Supersized...

Maybe it's the exceptional weather we’re having but somehow everything seems to have grown and got really big, either that or we’ve all shrunk. Whatever, wherever we go at the moment the world seems to be a bit supersized.

Beach fun

We’re just back from a long weekend in Dumfries and Galloway in the van – Sands of Luce to be precise. The weather was fine and the vista massive as Sands of Luce stretch for miles and miles. Undaunted by the scale of it all the kids spent much time on the beach which was 20 yds from the van (so close to hand they regularly went in pyjamas), looking like tiny dots on the horizon. Then there was the monstrous plants at the Logan Botanical Gardens and the huge avenues of trees and 2 acre lily pond in the 75 acre grounds at Castle Kennedy, which are all well worth a visit. And then we returned to a garden which seemed to be erupting into a supersized existence. Sunflowers that must be 7ft high, pumpkins growing left, right and centre – enough for our own pumpkin festival, and then throw into the mix some lettuces, rocket and spinach that looks like it’s straight out of Mr McGregor’s garden and an apple tree creaking under the weight of its apples, and we’ve got a vegetable patch that’s truly blossoming with nature’s bounty. The world’s definitely gone large just now, and that's helping us love this summer that never ends 😎

Happiness is flying a kite in your pyjamas

 More beach fun

And yet more beach fun

Videoclip: Welcome to Castle Kennedy

2 acres of lilypads

Giant plants

It really was a very large pond

Tree climbing

Giant sunflowers

The beach...

The gorgeous North Berwick

In 20 years I’ve never had a completely successful beach holiday in Scotland. The beach in Scotland is generally a place which requires your inner Boy Scout; you need to be well prepared with thermals, windbreaks, waterproofs, plan b’s, escape routes etc. Last year in North Berwick we barely made the beach once, and that entailed a rather hasty windswept and sandy barbecue.

But this year was different. This year we did them all – Yellowcraigs, West and East North Berwick, Canty Bay, Seacliffs (x2) and Tyninghame. That’s pretty much all the major ones covered form Dirleton to Dunbar. Fantastic! We slapped on the factor 50 and picnicked on the beach without sand in the sandwiches. We dipped our toes, paddles and buckets in the North Sea as we jumped over waves, investigated rockpools, and kayaked round the bay. We built fires (for fun not cold) as we wildcamped by the beach. The kids cried with delight rather than cold. We even occasionally needed to escape the beach for a change of scene – unheard of! And on top of all that we dined like kings of the coast with a plethora of seafood. We did it! We had a proper beach holiday in Scotland 😊.

Thanks to the Gurney’s for letting us stay. The cats survived, just not sure they loved having us as much as they were ‘loved’ by our daughters 😊.

Watching the boats

Beach town cool

Hands up for the beach

Journey to the beach

Sunset at wild camp

Wild campers

Camo-van playing hide and seek



Rockpool discovery

Seacliff - best beach ever?

Sand angels

Beach running 1

Beach running 2

Beach running 3

Paddle time 1

Paddle time 2

 

Eventually the sun had to set