Last week was so grey, cloudy and misty, I felt I really couldn’t take it anymore. When the weather is so gloomy, I find that it really affects my mood. When I read in the news that it was the longest London had been without a single hour of sunshine for 8 years, I couldn’t say I was surprised. However, the sun finally made an appearance on Saturday and we grasped the opportunity to make the most of it!
Swimming
We started the day by getting ready and heading off at 9am to make the hour long journey to the coastal town of Margate in Kent. Puddle Ducks, Autumn’s swimming school, offer underwater photoshoots. They don’t come up in our area very often and Autumn is heading towards being too old for these sessions. Therefore, I really wanted to get some photos of her before it was too late.
When we got to Margate, there was time to spare. The weather was lovely and we decided to stop at a park 2 minutes away from the pool so we could all stretch our legs. Autumn loved running around, picking up sticks and daisies and admiring them before throwing them.
When we got to the swimming pool, everything went smoothly. We enjoyed the mini lesson and I think the photographer managed to get some good snaps. I’ll find out tomorrow evening!
Broadstairs
The beach
As it was such a sunny day and so warm, I put my wet hair into plaits so that it didn’t annoy me and we made the short drive to Broadstairs. I was delighted that the weather was so much better than forecast, as it hadn’t looked great and I thought we’d probably head back home after the photoshoot. The sudden change of weather allowed us to make a proper day out of it!
We haven’t visited Broadstairs since 2014 and I was delighted to return. We walked along the promenade, admiring the spring flowers, then took the lift down to the beach. Viking Bay is a gorgeous, clean beach with the most beautiful coloured sand I think I’ve seen in Kent. Anticipating an overcast day around 14 degrees, we hadn’t planned for it at all. As such, we simply all took of our shoes and Dave and I rolled our jeans up.
Although Autumn has been to a beach once before, it was in November when we went on holiday to Bluestone in Wales. In a way, this was her first proper experience as she’d only worn wellies on the sand before! She loved feeling the warm, soft sand on her toes. In fact, she just spent the first 5 minutes or so feeling the sand on her feet and smiling down at it.
In fact, it was difficult to persuade her to move on!
I wanted to show Autumn the sea, as when we went to Barafundle Bay she had loved it so much! She kept running towards it shouting “THIS!” and pointing. This time, however, she needed persuading to go anywhere near it. I think she was just so content with feeling the warm sand on her tiny feet.
In the end, I carried her towards the sea. As I walked over the soggy sand, I could feel that the sea definitely hadn’t warmed up!
Autumn wasn’t too sure. Feeling the cold sand underneath my feet, I wasn’t too sure either! Still, we stood there watching the waves slowly rolling in. Then all of a sudden, a big wave came in, crashing over our feet. I did a little scream and picked Autumn up; it was SO COLD! She got upset and I felt like my feet were going to fall off because they were so frozen. After that, we stuck with the safety of the warmth of the beach. Next time we go to the seaside, I think I’ll test the temperature of the sea myself first!
We enjoyed making some sandcastles together. Well, more accurately, I made mounds of sand and Autumn then delighted in knocking them down! She enjoyed letting the sand fall through her fingers and watching it too. I could tell that as well as having a lot of fun, it was a great learning experience for her.
As Autumn didn’t try to eat the sand last time we went to the beach, I thought we’d been lucky and missed that stage. However, it was not to be, as she decided to do it this time! Deciding she might be hungry, Dave went to get some chips for us to share. Meanwhile, we had a little dance on the beach.
As soon as Autumn spotted him, she ran towards him. It only took about a millisecond longer for her to notice the chips and she promptly began waving her arm, asking for some. She doesn’t get to have chips very often, but she really loves them!
I really enjoyed them too; chips always taste better at the seaside.
Morelli’s
Parking in Broadstairs is very expensive! I could have stayed the whole afternoon, but the price of paying and displaying put us off. Also, I was worried about Autumn being tired and/or getting sun burn. We decided to go to Morelli’s ice cream parlour before leaving. Positioned in front of the promenade, a couple of minutes from the steps and lift to the beach, it is a must visit!
Dave and I had a delicious Sorrento lemon sorbet. The cone was really tasty too. Meanwhile, Autumn had a strawberry ice cream! She made such a mess, but she loved it.
Now THIS is what the British sunshine is totally about! Sand and ice creams….a lovely post hun! Thanks for linking up to #coolmumclub xoxo
We used to go to Broadstairs when I was a child and your post has bought back so many memories of sunny days on the beach! Thank you 🙂
Ah, my absolute fave. We holidayed in Broadstairs every summer as a child, and I’ve loved sharing the same experience with our kids. We get over there as much as we can every summer, and last year even stayed for 7 nights in a cottage as our proper holiday. I’ll never tire of Broadstairs, it’s where time stands still. Loved this, thanks for linking to #coolmumclub
PS Autumn has grown so much!
I’ve been to all the beaches in East Kent several times especially to the Viking Bay, as I live there. You’re right about the parking charge, it’s quite a lot in Broadstairs. Westwood cross is Thanet has free parking, maybe you could park there and take a bus to the beach next time or you’re most welcome to park outside my house and walk to the beach.
Great, thank you for the tips! How lovely to live so close to the beaches.