Sea Fix

Every so often I find myself pining for the sea something terrible. Yes, every so often I do need to get me a Sea Fix, and it's a very strong need. An Urge even. I've been feeling the pull of the sea throughout most of this year, and have tried on numerous occasions to plan a weekend jaunt to the coast with the Attic family. But the family doesn't suffer from the same kind of withdrawal symptoms that I do, and they don't feel The Urge like I do. They moan about the one-hour-and-twenty-minutes it takes us to drive to the sea from here. They moan loudly, and so I give in with a shrug of my shoulders and a slightly heavy heart.

But....I do happen to be married to a very lovely, thoughtful man. The kind of man who arranges a day off work and decides he will use that precious day to whisk his wife to the coast for her Sea Fix. Kind of a day-late Mother's Day treat he said. Sweet Man ♥ So yesterday morning bright and early, I was leaping around with excitement making up a picnic, assembling picnic rug, cool bag, boots, bucket and spade. Preparing for our jaunt to the sea. And after depositing the Little People at school, we set off to drive upwards and to the left (North West?), heading for the quaint little village of Heysham.

It's almost exactly three years ago since we were here last, you may even remember  it? It hasn't changed one jot. It's a very quirky, quiet (oh so quiet) place, hardly a soul about. No traffic, the roads are practically deserted. We park our car as we did last time, on a quiet residential road quite high above the sea below. It's cold, bright and blustery, quite a perfect day to be beside the sea I think.

We walk briskly down the path to reach the promenade. I am not walking exactly, I am half running and half skipping. J is laughing at my visible excitement, I cannot contain the pure pleasure of simply being beside the sea. Of seeing it, hearing it, smelling it. The air smells wonderful. Sharp and salty and fresh and full of Goodness.

Of course we do not have the Little People with us, but oh we do indeed have our Little B! He is wearing his yellow wellington boots and seems to be picking up on my excitement, he is chatty and points and exclaims a lot. We take him into this little sandy, windswept play area and he enjoys lots of climbing and sliding. But my feet are itching to get down onto the sands, and soon enough we head to the beach.

The tide moves in and out very quickly here, it's famous for it. There was hardly any visible beach when we arrived, yet within half an hour, all this gorgeous ripply sand has appeared as if by magic. Marvellous! Just right for a spot of running, jumping, throwing and shell gathering.

Little B is new to the idea of beach combing, having never done it before, so I teach him the art. I help him to look for pretty shells which we rinse clean in the little sea water pools. He examines them closely, then slings them in the bucket. So far so good. But then I turn around and find he is throwing them all out of the bucket. No no! We need to collect them! Keep them IN the bucket! But he is intent on throwing them out, one by one, out they go until his bucket is empty. Ok, begin again. "More" he says. Pick up, rinse in water, put in bucket. Collect about eight, then they all get thrown out. I give up trying to thwart him and just enjoy watching him instead, he is delighted with the whole process obviously.

I can't really do much beach combing myself cos I am having to supervise the Little fella. He is stomping in pools of sea water, splashing water all up his trousers and into his boots. He is tripping and stumbling over slippery rocks, he is investigating great piles of stinky seaweed. But oh my, he is having fun! I take a few snaps of him doing his thing, and I gaze up and down the deserted beach. Bliss. I am full of sea-bliss.

I am also starting to get hungry, as being by the sea always makes me feel ravenous. Always. So we choose a place to rest up for our picnic....see in the above pic, on the far right hand side, there are three benches on the sea wall there near the red life belt? We choose the middle bench and chow down. Brown bread sandwiches wrapped in tin foil, fruit, crisps, slabs of lemon drizzle cake, chocolate and a mug of steaming hot tea. The view makes it taste divine.

After lunch we take a little wander through the village, and I indulge in some blatant Housey Appreciation. I LOVE looking at houses, love examining the details.

LOve the cobbled pathways everywhere. I also fell madly in love with that sweet little coloured glass lantern, and I confess I had some Bad Thoughts about grabbing it and running away with it. Naughty, naughty.

