Last month, my family managed to get away for a sneaky weekend break to Bluestone Wales. Long-term readers will know that we had a week at Bluestone last year in June. It was our best family holiday, and the kids have asked to return to Wales ever since. As you can imagine, they were over the moon when we told them we would be going back to Bluestone for three nights.
I think if many families only had time for a four-day break, they would chose somewhere relatively close to home. And you might think that Wales is too far away if you live in London. But it is not! Bluestone Wales is located in Pembrokeshire in South Wales. It takes about four hours to drive there from south west London. Four hours is an easy drive (especially on roomy A roads and motorways). Even with children. We stopped halfway between for lunch and a toilet break. There are loads of nice services on the way, plus a plethora of castles which make for a lovely stop.
Now back to Bluestone. During our previous visit to Bluestone, we had loads of day trips, but this time we wanted to spend most of the time on the resort. Moozles and Dubz loved the Blue Lagoon waterpark and we went every morning. Last year, we were gutted to miss out on a few Bluestone highlights. The first being our visit to Camp Smokey. We were thrilled to finally walk through the ‘deep dark wood’ to the cafe and enjoy lunch and roast some marshmallows.
Another one of our Bluestone firsts was riding around on golf buggies. This year we made sure that one of us had a driver’s license so we were able to rent a buggy for the duration of our mini-break. And what a difference it made. You’re only allowed to drive your car in the resort when you’re checking in and checking out, so having a golf buggy means you can get around quite easily and quickly. Moozles and Dubz thought it was the best thing ever.
Bluestone advertise themselves as a place to have some free-range fun. One of our activities was a walk through the national park. There is an entrance by the lake, and we had a two-mile hike. It was a bit muddy in parts, and we may have chosen to go too close to dinnertime. The kids complained for the last half hour, but they walked. And we all still enjoyed ourselves. And everyone slept quite well that night!
Bluestone offers various activities and show for little ones and the family. This time we only managed the Huwie Hedgehog Woody Wild show. It is aimed at toddlers and pre-schoolers so Dubz loved it. But I did see his big sister joining in and singing along, and I don’t think she’s the only eight-year old who would enjoy the show. There are also family film nights at Bluestone. And there are also kids’ film nights where you can leave your children (if they’re four and over) while you have a quiet meal/game of Scrabble/bottle of gin with your partner/friends. Husband and I hoped to do this but Moozles and Dubz refused. *sigh*
We did have one outing while at Bluestone. We went to the beach at Tenby for some sandcastle fun and delicious fish and chips. We went to Tenby last year and the kids loved it. The beach is quite convenient when you have young children. There is parking nearby, plus a path from the parking to the beach which is helpful if you have a stroller. And we went back to De Fecci’s for fish and chips. Annoyingly, I was too full to try the deep fried Mars bar. Maybe next time.
We also had fish and chips from Bluestone. It was yummy, though we had to wait ages for it to be made. Bluestone also have a grill, an Italian restaurant and a pub if you would rather eat out than cook in your lodge. We do love staying in nice cottages and lodges now that we have children. It makes holidays so much easier when you can cook for your children. Plus it helps with your bank balance if you’re not always eating out.
If you want an in-depth review of Bluestone, have a look at last year’s review. And if you would like a lovely holiday, book a stay at Bluestone before everyone finds out about it and there isn’t any availability. And have a look at my vlog below of our fun family time.