It was really important to us to bring him along too. He is a rescue dog, and part of his back story includes being tied up in the garden and his owners moved and left him there, only to get him back....and dump him out of their car soon after. Leaving him in a kennel would break his old man heart, so bringing him along too....even if his breath was diabolical in the back of the car, was a must. Away resorts charges a small dog fee on top of the holiday of £30. I was so shocked, and happy to see that our accommodation options weren't just resorted to a grubby "dog" vans or villas, but anything we wanted! Also, the park, private beach and surrounding attractions were all dog friendly too! Our entire holiday was cheaper than the same week at Centre parcs...and we had nicer accommodation too!
Monday
Mersea Island is just outside of Colchester, Just over 2 hours away from us. It feels like it's in the middle of nowhere, you even have to check the tide times, as you can get shut off! There are cut outs of WW2 soldiers along either side of the road into Mersea Island. It really is quite a stunning tribute. I tried to take a photo whilst Craig was driving, but it doesn't give the tribute anywhere near as much justice.
We arrived and the kids quickly tore around the caravan, we stayed in the Tri be Ca. It had two bedrooms, a bathroom with a shower, kitchen and living room with a huge sofa (that the boys slept on) and a huge smart plasma TV. Dawn and Evelyn stayed in the twin room with a TV, Craig and I had the master room, big comfy bed, a pair of sofa chairs and TV ....and a freestanding bath with a mirror on the wall...that turned into another TV!! Sliding doors that led to a veranda, and a second toilet. Not forgetting the private hot tub outside! Just to add to the excitement, we found a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge, a basket of biscuits and coffee, a big rubber duck Evelyn thought was the cutest thing in the entire world, and a whole bag full of goodies for Alfie!
.....And I obviously had to try out the hot tub a second time kid free! There is a little family of bats nearby that kept swooping past to join me!
Tuesday We were all up bright and early, ready to start our first full day. We packed up a picnic and headed to Cudmore Grove park. I later realised that there was a really quick short cut just behind our caravan where we could have walked there, but we took the car and paid the small parking fee. I wish I had taken a video of the kids peering through the trees and catching a glimpse of the park and just running....but I was just grinning and holding onto the dog! There was so much to do, sandpits, climbing frames, woodland walks. The kids took a foam rocket and they ran, climbed and played for hours.
We took a short walk to the other side of the park to the beach. There was a man there with his bloodhound, it made the loudest noise! Craig taught the kids how to skip stones...his record was 3 skips! We collected shells, and saw a huge jelly fish!
We got back to the caravan, and the kids were crazing us to go swimming. We blew up our giant inflatable dolphin and walked over to the pool. When we got there we were the only ones in it, the life guard even had to come out of the pub to join us!! It was lovely, the kids had a tonne of fun splashing about, and the boys showed off what they had been learning in their swimming lessons at school. We came home, had a takeaway for tea (there are no food outlets on site, and we had to collect it as they didn't deliver there) but wow, what a burger!
Full up and tired out, we all cuddled up to watch toy story before bed.
Once the kids were in bed, I went off for a wonder in search of a good crabbing spot. I found the perfect thinking bench, watched rabbits run over fields, got stuck in quicksand...and found the perfect spot! There was a storm in the night, Craig and I opened up the curtains and laid in bed watching the lightening, it was epic!
Wednesday
Off we went in search of crabs! We took our own nets, buckets and spades. I had found a perfect little stream of water that led straight to the sea. The kids thought it was hilarious, shouting "CRABS COMING!!" and catching them in their nets. We found lots, and stayed until the tide came in. Connor found a huge crab claw, it was really stinky!!
There was a "planned power cut"in the camp today. Apparently we should have been informed about it via email, we weren't. The staff began handing out bottles of water and matches for the gas ovens... we were a little unsure how this was all going to plan out ! There isn't a gift shop on site, and the kids wanted to spend their holiday money somewhere. We drove about 25 mins into Colchester town centre to Symths toy store. Evelyn chose a Mrs Potato head, the boys pooled their money together and brought Sonic team races for the play station (yes, we took that on holiday with us!) Craig's work hours mean they don't get much time together to play games with him, and hearing them all racing and cheering together (it's a 3 player!) once the power was back on ....was lovely!
When we got home from shopping the power still wasn't back on. We had a campfire, played connect 4, what am I?, story dice, jenga and made glow stick necklaces. It was a bit stressful wondering if the power would be back in time to cook tea, etc etc.....but this was one of my favourite moments, making our own fun! Luckily, the power came back on in time for a dip in the hot tub and a bath watching pokemon!
Thursday Connor was a little disappointed with the arcade on site, and he loves nothing more than a 2p machine. So we took a trip, a little over 1hr 15 to Clacton Pier. We were so impressed! There was so much on offer, and the restaurant was under construction but was incredible, a pirate theme...with a waterfall on the wall! An indoor play area, a splash pad, amusements, shows, bowling. There was even a gypsy fortune teller there who reads palms! Evelyn gets bored in amusements fairly quickly, so I spent most of the time chasing her around whilst Craig and the boys worked their magic on the 2p machines and grabbers, they won Evelyn a Mummy shark...that sings the entire baby shark song.....awesome.
We got back to the caravan, caught up with Nanny, who had been enjoying her peace and quiet, we all went swimming, to the park and back in the hot tub again for our last night.
Friday We packed up our cars, said goodbye to the caravan and went back for a last play at Cudmore Grove park again. Danny took his word search book, he's really good at them! Evelyn took Woody to "play in the sand." We found an old WW2 gun battery and crawled inside,it was really strange in there. The kids poked their arms through the small slots for guns and watched the light shine through.
Connor was so exhausted he fell asleep on the way home!
We made a little mobile that is hanging in our kitchen out of the shells and branches we found on the beaches on Mersea Island, and we have fond memories of our time there. Evelyn keeps asking to get back in the hot tub! We really did enjoy our time here, and made a tonne of memories. Perhaps we will be back.
We have been looking at other away resorts, that have more on site, arcades, food places, gift shops, shows for the kids. Mersea Island really was a break away from normal life, and if you have a car and are willing to travel a bit there is plenty near by for everyone. Colchester zoo is only a short drive away, but we didn't want to leave Alfie alone for an entire day. The staff were helpful, the caravan was spotless and the hot tub was checked every day, and I do feel we got value for money, especially in comparison to other big named holiday destinations. We were given the option for 20% off our next stay at Mersea Island as a sorry for the inconvenience gesture because of the power cut, which was kind of them....But our sights have been set on Tattishal lakes in Linconshire for our next holiday, purely because there is more on site for the kids to do.
Thanks for the memories Mersea Island!
