Retire from 8 to 5 

December was a fun month – while work was still super busy, we decided to take a last minute mini break for 4 days around Christmas and went to the Eastern most tip of Cornwall coast to a tiny town called Malborough, near Salcombe. While doom-scrolling through Airbnb, S came across a quaint cottage with spectacular ocean views and easy hikes all around. Since it was a last minute booking, it was on sale (50% off!), and within 5 minutes S had it booked. With a 4.5 hour from Birmingham, it was the perfect distance to let Junior nap in the car as we zoomed down the M5. Dorset weather lived up to everything we have read in Agatha Christie novels, with gloomy thick fog, howling winds and unexpected cows mooing in the dark.

Our son is also learning all about tidal pools and spent a good part of each morning walking on the beach looking for tiny fishes or starfish that might’ve wound up in tidal pools during low tide. No such luck, but with decent weather, and a good bribe of extra piece of cake, he was game to be walking outside. And the beaches were deserted, which was even better! One can only assume it is a squeeze during summer peak season. S says she will only return here in winters so she can experience a private beach! 5.8% of monthly spend totally worthwhile.

Our morning hike on one of the days ambled through cow filled farms, rolling fields and down to a beach with just the three of us!

And with tiny streams merging into the vast ocean, our son had a blast crisscrossing the streams and jumping in the freezing puddles. Nothing a change of clothes (with a cow staring at us) could not fix! And ofcourse, on Christmas morning, Santa delivered two slingshot airplanes and a kite to the beach!

We always read that travel with a child opens one up to new experiences. Now, we could not agree more. Never would we have thought an empty beach, with some shells and a few streams of water could be so much fun!

We remember nothing else about December, except the beaches of Salcombe. Evidently, per the graph, the rest of the month was as normal as ever!