An afternoon at the beach

Trips to the beach are few and far between for us as a family. We live well over an hour’s drive from the nearest one.  It was therefore one of things I knew we had to do during our holiday at Butlins in Minehead. We nearly didn’t manage it though.  There was so much to do on site and Jessica had her own list of the things she wanted to see each day which didn’t allow time to visit the beach! Thankfully I managed to persuade her to give “Simon the Fireman” (more usually known as Fireman Sam) a miss in favour of an afternoon at the beach on our final full day.

 

My two girls at the beach trying to build a sandcastle whilst burying Daddy with the text "An afternoon at the beach"

 

As soon as we got on the beach, the girls were eager to get started with building sandcastles and trying to bury Daddy in the sand. I was happy just to sit and enjoy the sunshine (which had been in short supply during our week away!)  The sand was a little too dry for sandcastles. It didn’t stop the girls having fun trying though!

 

Three photos - the view across the beach, Sophie collecting sand in her bucket and Sophie covering Daddy with sand while Jessica builds a sandcastle

 

With the tide being out, it felt like there was a lot of beach to explore as we headed towards the sea for a spot of paddling.

 

Two photos: Jessica at the top standing above her name written in the sand and Sophie at the bottom standing above her name written in the sand

 

I was expecting the sea to be cold. It was quite a surprise when it felt pleasantly warm against my bare feet. The last time Jessica had paddled in the sea, she hadn’t liked it all. This time she was quite happy to splash about and paddle.  Sophie loved it and would have gone in quite far if we’d let her!  We weren’t very well prepared for lots of paddling to be honest. I hadn’t really thought to bring swimsuits. Hubby got his trousers very wet but was quite happy to sit in the sunshine afterwards and let them dry out again!

 

Four photos - top two are of Sophie paddling in the sea; bottom photos - Jessica paddling in the sea and picking up seaweed with Daddy, and Sophie carrying seaweed down the beach with Daddy in the background

 

As well as paddling and building sandcastles, the girls had fun collecting seaweed, looking for shells and pebbles and drawing in the sand.

 

It was quiet too. For a while we had the beach to ourselves which was lovely.  As much as we’d loved all the activities on site, it was nice to be off site for a while. Thankfully there was no further mention of wanting to see “Simon the Fireman!”

 

Jessica holding hands with her Daddy and both of them paddling in the sea with the bottoms of Daddy's trousers looking very soggy!

 

Since coming home, we’ve been putting together our summer activities list. Jessica has asked to go to the beach again.  Minehead is a little far away for a return visit. I’m sure we can manage a day out somewhere a little closer to home at some point though!

 

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

31 thoughts on “An afternoon at the beach

  1. Aaaah look at them all having fun in the sea. We love the beach too and are about 1.5-2 hours away from the nearest ones. We are also planning to get there over the summer too but its a whole lot better when you have it almost to yourselves x

    1. It is lovely when it’s quiet! Hope you manage to get to the beach over the summer too! 🙂

  2. They look like they are having so much fun paddling and good on daddy for letting them bury him 🙂 We love going to the beach, one of our favourite ways to spend the day. Hope you manage to go again over the summer x #countrykids

    1. Hubby’s always happy to be buried in the sand – I’m sure he has more fun than the kids! Hopefully we’ll get another beach trip in over the summer 🙂

  3. Aw! How lovely! And so nice that you had it to yourselves! That’s so cute that Jessica calls him ‘Simon the Fireman’! Where did that come from? I hope you get to the beach again this summer 🙂 X

    1. It was lovely to have it to ourselves. I have no idea where “Simon the Fireman” came from but it does make me laugh whenever Jessica says it! 🙂

  4. Simon the Fireman would be a much better name – at least it rhymes ! Looks like you all had a blast and top marks to Daddy for not complaining about being buried or getting wet trouser legs !! 🙂 #CountryKids

    1. I think Simon the Fireman would be a better name too! I was quite impressed by hubby being so laid-back about getting his trousers soaked – I’m sure I would have grumbled a bit about it! 🙂

  5. Beach days are always such a hit with the kids, my lot still drop everything at the mention of an afternoon on the beach. It’s great to see Jessica’s got more confident at the seaside and she’s enjoyed it so much she wants to go back again. It’s great that they set straight in and started making sandcastles, looks like Daddy was star of the show being buried and getting his trousers thoroughly soaked.

    Thanks for sharing with me on #CountryKids.

    1. It must be lovely to have beach trips regularly – one of the disadvantages of living much further inland. It was lovely to see the girls having a bit more confidence though and enjoying themselves so much 🙂

  6. I havent been to a lot of places here in the UK but I have been to Minehead and its such a stunning place. I thought that living near the beach would make me immune to beaches but seeing this place is just one amazing experience!

    And just look at how your girls enjoyed the place as well! Lovely photos too!

    #coutrykids

    1. It must be lovely to live close to the beach – we love our rare beach days and it was lovely to see the girls having so much fun 🙂

  7. We have the same issue with the beach. I’m desperate for Tilly to enjoy the seaside but organising a trip there is tricky. It looks like your girls had fun and I’m looking forward to reading all your Butlins posts. We’re still deciding whether to do a staycation or go abroad this year. We can only go in term time so it’s super expensive.

    1. That’s the problem with being restricted to term-time isn’t it – everything becomes so much more expensive. Hope you have a wonderful summer whether you stay home or go abroad.

  8. The weather looks lovely! Love how Sam is Sam the Fireman, very formal!!! What else is on your summer list? X #countrykids

    1. We’ve added another trip on the summer list plus some days out locally and a few simple activities like bubbles in the garden and getting the paddling pool out so it’s all fairly achievable! 🙂

  9. What a lovely looking beach! We have only had one nice day this summer, or so it feels, so we haven’t actually been to the beach yet. Must do that soon. #CountryKids

  10. Awww look at them trying to bury their daddy! They are always cute and everywhere you take them to, they always looks happy and having a great time. Times at the beach always remain as happy memories. <3
    #countrykids

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