Postcard from Perranporth – Cancer, Cornwall & Dennis

Sometimes I worry that us outdoorsy types, with our tales of ‘amazing’ outdoor adventures and extravagant expeditions, put others off getting outside.

Family adventures are rarely huge wilderness excursions so here’s a fun-filled Cornish mini adventure catching up with my sisters for family fun in their home town of Perranporth.

Mini Adventures, Maximum Outdoors

I’ve struggled for motivation recently. A reaction to our year of stress during Caroline’s cancer treatment no doubt, so a rejuvenating few days in the long overdue sunshine was most welcome last week, especially eating in the garden on our new waterproof picnic mat.

Picnics make perfect mini adventures. As does leaping out of trees!

Re-purposed leftover sausage and mash became honey-mustard sausages with wild garlic mash (foraged from our Forest School woods!)

Courage and joy live hand in hand

(Please don’t judge me on the squirty cream!! Bought solely for our delicious Butterbeer recipe, honest… ) We also ‘re-purposed’ sausage & mash leftovers into honey-mustard sausages with wild garlic mash. Yum.

Cancer Update

Last Friday was a huge day in our cancer calendar – the results of the second of Caroline’s 3-monthly MRI scans & chest X-rays; all clear once again. Big relief all round!

The Neurofibromatosis (NF) specialist finally gave an untested diagnosis of Mosaic NF which has future implications that I’ll write about another time. The good news is that Caroline has none of the associated neurological issues. The specialist also congratulated our oncology team on their ‘phenomenal’ care; as with many people, she seemed surprised at the extent of Caroline’s recovery.

What a wonder-warrior my girl is! And how amazing is our NHS!

Reach Out for Support

If your child has been diagnosed with cancer, or anyone you know has been affected and is looking for support, help or information, PLEASE don’t hesitate to reach out and get in touch with me – you can use the contact form on the website or message me via Facebook at Kids of the Wild and I will respond personally.

We really needed a rest so it was with happy hearts that Caroline and I flew to Exeter that Friday evening for a family weekend break in Cornwall.

Somehow travelling with just one parent is really empowering for children. I guess they assume more responsibility (plus we ate at a ‘proper’-feeling pub at the airport, a kids adventure in itself!) And for the 2-hour car journey onwards there was much singing and laughter.

Anyone for Dennis?

We coincided our Cornwall visit with a fun women’s charity tennis tournament at Perranporth’s local club. Instead of doubles, each game was a crazy quadruples match (4-a-side!) which they called Dennis.

The club, fundraising for the UK charity Children with Cancer, asked Caroline to present the trophies. She was thrilled, doubly so on discovering the promo T-shirts were in her name!

My sisters’ team, Double Double Trouble, had great fun – despite not winning!

Caroline helped set up refreshments, collect donations and even did some umpiring before presenting the prizes, cucumber-cool as if she’d done medal ceremonies all her life! And the sun shone for the whole time. Glorious.

Perranporth Tennis Club raised over £800 towards my sisters’ goal of £5,000 – they’re at just over £4k now. Huge thanks to everyone who took part and supported the Dennis Tournament.

It was a tiring day so we were forced(!) to sunbathe all afternoon before an evening barbecue and beach games until sunset.

The rest of our trip was more of the same – nothing spectacular, nothing amazing just wonderful family time, each one a mini adventure for all concerned! Family fun at the play park, on the beach, playing board games, afternoon tea in a tent in the garden and a camper van meal on the cliffs (which would have been fish and chips except that all three chip shops close on Sundays out of season!)

Visit Perranporth

Perranporth, on the north Cornwall coast, is a fantastic 3-mile long sandy beach ideal for surfing, beach games, cliff walks, horse-riding and non-stop family fun.

If it’s raining you can even shelter in caves on the beach and sing – here we are doing just that with my sibs!

The Watering Hole beach pub is quite expensive but great for refreshments. It hosts live music from beach festivals to local bands and choirs.

There are several other pubs including The Green Parrot where we had a deliciously ginormous breakfast and Caroline learnt Blackjack on a Sunday morning of leisurely gambling.. (Don’t worry, my economist brother-in-law included lessons about the perils of gambling, the proof it doesn’t pay being in the wealth of casinos!)

There is everything a holiday town needs, all within walking distance – pubs, cafes, ice cream parlours, butcher, baker, supermarkets etc. with plenty of parking. And of course an excellent Dennis Club!

Free Things to Do in Perranporth

• Check the time at the Millennium Sundial on the cliffs
• Climb the rock island in the middle of the beach at low tide
• Walk at Perran Round, possibly the oldest Plen an Gwary (medieval amphitheatre) in the country
• Challenge yourself to find St Piran’s Oratory & Church hidden in the sand dunes
• Walk the cliffs to see old tin mine workings at Cligga Head

St Piran’s Oratory

Find more information on the Tourist Information site or for attractions around Perranporth and Cornwall, see Day Out with the Kids.

Get planning your summer of simple mini adventures now. There are loads of outdoor ideas at Get Outdoors, on our Facebook page or search Kids of the Wild for inspiration.

Donations to Children with Cancer gratefully received HERE if anyone would like.

Read more about Caroline’s cancer at Caroline’s Rainbow.

Sign-up your wild kids up to Tennis for Kids – 6-week courses around the UK, with free racquet, balls and personalised T-shirts.

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