2019, well it was a season like no other for us, but mainly for personal reasons, but more on that later.
We welcomed shiny new wardens Chris, Susan and their dog Mr Finley into the Little Winnick Team. It was a stroke of luck that our paths crossed just as we were looking to fill the ‘warden team’ post, and what a stroke of luck it was. Chris and Susan joined us with oodles of experience, 10 years of in fact from a supersized site compared to Little Winnick. In no time they settled in and we are really happy that they are now part of the furniture and will back in 2020.
After the bumper summer of 2018 that was long, hot and endless 2019 had a lot to live up to, but with a warm Easter, pretty late as Easter’s go, May and June proved their worth as some of the most popular out of season months to come and stay. June in fact was awesome with many an evening spent on the beach.
Our season was accompanied by selling our house all rather quickly, two days in fact, losing a couple of houses resulting in moving into ‘The Caravan of Love’ until we found the allusive forever home.
So, along with the three girls, two guinea pigs and a cat we moved into a 10ft wide baked bean can, with all but our prized possessions in a storage container. Perhaps the lowest moment for me was watching Jess and Bethany packing their most important things into a shoe box each to live under their beds in the ‘van, it is quite heart wrenching seeing what is important when you are 6 and 5. And there we lived until 6th September.
But my oh my, what a few months we had, possibly, the best summer ever. With no WiFi, only a few TV channels and a handful of toys we had the best time making our own adventures, swimming in the pool, exploring the trail, and drinking with friends, the girls loved playing with their cousin who lives on site and we loved living outside pretty much all the time. Seriously, a fantastic summer.
June & July saw me take on a slightly different role working at the Eden Sessions whilst also juggling Little Winnick. Having failed to get Kylie tickets I decided to apply for a temporary job there working the bar at all the sessions. This was a stroke of genius, as not only did I get to see Kylie twice, I got to see some epic performances and make some very, very special friends. I cannot wait for the 2020 sessions.
Along with some great music the heat turned itself up in July and campers were treated to a fantastic few weeks of back to back sun. I spent the evenings paddling, and the girls became mermaids spending every minute possible in the sea.
August turned a little unpredictable which is annoying for all, there were dry days but there were also the odd monsoon day. We loved welcoming Ellie the Cocktail Van, The Waffle Box, the Fish and Chips (when they turned up!), FlatBreads, Sliced Pizza and last but not least the famous DubCafe throughout the season all of whom lifted the spirits no matter what the weather.
At the end of August, whilst out watching the epic Kneehigh Theatre at Carlyon Bay, we got the news we had exchanged on a pretty special house, having given up hope. Needless to say I don’t remember much about that night after I was fed Processeco sat on the beach we would soon call home.
September started warm, seriously warm in fact. We spent an amazing weekend camping at The Little Orchard Cider Festival – well worth a visit, and even campsite owners need a few nights under canvas to recharge and regroup.
The season closed early this year with Richard heading off to Japan to watch the Rugby World Cup. He had a very special time, disappointingly one game was cancelled due to the weather but the boys seemed to make the most of their time in an amazing part of the world.
As always, I sit here in the depths of winter writing this review very emotional. Little Winnick is our baby and almost 7 years to the day from being handed a box of unlabelled keys to a run down, unloved mess of a site I am proud and astonished at what Little Winnick has become. It is much more than a touring park, it is much more than the tents, caravans, campervans or motorhomes that park up each night. With every person who visits you add to the soul of our dream. You help us complete our vision of making a place people want to come back to time after time. You make Little Winnick and we are forever grateful that people continue to book your holidays whether one day or for the whole season.
We wish you all good health and happiness for the year ahead and hope we can aid you in making more Cornish memories.
Much love, Heidi, Richard, Jessica, Bethany and Anna. xx
For a full picture review of the season check out our Facebook Page
