Beach
Here we go, the last of our holiday. As with any holiday though, far too quickly it came to an end. WIth some good weather forecast, we had a lazy morning then headed to the beach. Not much more to say really, having barely moved the car for a week we had had the most amazing time.
A lot of photos taken reflecting how much fun we had. We will be back!
Another belated holiday write up, although, as a warning, there will be a few of these.
Day two saw us wake up to mist, mist and more mist. So much so that standing at the bottom of Bamburgh castle you could not see the top of the ramparts, absolutely crazy weather. Apart from the misty damp, it was dry.
Having popped out into the town early to explore and see what was about, I came back home with an arm full of breakfast materials from the local butchers. It was amazing and featured the famous Bamburgh Banger, a very tasty sausage.
Having filled our faces with sausages, bacon, black pudding and the trimmings, we headed out for a walk on the beach. It was such an eerie walk, with people appearing out of, and disappearing into, the mist, as if from nowhere. Lyns’ nose however did not fail as she managed to sniff out a coffee shack in the gloom.
We had a lovely walk along the beech whilst enjoying our drinks, just what the doctor ordered to keep the conditions at bay. Jess and James loved it, running in and out of the sea and generally causing chaos.
We must have walked a good few miles up and down the beach, making the most of the peace and quiet that seemed to settle on you in the mist. You could certainly see the magic of the place. However, it did not last long as James and Lyns spent a good few minutes racing up and down the dunes to use up the last of the little man’s energy before we headed back to the house.
We headed home for dinner and to put the little man to bed. Once he was tucked up and Lyns was snuggled under the blanket in front of the TV, I headed back out for an hour or so as the mist had finally cleared. There was no spectacular sunset but it was nice to be out to enjoy the last of the days light.
A lovely first full day for our holiday, we did not let the weather get us down and absolutely made the most of being at the seaside.
So here we are, another summer and another summer holiday, although what a difference to any other year. Covid is still gripping the country, although no where near as badly has it had done so we booked a last minute trip to Northumberland to get a break away and spend some time on the beach. As it turned out, we only moved the car once and come rain or shine, we went to the beach, much to James’ delight.
Read MoreWith the lock down being lifted a little and good weather being forecasted, we decided to head to the coast to let us all run off a little steam. We expected the coast to be busy so we got there for just before 8am and were on our way home by 10. Just as well really as the cars were streaming in by this point and social distancing was, well, non existent.
Read MoreWeek two of our holiday saw us heading to a very small Island in the Outer Hebrides, namely the Isle of Eriskay. Situated at the very southern tip of South Uist and only joined to Uist by a causeway in 2001 it is an absolutely stunning Island. The cottage we had booked was right on the beach, by the ferry port to Barra. We had several rush hours during the day, sometimes even seeing a dozen cars in one go! Other than that and one coach trip, we more or less had the place to ourselves.
Read MoreBy the Saturday, the glorious weather from the week before had blown away and we were met with a wall of fog blowing in from the sea. I started the day with a ten mile run, running along the cliff top path to the next bay, Runswick Bay. It was a bitterly cold run but worth while as it was very scenic. Once I had got back and showered we headed off to Whitby.
Read MoreToday saw our first full day on the Isle of Harris in the Outer Herbrides. We had decided to have a relaxing morning before heading out. When we arrived the owner had left us a welcome hamper which included some local hot smoked salmon. Lyns and I demolished this as Granny and Grandad did not want any. Accompanied by toast and scrambled egg, it made the perfect start to the day.
As it happened, the morning turned out to be a wash out but the afternoon saw a big yellow blob appear in the sky, something we had not been expecting. We headed out to Luskentyre Beach which is one of the most amazing beaches you will ever see. Golden sand stretching for miles and turquoise sea. Shame about the chilly gale blowing but you cannot have everything.
Unfortunately for James, but fortunately for us, there were very few shells on this beach. This meant that James and I headed down to the sea while everyone else stayed at the top of the beach. We had a lovely twenty mins or so with James splashing in the sea and running away from the waves. His little face beamed as he screamed and ran away from them, all the while, fully protected in his wellies and puddle suit.
