By the sea

Our caravan site in Northumberland had beautiful sea views and direct access to a tiny little beach. The Podlings love being by the sea. It seems to have such a calming affect on all of us. Alex, in particular, would happily spend hours throwing stones in the water, climbing on the rocks and watching the waves. A visit to the beach was high on his wish list all weekend and we were happy to oblige before leaving. It was such a tiny beach, but we must have spent over an hour there. The Podlings came away happy with pockets full of beach treasure.

The Podlings with their Nanna and Grandad

Exploring the rocks by the shore. 

Lily collecting beach treasure

Playing with grandad

It was remarkable how quickly the fog rolled in.

A boy in his element

Beach fun!

Morning fun at Crimdon Dene beach. We were so lucky with the weather on our holiday.

Dunstanburgh Castle

Our family have lots of lovely adventures together, but some days are just special. Our visit to Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland stands out as one of my all time favourites. Standing on a remote headland between the villages of Craster and Embleton, the impressive fourteenth century ruin is well worth the mile and a half walk required to get there. The car park is just outside the village of Craster and then you have to walk through the village and then a mile and a quarter along the coast.

The day we went was beautifully sunny, but extremely windy and since Alex is currently going through a phase of being afraid of the wind the little chap wasn't happy unless he was being carried...and only by me! A mile and a half with a hefty three year old on your hip is hard going! Thankfully Alex loves castle ruins, so once we actually got to the castle he seemed to forget the weather and just enjoyed exploring with his brother and sisters. It really was a wonderful place and well worth the walk.

By the time we started to walk back the wind and dropped down again and with some encouragement from us and his siblings Alex consented to walk most of the way back. My back was very grateful! We finished off the day with the most delicious fish and chips in the town of Seahouses before driving back to our caravan and putting four very tired Podlings to bed! It was a very lovely day the memory of which I will always treasure. 

Exploring ruined castles...one of the best parts of an English childhood!

The smug face of a little boy who managed to persuade someone to carry him! Daddy was allowed to carry him on the way back!

The village of Craster

At the end of a three mile walk and still smiling.

A (chilly) trip to the beach

We took a trip to Formby Point on Saturday so the Podlings could have a runabout on the beach. It was rather cold, but we were armed, as usual, with our Thermos and a picnic to sustain us. The tide was exceedingly out when we arrived, which was probably a good thing as my crazy kids would have ended up in it otherwise and it was much too cold! The girls and Alex satisfied themselves with paddling in a very cold pool the tide had left behind. Tom, who hates being cold, kept himself happy exploring the dunes. They all had a wonderful time playing on the beach and as it was getting late we decided to treat them to KFC for tea.

Alex's happy demeanor on the beach belied the fact that he must have been sickening for something. He hadn't had much appetite over the day, but that hadn't given me much cause for concern. When we got to the restaurant, Alex was a bit unsettled and grumpy, but I put it down to tiredness as he started to tuck in to chips and ketchup. He suddenly started to get unhappy again and climbed onto my lap, shortly before emptying the contents of his stomach over me and the floor! Fantastic! Alex has never been sick before and he saves it until we are eating out! We were expecting a terrible trip home, but thankfully both he and Lily (who was also feeling unwell) slept in the car the whole way. We put them to bed and although Alex was still a bit peaky the next day, they were soon right as rain. An interesting weekend on the whole! 

Formby Point Again

Not the warmest of days for a trip to the beach, but that has never stopped us before! A Thermos of tea and cardigans to keep off the breeze and we enjoyed a lovely picnic before building a big fort in the sand. Alex, of course, couldn't resist trying out the water!