When Mr R finally realised that the dates for a big technological conference he absolutely had to attend clashed with the dates I had wanted to take the Small People for their first British Seaside experience, all was not lost – we would make Grandad come with us. Thankfully he was more than happy to…
After the relatively short drive to Southbourne (which by the way is my favourite area of the lot down here!) we arrived at my Aunt’s seaside apartment she kindly lent us for a few nights, unloaded all children and gumph to discover we were actually at the wrong building (apologies to those people who thought they were about to be burgled). Two minutes later (and two buildings up!), we were frantically unpacking in the correct apartment, determined that the by now squally English Seaside weather wasn’t going to stop us doing anything in the Small People’s first introduction to a British Beach (apart from perhaps sunbathing!)…
As I was under the impression that my Dad had visited several times before (so would obviously know the distance from everything) we found our way to Southbourne’s cliff tops in time for a spot of lunch in a typical Seaside Pub (i.e. a big tall ceilinged affair, full of the people talking about how rubbish the weather was and the faint waft of Sarsons vinegar!)… As the clouds looked like they might actually lift at some point, we left our dry haven and decided to walk to Boscombe Pier. On and on we walked, getting gradually more soaked to the skin (it turned out my Dad had only visited once before, and had about as much of a clue of how far things were as I did!). Thankfully by some absolute miracle I had remembered the baby’s rain cover, as his older siblings were by now becoming a little hysterical – as was I – mostly at the optimism of my fellow Brits, who were going to wear summer seaside clothes whatever the weather. Boscombe pier finally appeared on the horizon, and wasn’t quite what I had in mind in that it lacked any sort of building we could take shelter in really (apart from a Harvester pub, but we were there to visit the seaside, not sit in a pub all day; however much that idea seemed very tempting at the time!)… It did however have a small shop where we were able to buy three ridiculous “pac-a-macs” which turned out to have short sleeves. By now the Small People were beginning to take on a “where on earth has she bought us now?” kind of attitude, whilst my poor Dad who shouldn’t really do miles and miles of walking, didn’t fancy my suggestion of getting on the Peppa Pig coastal train and meeting us at the bigger, glitzier Bournemouth Pier (there wasn’t room for all of us!) we could just make out through the sea mist in the far distance…
Thankfully the last leg of the walk didn’t seem too bad, and with lots of positive talk about “how it could be worse” we were soon in the dry and very warm (and actually like something out of a weird parallel universe) Amusement Arcade. Here the Small people enjoyed an introduction to the delights of various penny fall machines, like some kind of alternative maths homeschooling session, wrapped up with a lesson on the perils of gambling, and how most of the crane/grab type machines were rigged! Grandad could have a bit of a rest here though, and baby was fast asleep (bizarrely considering it was noisier than around 50 jets landing) – and in the time it took the Small People to work their way through £2.50 each in two pence pieces, we were able to dry off a bit…
Rested, and by now prepared for whatever the weather would chuck at us, the next day proved a little better in that it didn’t rain quite so much. We were also clued up in all matters bus, and got to Bournemouth in relatively quick time for a walk through the gorgeous Winter Gardens and up to the end of the Pier.
As I said in my instagram pic that day, there’s something so nostalgic about these places, full of the ghosts of holiday makers past, and those present reliving their childhoods and introducing their own children and grandchildren to the delights…
Being half a Yorkshire lass, I obviously needed to introduce my children to a proper seaside fish and chip lunch so Harry Ramsdens on the seafront it was. Here we discovered we have a miniature mushy pea addict, which made his Grandad very proud – whilst his older brother strangely professed his love and preference for sauerkraut instead (quick tip – go around the traditional lunch hour, i.e. either super early, or very late to get a table straight away)…
I had to laugh at the “table-mat” colouring sheets the children were given – which featured a “draw a picture of your day at the beach to win an ipad” colouring competition – “that’s easy” Grandad said, “get a blue crayon and just draw lots of thick lines across the page for rain. No need to draw anything else”… But wonder of wonders, through Harry Ramsdens window, the weather was indeed beginning to change…
To the (Southbourne, lovely and empty!) beach!!
And despite the rain it wouldn’t perhaps have felt the same in a nostalgic sense had the sun been blazing, and we certainly wouldn’t have felt like we had the beach (the Southbourne end anyway!) to ourselves. Crabbing in Poole next!
A few tips…
- Southbourne has the best sandy beaches in my opinion, and they don’t get as crowded as Bournemouth. Get the historic cliff train down to the beach, it’s really sweet and the kids loved it! It’s also the best surfing area if that floats your boat;
- Buses to connect you from Southbourne, Bournemouth to Poole and beyond are cheap and frequent (they only take cash);
- Do come prepared for all weathers, this is England after all. You really do need rain gear as well as sun cream just in case!
- You have to have fish and chips at least once at the seaside, Harry Ramsdens is one of the best of the big boys here in my opinion, take time to visit the restaurant on the top floor if you don’t fancy sand in your takeaway!
- There’s not actually very much on Bournemouth Pier itself (there’s absolutely nothing on Boscombe Pier!) considering you pay to walk up it, but there is a cafe/bar at the end, and it’s a nice place to sit and people watch for a while.
