Chasing rainbows at the beach

Being adventurous folk, we love the great outdoors. Of course the winter months do require a little more effort (and clothing!) but those cobwebs don’t blow away by themselves. Last weekend the forecast was for heavy rain but we were starting to go stir crazy indoors. Added to which POD was desperate to go to the beach. She’d been asking when we’re going on holiday every day since she broke up from school! If you took away the monsoon outside, it was the next best thing. Okay maybe not.

Nevertheless we left Surrey equipped with waterproofs, wellies and probably a few too many spare clothes. We played a game in the car to see who could spot a gap in the clouds first. An interesting idea given the windscreen wipers were on full at that point and visibility was poor. The upside being the roads were pretty clear of traffic. I almost turned back at one point but the happy face beaming back at me in the rear view mirror meant we had to at least try. Besides Daddy had a little work to do.

We arrived in Sussex much faster than when we’d visited in the summer although hardly surprising. There was barely a soul in the flooded car park so we chatted about wizards while we ate Marmite sandwiches. It was still raining heavily when we arrived but ten minutes later it suddenly stopped. Just like that.

Wellies on, hats in place and coats over our noses, we raced out of the car and to West Wittering beach like speed demons. Well we would have done if the bitterly cold winds had not been blowing in the opposite direction to us! The beach was deserted except for a couple of kite surfers and a handful of dog walkers. No-one in their right mind was going out today. Except us it seemed. Such a contrast to when we’d visited before and the temperature had hit 28 degrees.

I’ve learnt over the last five years that you do funny things for your children. Admittedly they’re not always funny. Seeing the joy in POD’s face when she climbed a sandbank and shouted “woo hoo” at the top of her voice made the drive there worthwhile. Even if that’s all she got to do before we had to leave.

But that was the strange thing. As the rain stopped the clouds had parted a little to reveal a bright blue sky. It wasn’t much but seeing the sun glimmer on the sea meant we could take it all in that little bit longer. Running down the sandbanks was fun in itself but there were giant puddles to explore, shells to admire and an incoming tide to run away from. Although we didn’t get to chase a rainbow, we certainly got to see nature at it’s very best. And more importantly, see the look of pure joy on POD’s face. Sometimes the best things in life are free, you just have to take a chance and look for them.

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