‘Beside the seaside, beside the sea’

Sun, sea, sand.  The basic requirements for a day at the seaside, if you’re nearly two, or even a bit older.

On Monday, I was in London, i/c William.  But at the last moment, Tom got an unexpected day off.  The sun was shining – and how- and London was hot and sticky.  So we packed buckets and spades, towels, sun cream and sunhats …. and set off for Whitstable.

Whitstable: still a busy little fishing port.

It’s a picturesque little town with a harbour, fishing boats and a reputation since Roman times for having jolly fine oysters. It had sun.  It had sea. What it turned out not to have was sand.  Here is the beach.

The beach at Whitstable.

William didn’t mind.  Stones are fun.  Paddling’s fun, even when the stones beneath are jagged and a bit uncomfortable.  Chasing seagulls is fun.  Looking for crabs and tiny fish is fun.

William’s quite happy with stones – Tom took this photo.

We took a break for lunch.  Miraculously, the tide had gone out and a sandy shore line had appeared.  More paddling, this time rather more comfortable.  More fish, crab and seagull hunting.

It was sandy enough at low tide for us all to discard our sandals.
Chasing seagulls is fun.

Then we went home.  Guess who went to sleep in the car?

 

 

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

16 thoughts on “‘Beside the seaside, beside the sea’”

  2. Delightful. If you want sand you need to go to Camber with the rest of the world. Ours all prefer pebble beaches as there’s so much to do but it might just be that that’s what they’re use to.

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    1. The only disappointment with this beach was the lack of rock pools, which I felt a pebbly beach should provide. But we still found wildlife.

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  3. What a magical outing. William will remember the trip, maybe not all the details but the day at the seashore with his grandma – priceless. AND you will never forget the joy of watching the wonder of a small child, all over again. Of course you could’ve fallen asleep, but didn’t.

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  5. I would guess anyone not driving fell asleep in the car on the way home–I know I would’ve after a day as full as that! It’s such fun with little kids, when everything is new and exciting!

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  9. I remember Whitstable being such a nice place (we had friends who lived there years ago) and from your account it still is a nice place. I don’t remember any of the Kent and Sussex beaches having rock pools. Many are stony but some are sandy – Margate, Camber Sands, Broadstairs. I love that photo of William on the stones; just look at his excited fingers!

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