s like travelling with kids, for future trips.
There are so many great family atttractions in the south of England. If we got over the fear factor of extended road trips, it would open up so many new opportunities for us.
So we set off on a sunny Friday morning on the first leg of our journey to Cornwall – a mere 530 miles away.
The boys, aged 4 and 7 then, were surprisingly good. Thanks to our newly purchased in-car DVD player, they became engrossed in a couple of new movies. A game of I-Spy, a singalong to a pop music CD (there’s nothing like a bit of Olly Murs to make you feel cheerful)
We did nine hours that first day, to get to a Premier Inn we’d booked in Bristol for an overnight stay.
On the Saturday morning, knowing we only had about two hours of travelling left to our destination, we went to Bristol Zoo for a fun morning with the animals (not all of them strictly real!)
Then we continued our journey to Coombe Mill, arriving refreshed and with plenty of the day left to explore.
We have loads of happy memories of our holiday in Cornwall – on the farm, at the beach, exploring castles, the lot.
And when it was time to return to Scotland, we had the confidence to make the journey in one day. Leaving our holiday cottage at 8am – and with only two quick toilet stops – we made it back to our front door by 7pm.
Eleven hours of singing, discussing our favourite bits of the holiday, sticker books, colouring in, snacks, watching DVDs and counting different coloured cars on the motorway. But we made it.
My top tips for long road trips with kids:
Consider hiring a vehicle as a way to avoid wear and tear on your own – we could easily opted for car hire from Edinburgh, to save us worrying whether our family banger would last the journey
Pound shops are great places to pick up small toys and sticker books to amuse the kids during the trip
Keep tupperwares of healthy snacks, and either pack a lunch or plan your route to take in restaurants or roadside cafes
Don’t be afraid to use technology for entertainment. In-car DVD players or tablets which play games or movies are a Godsend when you want a little quiet time
Simple word games and quizzes mean you can all enjoy a little family fun, which makes time pass so much faster
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