Oh we do like to be beside the seaside...

Summer this year has been a very Scottish affair. July and August were pretty much a let down with windy days, mediocre temperatures and too much rain. The start of September however was very different. Suddenly the sun appeared :-)...and we decided to make the most of it and head off to the seaside in Dumfries and Galloway. After a quick hours Google research we picked a tiny village called Rockcliffe with a campsite about 300yds from the sea. And so Mummy and Emi arrived at Daddy's work in the campervan on a Friday afternoon, and off we all zoomed (well chugged) down to Scotlands south coast, arriving in time for a quick evening sojourn to the beach following a tasty fish supper.

 Rockcliffe

 Early evening beach combing

 A very excited supreme being

 Seaweed spotting

And so a lovely evening turned into an even lovelier weekend. Rockcliffe is a bit of a hidden gem and we had a wonderful short break with the sun splitting the sky the whole time, and the supreme being just giggling and laughing all the way through. Saturday involved a walk along numerous beaches and paths to nearby Kippford, passing some beautiful Victorian villas and cottages along the way. Kippford was playing host to the annual Flounder Tramping contest which was quite a sight as a hundred or so people squelched around in the mud for hours trying to catch a fish. We had a delightful picnic on a shell covered beach, before ice creams (both Mummy and Emi having two each), and some lengthy games of poo sticks on the numerous burns heading to the sea. All this topped off with a glorious sunset.

One of many cottages with a view to die for

 Beach delight - part 1

 Glorious sun on Rockcliffe's sands

 Walking on water

Flounder tramping anyone?

 Flounder trampers in action

 Lunch on shell beach

 Local street art

 Sunglass heaven

Looking towards the Lake District

 Parked up amongst friends

Not a bad view from the bedroom window

The next day saw more of the same with beach games, rock pooling and ice cream eating a plenty. Our summer holiday had seemed a long time ago but this was just the tonic before we head into autumn. And as we say every year, we really must keep more weekends free for van trips away...not sure it ever happens in reality (well, its the thought that counts), but we'll definitely be back to explore more of Dumfries and Galloway...

 Catching fish

 Daddy...you should have seen the one that got away

 Beach delight - part 2

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside...

And on return, a masterpiece about our lovely weekend

Facepainting, fables and the festival...

Rabbits are the facepainting de rigeur

August was a fun packed month with lots of socialising and new adventures. The supreme being is growing up so fast, passing her 30 month check up with flying colours (albeit at 34 months - ahem - Mummy has never been very good at time-keeping). The nurse was particularly impressed by her vocabulary. The highlight of which has to be in the block-stacking exercise when Emily said "Careful...you need a steady hand" as they approached the top of the tower. I personally think it's the many, many, many, many hours we have spent on story time. So much so, she is now reading stories to us. Might as well hang up my books...

Videoclip: Storytime

She's also graduated to a new bike seat which she loves, particularly as she was quickly outgrowing her old one. Thanks to the visit from Finn - he kindly donated his old front facing seat - Emily can now continue to look forward whilst being cycled round the neighbourhood in traditional supreme being style. Next step a sedan chair methinks...

 

New bike seat in front of still lovely new house :-)

And then there was the festival. Kirkintilloch apparently has the 'Canal Festival', which with our expectations being set at small town fete, we hadn't really banked on how good it was going to be. The town was completely mobbed, with thousands of people flocking from round about to join in the fun. We had a lovely weekend and there was loads for kids to do. So if you fancy visiting with your youngsters next year then book in now for 2016... 

 Festival headgear

 Recreating the flying trapeze

Strange folk were abroad

 Chilling in the den after a hard day at the festival

 

 Videoclip: And then there was the drummers...