‘Bryn Teg cottage is available to let as a holiday home again! Would you like to come if we book it for the week of my birthday?’

Yes Mum, absolutely!

The only snag was: Church on Sunday morning and school on Tuesday morning – not ideal! But we decided we would join my family at Cemaes Bay in Angelsey from Sunday afternoon until Monday night, give the kids a bath, stick them in their PJs and head home in the evening.

We last stayed in Bryn Teg when I was pregnant with Sophia. You may have gathered that Nathan and I have always been fussy about the holiday cottages we stay in. Before kids, we went for beauty, comfort, a log fire, a gas cooker, and we needed to be within a mile of a pub. Nowadays, we don’t book anywhere if we can’t see what the stairs are like in the photographs (steep, straight steps or an open riser are a no go!), and we need a stair gate, a highchair, a travel cot, enough beds for us all to sleep in if the kids are unsettled and it’s essential we are within easy distance of a shop because I always forget something!

Anyway, somehow, Bryn Teg ticks all boxes – the pre-children ones and the family friendly ones – it even has a hot tub!

So, we arrived in time for tea on Sunday, and we showed the kids around the cottage and had a dip before tea. Aidan does a cute dance when he’s happy, and he was spinning round and round within minutes of arriving. The evening involved Sophia and Aidan’s favourite tea, catching up with Mum, Dad and Isabelle, and relaxing as the sun set.

The next day, Granny and Grandpa arrived and we picked shells on the beach and paddled. We walked on into the town and all had an ice cream (the blackcurrant was a hit, the avocado and raspberry not so much!). The hot tub was well used – Sophia went in four times, and myself, Nathan and Aidan went in twice each. We had a party lunch in honour of Mum’s birthday, featuring cakes decorated by Sophia. We found the new play park which could keep us entertained for days on end. We had dinner followed by bath, PJs and packing up and we were soon on our way.

We set off 25 hours after we arrived, and it was a beautiful drive back in the evening sunshine. Nathan and agreed that it felt like we had been away for much longer than that, an we got back to Aintree feeling restored and relaxed. It was a bit surreal heading back to normality so quickly, and I think the kids were a bit confused on Tuesday morning. It was absolutely worth it though!

We’ll be back, Cemaes! Hope it will be more than a flying visit next time.