With the 10 year old away all day at a friends party, and the 7 year old rested from this week's football action, I decided to take advantage of the fine weather and take her up the coast to Bamburgh for the day.
I chucked the buckets and spades in the boot and threw in a couple of chocolate tea cakes. We had all we needed for a day on the beach.
When you arrive in Bamburgh, the castle is the first thing that you notice - you can't miss it! - It dominates the little village from the top of its perch on the Whin Sill outcrop. Tomlinson, in his 'Guide to Northumberland' describes it beautifully -
"A more impregnable stronghold could not be imagined, for rugged strength and barbaric grandeur it is the king of Northumbrian castles."
We parked up, and set off on the short walk across the dunes to find the beach.
The 7 year old bounced off ahead and scrambled to the top of the last dune. 'It's here!' she grinned waving madly from the top.
I caught her up at last, and finally clapped eyes on her view. No matter how many times I have visited Bamburgh, this view always takes my breath away.
As always, the beach was fairly deserted. The tide was right out so we could explore the rock pools, and rummage through the other treasures that the beach always provides.
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Rockpools full of treasure! |
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Winkles! |
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The beach was all ours for the day |
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Thats me on the left, and the 7 year old on the right :-)
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Thats the 7 year old on the left and me (needing a haircut) on the right |
When we felt a bit peckish, we set off to find something to eat in the village. We stopped off at the loos in the carpark, and I had a little chuckle when the 7 year old didn't know which door to go in.
'Mum!' she exclaimed, 'Its either gents or laddies!'
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The loo for laddies |
A quick ice cream...
...and then a lovely stroll back along the beach...
...with a few cartwheels hoyed in...
...before collapsing back into the car for home.
Our lungs were inflated with fresh air and we had a bucket brimming with shells. Later that evening, I also discovered that I'd brought half of the beach back home too - in my pockets and turnups - (thanks to all the 'dune races' we'd had!)
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Happy days at Bamburgh Beach |
A wonderful, wonderful, happy day.