holiday — Blog — They Grow up so Quickly

Today saw us head away for our summer holiday. The last one we will be able to take in September for the foreseeable future as James starts school next year. We are heading up to Scotland to spend some time with Lyns’ family.

Due to the A66 being closed, we went via Edinburgh. I have not seen Lynsey so animated as the moment that she realised that we were going over the new Forth Road Bridge, that is until we drove onto the bridge!! After a good run, we made it to The House of Bruar where they do the best sausage sandwiches, or at least they used to. They were nice but no where near as good as they used to be and were very expensive. No rush to get there in the future.

Another hour and a half saw us in Inverness. After a quick trip to see grandad it was off to our holiday cottage. When we arrived we were slightly shocked as it was not what we were expecting. It will do a turn but I think we are both very much looking forward to the next cottage which is a five star luxury one.

After unloading the car, we headed out for a walk. One lovely thing about this cottage is that it right on the Moray Firth a little outside North Kessock. We walked a few hundred meters down the coast and back. James loved it, seeing what he could find on the shore line.

After our walk we were all ready for a little chill out time before dinner. This was a chance for James to catch up on his shows.

After a little chill out time it was dinner bath and bed as the little man was exhausted. It had been a long day, up at 4 am and almost twelve hours of travelling, albeit with a few breaks thrown in. However, we are all settled and looking forward to what our holiday will bring.

Day two of our holiday and we are off to the seaside properly. We are off to St. Ives. For those of you who do not know, St. Ives is a popular Cornish Harbour town with some lovely beaches. It is very touristy with lots of independent shops, fish and chips and ice cream. We were getting the park and ride into the town itself. Unlike normal park and rides, this one was a train rather than a bus. £8 group ticket for the four adults and the children rode for free. Parking was £2.80 so £13 for the two cars and the train both ways, not too bad at all.

Unfortunately the train both ways was very busy so the boys could not sit and look out of the window. This did not stop them enjoying their ride though. Stupidly, I did not take any pictures of the town itself, but it is a very pretty little town.

After walking into the town from the train station, we had a look round the shops. When I say we, the girls explored all the jewellery and hand made glass shops whilst Gav and I were left looking after the children. Not that it matter as the weather was beautiful and the boys in good form. Had it have been throwing it down, it might have been a different story.

After looking round the shops, James announced he was hungry. Big debate at this point, fish and chips or pasty for lunch. Fish and chips won out so thats what we had, all the time keeping an eye out for the gulls that were ever present when somebody had food. A short walk round the harbour after lunch and we found ourselves on the beach.

Off came the shoes and socks. I shouted across to Lyns suggesting she take James' jumper off but it was too late. Like a cheetah he shot into the sea and promptly fell over! More or less soaked from head to toe. After the initial shock had worn off, he was back into the sea, nothing holding him back.

We all settled down for an hour or so playing in the sea.

It was not long before even Elliot was getting stuck into the sea. After the initial shock, accompanied by a few funny faces, he was quite happy having his feet dipped in.

After that, the boys ran wild. There was splashing, running in and out of the sea and digging holes. They had a wail of a time, both very excited to be at the seaside and in the sea.

Before too long the tide was lapping at the sea wall. With the beach here being so shallow, the tide rushes up it.

Up onto the sea wall we all went. With the promise of an ice cream, the boys were changed into dry cloths and sun tan lotion applied. Having seen a lady have her ice cream knocked out of her hand by a gull, there were a lot of nervous glances at the sky while ice cream was being eaten. Once all were finished, we took a slow walk back to the train station and ultimately the car. James fell asleep at this point and did not wake up until he was being loaded into the car. We headed back to the house to feed the boys and later ourselves. It was a lovely day out with the most perfect weather. Seems as this week is shaping up to be a great one.

Paul’s Blog:

Featured posts:

First Day Away

I Saw a Man with Seven Wives