We end up by the little village green and I remember these lovely benches from our visit before. I wish we had pretty benches like this in my town, with a picturesque landscape to rest ones back against.

We continue meandering, along Main Street, past a closed up bric-a-brac shop, a closed up cafe and a closed up diner, up the road and back to the hilltop where the car is parked. The view looks different to when we first arrived, less sea and more seaweedy sand. But still beautiful. I breathe deeply and inhale the air one last time before we head for home.

What a fabulous day. We return with sand in our boots, and some fabulous memories. Oh, and one solitary rock which is the result of Little B's beach combing activities. He refused to throw that one away, stuffed it hastily in his little coat pocket to bring home. A reminder of a day well spent.

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Comments

[coron hotels]

owhhhh.:) I definitely miss beach outings with my kids. This reminds me of the smile in their faces with the different foods I prepare.:-)

[Marriage Counseling Jacksonville FL]

I have been wanting to go to the sea and my household like yours have been cautious to come with me. SO grateful that you got to go and have such a charming day with your partner and your magnificent boy.

[Angela purse(nee Paulson)]

lovely photo's of Heysham! Lived there a few years ago to the left of the bench! Happy memories! So glad you enjoyed your visit.Have you tried Happy Mount Park at the Bare end of Morecambe? Its well worth a visit, your Littlies would love it...swing boats, crazy golf, mini railway etc Happy memories and fun times xxx

[idiosyncratic eye]

I have sea cravings too and am glad that we live a little closer to the coast than that, although we don't have transport at the moment. The bench is very cool, I love snapping at architectural details too. :)

[Emma]

I grew up by the sea too and miss it SO much! Although my parents live further inland now, we always go down to the sea when we stay with them, so I can get my 'fix'!

[Jude.x]

I loooooove the seaside too. I'm quite jealous of your lovely day! :-) We'll have to teach J to drive a coach and then he can pick the rest of us up, on your way! LL. Jude.x

[Debra at www.artisun.blogspot.com]

Love your blog, I've been following you for the past 2 years and share you with my junior and senior high school crafts students here at Whitney High School in Cerritos, California. I wanted you to know that I've nominated you for the Liebster Award. Go to my blog at www.artisun.blogspot.com to yesterday's post and you will see what it entails and what it's all about. Look forward to hearing back from you.
Deb

[Michelle]

You gave me a start!! I thought "Mother's Day- how on earth did I miss Mother's Day?? Seriously, I lost my birthday by having one of my daughters on it- How did I completely forget about and bypass "my" other day? Oh wait- I live in the States, she lives in England. Our Mother's Day is in May. This is March. Breathe. And stop being selfish and stupid, anyway!" Now I will just laugh at myself for being ridiculous and over-thinking and proceed to say what a lovely day you had, thank you for sharing it with us! It is a wonderful thing to have a thoughtful husband AND adorable children!!!(even when they're born on your birthday, heehee!)

[Julie]

A girl after my own heart, I love a sea fix too. Mine will come Monday when hubby is taking me for a whole 5 days away, just the two of us! Your pics have made me even more excited. Thanks x

[Jennie Hughes]

Little B is obviously going to be a geologist. Always bring a rock home from any outing!

[Mama G @ bigcraftyblog.blogspot.com]

Hey, next time you need someone to go to the sea with call me! Lol! I would never turn a sea trip down. Of course I live in the state of Ohio in the U.S. so that part could be a bit tough.

[Sandra Licher]

Cute little Wellies and the pail and shovel remind me of when mine were little and we would go to the beach but it was just a lake...not the sea! The villages there are so gorgeous and cozy and quaint. I may have to move there as there's not much of that over here in the U.S. where I live right now anyway. I love quaint, cozy and I read Beatrix Potter incessantly just imagining how wonderful it must be.
I'm so glad you got your "sea fix" and what a lovely husband you must have for sure. I want to let you know that I featured you and Esther from Happy in Red on my blog today and put links to your blogs with pictures as I just started doing your "ripply" pattern and LOVE IT! I was just doing a sample patch like you recommended but now I need to figure out how big I want it and do I want to use yarn I have or order the same type of yarn you used...the Rowan Handknit cotton which is so vibrant and beautiful! Is that where you got all those great colors? I think I need to order some yarn! LOL! I love all your patterns. Please visit my blog at www.farmgirlsam.blogspot.com where I pictured my humblr little practive swatch and then your gorgeous blanket!

