One of the great things about having children is that they stop you being lazy. On Sunday, I was having a cup of tea after breakfast and looking forward to a relaxing day at home when Melissa suddenly said ‘Why don’t we go to the beach?’
Twenty minutes later, we were all loaded up and heading to Fairbourne, near Barmouth. By 10am, we were soaking up glorious sunshine on a practically deserted beach.
Harry quickly assumed the role of foreman, ordering Melissa and me to build sandcastles. Any slacking was punished with a shout from Harry and a determined prod.
In between all the sandcastle building, it struck me again just how impressive Fairbourne beach is, with its stunning backdrop and endless sand. I’m always puzzled why this part of the world is not packed when the weather’s good. Still, being so quiet suited us and Harry had plenty of freedom to run around the sand, and splash through the rock pools.
After an hour or so of this, Harry plucked up enough courage to head towards the sea. Although a little nervous at first, he was soon wading into the water – shorts and all. Seconds later, he was sat down splashing away in the waves, absolutely wet through.
He didn’t want to get out but, fortunately, the sound of one of the steam trains on Fairboune’s narrow gauge railway made the job a lot easier.
I’ve mentioned in this column before that Harry is turning out to be quite a fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, so you can imagine his excitement when confronted by a real steam engine.
Of course, we had to have a go and Harry spent the journey hanging out the side of the carriage shouting ‘toot toot’ at the top of his voice, with me hanging on to him by his reins. Needless to say, he had a soot-covered face by the end of the journey.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable day – and to think I’d planned to sit around at home instead.
Showing posts with label Barmouth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barmouth. Show all posts
Friday, 20 August 2010
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
The beach
I’ve just enjoyed another action-packed weekend. I’m starting to get used to all this activity now – and it’s certainly helping me sleep better at night.
Saturday was hectic: a trip to Toys R Us in the morning to buy Harry a sit-on car, followed by a party at Silly Bart’s in Wrexham to celebrate Isabella’s second birthday. The party was great fun, and Harry ran himself into the ground, chasing round after the other children and clambering all over the play equipment.
The highlight, though, was seeing Harry on a bouncy castle. His expression was hilarious – he couldn’t work out how to stand up on it, so he spent most of the time sitting down letting the other children bounce around him.
Sunday was similarly hectic with a trip to the seaside – Barmouth to be precise. The weather was glorious; scorching hot and not a cloud in the sky. And thanks to Harry being a bit of an early bird, we were on the beach just after 9am.
Watching Harry on the sand was fascinating. It was obviously a strange sensation for him and it took him about an hour before he was confident enough to walk on it. But when he found his feet there was no stopping him and he was soon tearing around the beach, smashing all of the sandcastles I’d been busy making.
It was a similar story when we took him to the sea. Initially he was very cautious about going near the water and, when a wave touched his feet for the first time, he just squealed and ran away. Seconds later, he was charging back towards the water and within a couple of minutes he was down on all fours splashing around and generally having a great time.
By lunchtime, of course, Harry was shattered and he was fast asleep by the time we’d driven out of the car park. But something tells me we’ll be heading back to the beach very soon.
Saturday was hectic: a trip to Toys R Us in the morning to buy Harry a sit-on car, followed by a party at Silly Bart’s in Wrexham to celebrate Isabella’s second birthday. The party was great fun, and Harry ran himself into the ground, chasing round after the other children and clambering all over the play equipment.
The highlight, though, was seeing Harry on a bouncy castle. His expression was hilarious – he couldn’t work out how to stand up on it, so he spent most of the time sitting down letting the other children bounce around him.
Sunday was similarly hectic with a trip to the seaside – Barmouth to be precise. The weather was glorious; scorching hot and not a cloud in the sky. And thanks to Harry being a bit of an early bird, we were on the beach just after 9am.
Watching Harry on the sand was fascinating. It was obviously a strange sensation for him and it took him about an hour before he was confident enough to walk on it. But when he found his feet there was no stopping him and he was soon tearing around the beach, smashing all of the sandcastles I’d been busy making.
It was a similar story when we took him to the sea. Initially he was very cautious about going near the water and, when a wave touched his feet for the first time, he just squealed and ran away. Seconds later, he was charging back towards the water and within a couple of minutes he was down on all fours splashing around and generally having a great time.
By lunchtime, of course, Harry was shattered and he was fast asleep by the time we’d driven out of the car park. But something tells me we’ll be heading back to the beach very soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