After splashing around in the sea, it was time for lunch. Lyns, Granny and Grandad had disappeared into the dunes to take shelter from the wind. By the time James and I had got there everyone had disappeared which meant we got to play hunt mummy!
Can you spot grandad
This way James
Lets get your hand warmed up
Longingly looking to see if they can see somewhere warm that sells cups of tea
After we had finished lunch we headed back to the car. James was asleep within a few minutes, this meant Lyns very kindly pulled over on the way back to let me take some pictures of the waves crashing onto the rocks. I had a very fun twenty five minutes or so before heading back to the car and back to the cottage so we could have a brew and do dinner.
After dinner had been finished, it looked like the sunset was going to be spectacular. Lyns again very kindly let me go out, missing James’ bath time, and I headed up to a spot I had found earlier in the day. The sunset was not to be, however, it was lovely to sit and watch the sun go down, until, that is, a rain shower came in and drenched me to the skin. One of those things.
The view was nice until I noticed the rain heading my way
With that, the day was more or less over. A nice whiskey and a film saw it time to head to bed, all set for another adventure tomorrow.
Today saw a huge gale blow in and what a gale it was. However, we would not let this stop us and we headed out to Nairn Beach with Lyns’ not so little sister Lauren and her boyfriend Thomas. James was once again on the hunt for shells and he found some really big ones this time. One thing both Lyns and I found hilarious was that the wind was strong enough that if James jumped in the air it would actually blow him forwards, much to his delight.
Look at these massive shells
Lauren and Thomas have two huge dogs, Lurcher and German Shepard cross, which dwarfed Jess and are big enough that James could have ridden them. Jess gave up trying to play with them within a couple of minutes as she could not keep up!
We spent an hour or so on the beach before Lyns had to head back for her hair appointment! It was a wild and windswept trip out but a good way to blow the cobwebs away let some steam off.
So the first couple of days of our holiday saw us visit Rosemarkie Beach on the Black Isle. We went by ourselves on the first day to explore and let both James and Jess run off all the energy they had built up after spending cooped up in the car the previous day.
What’s this Daddy?
We headed to the beach mid morning, looking to have lots of fun. Both James and Jess were full of excitement. Lyns had spent a large part of her childhood living on the Black Isle so it was really interesting having her point out where she had lived and hearing some of the stories about the mischief she had got up to and seeing where it had happened.
Although it had been raining earlier in the morning, when we arrived it had cleared up nicely so we were able to enjoy the beach without our waterproofs which was nice, even if James did manage to fill his wellies with water.
Really?? More photos?? Whatever poser!
James was in his element, finding shells everywhere. We came back with two whole bags full which took forever to wash, but that is no problem because his face was a picture every time he found a new type of shell. Also, it let me explain to him, albeit with my limited knowledge, about all the different types of shell and what lives in them and yes James, Grandad does eat the ones in mussel shells!!
We even found a dead crab which James thought was amazing. Especially as we could see how its claws worked. The last time I was this close to a crab we were crabbing in Northumberland and I picked it up ‘the right way so it could not get me with its claws’ and next thing I knew, I was yelping as it had grabbed me, much to James’ and Lyns’ amusement.
Yes James, Grandad eats those
No chance of getting nipped by this one
Whilst James was busy running around and collecting shells, Jess was running wild on the beach. Off the lead, she was into every rockpool, into the sea and digging huge holes. I think she enjoyed it more than James!
After we had had a good run on the beach, it was time for lunch. We headed to the Rosemarkie Beach Cafe for lunch. James and I had a very nice sausage sandwich, each made with sausages from the local butchers. They were pork, sweet chilli and Ironbru! Amazingly tasty, much to Lyns’ envy as she was tucking into a cheese and tomato sandwich. They were so nice in fact, that we hunted out the butcher’s they came from and bought some to have later in the week. After lunch and couple of quick selfies we headed back into Inverness where we were meeting Lyns’ family for some bowling.
Say cheese
All too much for someone!