- Be prepared to spend a big chunk of your time in one of the penny arcades as your children become addicted to winning tickets in one of those ridiculous machines that they exchange for ridiculous stuff;
- And finally, enjoy the quietness of each evening with nothing but the sea winds and a few gulls to listen to as your children slumber happily through the night, exhausted by the sea air and everything a British beach has to offer! You might not be guaranteed sun here, but there’s usually a lot of fun to be had…
I think I need to introduce mine to the arcades, can you believe we’ve never been in one?
They are funny, a good math’s exercise if you give them a limited amount of coins to spend! :D Thanks Emma
beach huts are just so beautiful aren’t they and I love those deckchairs! British Holidays at their best, rain and all! x
Wouldn’t be the same without a little bit of rain I don’t think! Thanks Fritha!
Ha ha – this did make me laugh although I bet it wasn’t quite so funny for you at the time. At least it’s a day the kids won’t forget in a hurry x
Nope. We are still laughing about it now though! :D Thanks Cass! (:
I wish I’d known you were heading here Emma. My dad lives just up the coast near Christchurch so we’ve done many of these wet, trying ever so hard to be optimistic about the weather ” coastal walks. I love it in this area regardless – the weather picks on me too by the way. I understand completely why my dad ditched his midlands roots and retired down to this spot. When I’m not there he tells me it has its own little micro climate and the weathers always “perfect for golf”! Off to read what else you got up to now
What a lovely area to live… I think I would love to retire here too! I didn’t mind the weather really, it wouldn’t quite be an English seaside visit without it! :D x
I can’t belive that I’ve never done the beaches at Southbourne considering I lived in Bournemouth for 3 years and take the kids every year on holiday. Next year…
So sad your weather wasn’t so good, we were there last week and it was lovely. Mich x
Don’t go anywhere the same time as me Mich, I am sure the weather does that to me on purpose! :D x
Oh you’ve made me laugh and reminisce in one fabulous blog post. Visits to the seaside with my lad always involve chips, arcades (plus gambling warmings) and changeable weather.
Short-sleeved pac-a-macs haha!!
Thank you Trish. Can you believe they had short sleeves? Who on earth thought that was a good idea? :D
You must be crazy to go to the beach in such weather! :D
That might be true! :D
I’ve never been down to the south coast, really must get there soon. It looks lovely x
It’s really fun! Thanks Sonia! :) x
This made me chuckle. It pretty much sums up all of my British beaches experiences. I took my boys further up the coast in to Wales last week and it couldn’t have been colder, windier or close to snowing. It was ridiculous. We ended up in a sad cafe warming our hands around hot drinks and munching on Kit Kats. We loved it!!
Funny isn’t it? There’s something so exhilarating about the whole thing when the weather’s rubbish! :D x
I think that nothing beats the British seaside on an evening, when people are going home! When we were in landlocked Berkshire and I was feeling homesick for the sea, the husbeast would drive me to Bournemouth!
Definitely! One of my fondest moments of an English beach was late one summer’s evening when I was pregnant with my daughter. We sat and watched the starlings making their patterns in the sky, whilst scoffing chips! Perfect! :D
I LOVE British seaside holidays and so glad your dad could go with you. Multi-generational travel is very popular these days! Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip. x
Thanks Susanna! We did, thank you x
A holiday like this has to be done every now and then, mainly for the fish and chips. Luckily the only really awful weather I’ve had on holiday in UK was Wales in 2006, otherwise I’ve been pretty lucky with dry and even sunny weather. There’s a great sense of nostalgia in your photos.
Thanks so much Phoebe! I think Nostalgia is a big reason why these trips are so popular still! :) x
Fish and chips is always a must for us and it’s often more than once on a holiday. We have been on beaches playing in quite a range of weathers – I have pictures of my little fellow in raincoats and jumpers making sandcastles.
I did have them twice in three days! Don’t tell anyone!! :D Thanks Erica! (:
How lovely you are in my neck of the woods. I much prefer the beach on miserable days as there are fewer people on there.
You should have eaten in Urban Reef which is just by Boscombe Pier – the food is amazing and they have a new wood-fired pizza oven. Boscombe Pier has fun instruments to play and on one you can play “I do like to be beside the seaside”. Bournemouth Pier, as you say, has the amusement arcade at the start of pier. Once you are on though you have Rockreef for caving, high ropes and climbing walls (great indoor activity when the weather is rubbish). They also have a lovely restaurant on the end and some small fairground rides for the kids. If you are brave enough their is even a zipline on the end.
Whilst I would agree it has not got the same amount of activities as Brighton, there is still a fair bit to do. Hope the weather cheered up for you xx
Thanks so much Kara! I didn’t know you were down in this part of the world! We didn’t even see the Urban Reef place, but I will keep an eye out for it next time. The kids didn’t want to do the indoor climbing as they have huge climbing places they frequently go to here, they were tempted by the zipline, but it was blowing a gale! :D xx
Thanks so much Kara! I didn’t know you were down in this part of the world! We didn’t even see the Urban Reef place, but I will keep an eye out for it next time. The kids didn’t want to do the indoor climbing as they have huge climbing places they frequently go to here, they were tempted by the zipline, but it was blowing a gale! :D xx