Much as we love travelling abroad (check out POD Travels to see what we’ve been up to), we’re very fond of exploring the UK too. We’re fortunate in that we’re surrounded by the most wonderful countryside in Surrey but we do relish escaping to the coast on occasions too. With the likes of Littlehampton just an hour away, it’s easy to lose a few hours on the beach. There’s something so calming about hearing the sound of the waves, feeling the wind on your cheeks and breathing in that fresh sea air isn’t there?
We headed down to Littlehampton recently on what ended up being a beautifully sunny day. We’d left early to miss the traffic (as we do when we go to West Wittering) but were surprised to discover we almost had the beach to ourselves. While the East Beach at Littlehampton has shingle by the promenade, when the tide is out it’s a great beach which is mostly sandy. POD drew funny portraits with sticks in the sand, we collected shells and soaked up the long-awaited sunshine.
POD even found a few ‘islands’ along the way too, a wonderful discovery for a child with the best imagination. Of course, we’re totally biased but give her a situation and she always comes up with the most incredible stories. The first island was all about the treasure and being rescued by pirates with another presenting us with the most unexpected sight – snails. Not just a few in a rock pool either, there were hundreds and hundreds of them. In fact, everywhere we looked we saw snails clinging to rocks, in and out of the water. I’ve never seen so many in one place. POD was intrigued by them initially although did become a little alarmed when several moved while she was on ‘snail island’. What an amazing sight though.
No trip to the beach would be complete without capturing a few beach huts, would it? At Littlehampton, there are rows of beach huts with a similar theme whereas, at West Wittering, there’s a combination of old and new in varying styles. Having admired the green and yellow hues, we refuelled at the local cafe before heading back to the car to retrieve POD’s bike. She’s doing so well with her cycling now and Littlehampton promenade is ideal for practising even if it means we’re running along behind her. Thankfully, the East Beach is also home to Britain’s Longest Bench which is great when a rest is in order. We’re hoping now we’ve had a taste of sunshine in the UK it means summer is finally on its way, let’s hope so!
Looks like great fun: I love messing about creatgure-spotting on beaches 🙂