It was James’ first experience of ten pin bowling and he loved it, although he did get bored about half way in, but nonetheless, it was lots of fun. I was too busy playing to take many pictures of the actual bowling.
The next day saw us head back to Rosemarkie beach to meet James’ cousins Lachlan and Madison. This was another opportunity for James to collect bags upon bags of shells! We will have to do a cull at some point.
Look, another shell
This is a good one
Lachlan turned out to be a little daredevil. He was climbing over all the rocks and nothing daunted him. Every time he fell over, he was back up again and scrambling over the next set of rocks.
Which rocks next?
Look at me
James showed Madison what to look for in the rock pools as she had never been rock pooling before. Unfortunately, we did not find any crabs but we did manage to see lots of shells and a couple of fishes to, much to her and James’ excitement.
Piggy back for her tired little brother
I’m the queen of the castle
It had been a lovely two days at the beach and, in the main, the rain had held off allowing us to have lots and lots of fun, although, it would not be a British beach holiday without a little rain. It is shaping up to be a lovely holiday.
So today we woke up to an overcasting windy day, not what we had become accustomed to over the past few days. Not that the weather would hold us back. Today we were off to explore Lizard Point and Kynance Cove. The Lizard is roughly a thirty minute drive away so not too far at all. We drove past HMS Culdrose on the way, a Navy Air Squadron base, as a training jet took off over the car, much to James' delight. The other thing we saw from the base were helicopters. These were overhead for most of the day and the boys had great fun spotting them.
When we arrived at the point, car parking is free for National Trust Members, I knew I had made a mistake in my clothing choice. We had come to the only sunny part of Cornwall, and there was I dressed in trousers and a hoody! It is a short walk down to the point itself. To be honest, there is not a lot at the point other than a couple of cafes and a road down to the old fishing station. The views, however, are spectacular. We walked down to the beach by the fishing station. This is not a beach to spend any great amount of time on, however it was good to let the boys explore the rock pools and the the small caves.
What can we see here?
Carefully does it
What do we have here?
There was one interesting thing on the beach, a giant cement filled cone. If anyone could tell me what it actually is, that would be great!
What is this?
After looking at all the sea urchins and walking up the steep climb back to the cafe, it was time for lunch. Conveniently placed is the Polpeor Cafe. We sat outside to take in the views. You could not get a better position for a cafe. The food was simple but tasty. The children's meal were the star of the show, they fed the boys with some left over for us.
When is lunch coming?
Lunch with a view
After lunch we headed back up to the lighthouse itself. We did not go in as we wanted to head to Kynance cove, but just had a walk round the grounds. Not a lot to see outside but I explained to James what the lighthouse did and why it was there so hopefully he got some understanding out of it.
Who is loving the cuddle more?
Backwards we go!
After that it was back to the cars and off to Kynance Cove. It was a drive of ten minutes at the most to get there. Again, it is a National Trust carpark so free parking if you are a member. It is a fifteen minute walk down to the cove itself, or thirty if you have two tired boys with you, and if you are inclined, there are lots of footpaths to explore around the area and across the headland.
The tide was almost in when we arrived, so there was only a few minuted for the boys to have a paddle and build a sandcastle before the sand disappeared and we were just left with rocks. Not that it mattered as they had loads of fun.
View from the beach
After we had scrambled back up the beach, it was time for a cup of tea and a cake. Now, Lyns and I had come here a few years ago and the weather was truly horrendous, very dramatic, but not the sort of weather to go outside in. This time I was going to make the most of the nice weather and explore a little. Sacrificing my tea and cake, I followed the footpath up onto the headland past the cove and what views there were, well worth missing out on cake for. It was a shame everyone could not have come and seen them, however it was not suitable for the little ones.
Overlooking Kynance Cove
Further up the headland
I had half an hour to explore then headed back to walk back up to the cars. With one last look it was time to head off.
Last look before heading back to the car
Both the boys did very well with the steep walk back up to the cars. After getting James settled in the car, we were off back to the house. James was asleep before we left the carpark. We managed to get back to the house for around 5:30 and transfer him straight to bed where he slept for a solid fourteen hours. We had one very tired but very happy boy.