[Katie Belle]

I luv your blog! Thanks for all of the pictures. Someday I will get to visit England...am so looking forward to it. Come visit me in Washington state...west coast of the U.S....my blog is [email protected]

[chavi]

Hi, Lucy - I have been following your blog from across the pond in NY for a couple of years now, and I love it! Thanks for the fab craft ideas, and the breathtaking glimpses of England's beauty.

I have a question - what yarn do you use? Is it 100% cotton? I do have cotton yarn, but I like the colors of your yarn better.

Thanks!

[Sian]

Dear Lucy
I've really enjoyed following your blog for the last couple of years, it's so inspiring and positive, and after a few failed attempts with books from the library and a bit more time now I would love to (finally!) learn to crochet. I'm sorry if you get asked this a lot, but would you ever consider doing a tutorial for complete beginners? I love the tutorials you've posted as they're so clear and detailed (much better than the books I've seen!) but I don't properly understand even the basics yet. I totally understand if a beginners tutorial is not possible, in which case are there any beginners books you'd recommend?
Many thanks for any information or advice
Sian x

[Marleen]

ahh, the sea! I really miss beaches like the one you went to (being Dutch)... here in Istanbul we have lots of sea too, but it's different, no sandy grey beaches and no dunes... we do have long promenades though, which I am looking forward to enjoying again!! Sunny greetings from Istanbul!

[Naomi Ng]

I love love love your blog.... :) Living in a very- urban-very- tiny country in Asia, the beautiful pictures of the the english countryside in your blog make me so "yearny" inside to travel! But like you I've got three very young kids (think my youngest is the same age as your Little B!), so a 20 hour ride in an aircraft is a huge no- no. In the meantime, I'm just feasting my eyes on your blog! :)

[Anna]

Great way to spend time with the family! I always like the buildings in your pictures, they look cozy to me :)
Have more of such trips ahead and enjoy being with the family!

[Becci Sundberg]

Gorgeous! We live by the sea in a very picturesque place but rarely visit the beach in winter. Something you have just prompted me to do this year. Autumn has just started here.
My boys do love to visit the beach and go crabbing (collecting little toe crabs which are then returned before we leave).
I'm all excited to start doing more of this with them this year.
Thank you :)

[Crafty Mermaid]

What a lovely day! I'm so glad Little B enjoyed his version of beach combing!

[Kristen]

What a lovely day, thanks for taking us along. I, like you, also need a sea-air fix every few months or so. I am a California native and can never live too far away from my Pacific Ocean, or get enough of it.

[Dorothy]

Understand the longing. My lovely husband is taking me for a week of beautiful, long beaches in Northumbria. Tomorrow!! Five minutes from carparks and you see nobody just lots of seashells, sea glass and even stones with holes in them. Hard to stop yourself from needing to examine every single one. Jaw achingly cold and breezy. Perfect! You deserved the Beach Treat after your conquering of the shelves of doom. Am of calm, minimalist persuasion myself but I do enjoy the colour, vibrancy and STUFF of your blogposts.

[se7en]

What a totally lovely stunning outing - i love your photographs and your trip!!! And you just made me so grateful that we live right at the seaside... really a two minute walk and we can hear the waves at night. I will go to sleep grateful for the sand that sticks to everything and the little feet that read stories in my bed and leave sandy deposits there too... just tonight I will be grateful for all the sand!!!

[Carol]

What a perfect day in a perfect location, magical memories.
Carol xx

[joey ashely]

Lucky Lucy! Looks like a splendid day out. The bay's looking all summery already - they're tarting up the Watchhouse Cafe no end! New decking and all sorts. Are you coming down soon?