If you hadn’t seen already, we spent last week on holiday in Cornwall. We had a wonderful week exploring and on Wednesday we headed to Healey’s Cyder Farm, which was about a 15 minute drive from our cottage near Perranporth. The farm had come recommended by the lovely Cornish Mum whose blog I spent hours on in the lead up to our holiday.

As we were holidaying out of season, many attractions and places were closed but Healey’s Cyder Farm is open practically all year around, plus it is dog friendly which meant all of us could spend the day there without having to leave someone home to watch the pooches.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a very smiley lady who welcomed us to the farm and showed us where to go. She explained that the only area we wouldn’t be able to take the dogs was the jam kitchen, but that they were welcome everywhere else. Initially we decided not to take them up on the offer of a tour, but to explore the farm at our own pace. We were directed to the farm entrance where there was ample seating on offer – thank goodness as Florence was desperate for a bottle.

Once Florence had finished her milk, we headed inside the Farm shop which is situated almost immediately at the entrance of the farm. The shop is lined with bottles and bottles of different types of ciders and spirits brewed right there on site and made from the apples grown in their very own orchards as well as jars upon jars of preserves and jams. After a quick look around and having eyed up a few things we knew we might like to purchase on our way out, we decided to take a wander around the farm.

There is a small animal section at Healey’s Cyder Farm where we found Herbert the Pygmy Goat, a pair of rare breed black pigs and their piglets, daisy the Donkey and one of the two shire horses residing there.

While it is small and we completed the farm animal section in about 10 minutes, It’s a lovely little addition which makes it lovely and family friendly. Florence, as she was a Godstone Farm a few weeks ago, was transfixed by the Donkey!
There are also peacocks roaming freely round the grounds.

After sticking our heads in the doors of the other areas of the farm, we decided to book a guided tour so that we could get the full experience. We opted for the Classic Tour which was £8 per person. Our tour guide was very freidnly and incredibly knowledgeable about the full workings of the farm. She showed us and talked us through the process of mass cider production as well as teaching us all about the origins of cider and the history of the farm as we walked through the Museum. We then headed back to the shop to take part in a sampling session where we got to try a selection of the produce made at Healey’s. Sean enjoyed this part the most I think!

We stocked up on a variety of ciders, wines & preserves before leaving.

I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Healey’s Cyder Farm if you’re visiting the area, it’s a lovely little day out for the entire family.

Look out for our holiday vlog over on our YouTube channel coming up in the next few days to see more of what we got up to at Healey’s Cyder Farm.

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I have two problems. I have a very small house and too much stuff! Not to mention my slight shopping addiction & significant lack of spare pennies to fund it. That in mind, I’ve been having a big clear out of both mine & Florence’s wardrobe in a bid to gain a bit more space and in tow, a few extra pennies too!

Most of our clothes and other bits are in too good condition to just throw away and with bootfair season well and truly over {plus, imagine bootfairing with a three month old! Urgh!} I decided to give selling on eBay a go.  For so many, eBay is the first place they will head for quality used items and I’ve recently bagged a couple of bargains on eBay myself, including my gorgeous Cath Kidston changing bag, so I gathered someone else might be able to give some of our unused items a new lease of life too.

Once I’d gathered all of our bits & bobs together, I took to photographing them against a clear background flooded with natural light to ensure they looked eye catching for potential buyers. For this I just used my iPhone as it made it easier to add them to the app later on. These really lovely but rarely warn boots were up first and I made sure to take photos of them from every angle to demonstrate just how well looked after they had been and to show off all of the design features.

Once photographed it was really easy to upload and list them using a few simple steps on the eBay mobile app.  Once I’d named the listing with as many key words as I could (Colour, style & brand are all good to include –  just think what you might search if you were looking for them yourself!) I wrote a detailed description of them along with a suggestion of what they might look good paired with.

Once I had decided on a starting price for my auction style listing and sorted out all of the postage costs, all I had to do was click ‘done’ and voila! Bidding would start at £3.00 – probably all I would have got for them at a Boot fair! . 

I initially listed the boots for seven days and after not very much activity for the first four, people started to ‘watch’ them and then bids came in thick & fast. I’d get a notification on my phone each time somebody bid and I could check the progress, reply to questions about my items and see when payment had gone through all while out and about thanks to the app.

The auction ended at £9.50, £6 over what I thought they might go for! All that was left to do was post them and off they went.

I’ve since listed a whole other bunch of our clothes including my Cath Kidston Balloon dress and some very cute baby girl bundles.  I used the website to upload some of the bits but it was definitely easier (and quicker!) to use the mobile app. 

You can find out more about my eBay selling experience below.

We’ve decided to put any money we make towards some new sanity saving storage for all of the other ‘stuff’ we can’t get rid of just yet!

Are you having an Autumn Clear out too? What would you sell on eBay?

*I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity. [I have received a voucher as a token of thanks for this post].

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