We awoke at 0800 hrs after a night punctuated with the morse code like tapping of rain dripping off the roof and hitting what sounded like the toms on a cheap drumkit. I think, by some strange miracle, Holly actually was out of bed before me as I rolled back over and tried to have a shifty half hour lie-in..
I rolled downstairs and Anna had made me a cup of tea which I enjoyed whilst finishing the Jefferson Tayte genealogical thriller book 5, Kindred. Well.. I hadn't expected *that* ending! I then commenced book 6, Dying Games, and was hooked from the opening paragraph. I really must review some of these books; they really are incredibly well written.
After a leisurely get ready, we departed for Saltburn again as this is where the kids wanted to go. It is a pretty good location by all accounts, good parking (free if you drive up to the top and walk down), toilets nearby, shops that sell coffee etc and an ample supply of fish and chips outlets.
We arrived at Saltburn at about 1135, parked at the aforementioned top of the town and walked down to the beach. Previously, we had set up about 300 meters along the beach, past the pier. Today, we decided that as the tide was in, it would be best to set up by the estuary of a small river.
The kids had been really excited to do some more body boarding but alas, the sea was flatter than a bowling green.. This meant that someone had to inflate their 'super fun tyres'.. That someone, was me... I had forgotten how long it took to perform this simple action and at one point I became a wee bit light-headed! Yay! Legal high for me and fun for all the family (except Anna)!
The kids hit the sea and stayed in there for well over an hour have a whale of a time. They both looked so happy, it was amazing to see and so pleasing as parents to see your kids so happy!
They then came back and mentioned that they were getting hungry so out came the packed lunch.. Oh I should say that sitting on the beach meant that I had uninterrupted reading time of which I took full advantage!
After lunch, the kids hit the sea again; with body boards this time, Anna went to the toilet and then for a walk along the road promenade and on to the pier. Me? I carried on reading.. When I get a good book, I find it very hard to put down!
Eventually everyone came back and disturbed my peace and quiet but this still did not stop me from reading! With the kids bemoaning the lack of waves, we packed up and moved back round the coastline to the place we sat last time we were here.. The waves, unsurprisingly, were no larger so I got my book out and finally finished it!
After that we got fish and chips from the chippy about 30 yards behind us and sat and watched the clouds roll over the moors like a thick dark blanket. I was convinced that we were about to get severely rained on but we never did! It did make for some moody photos though
Following this we decided that the day was done and we packed up, me being the poor bogga that had to deflate the 'super fun tyres'. I believe that it is worse to deflate them than inflate them.. So slow and fiddly. At one point I actually started to suck the air out of them but this was not a clever idea.. Not quite as stupid as the time I thought I'd burn some stuck lint off a guitar string (yes it ended up how you imagine it) but almost in the same ballpark. I eventually got them deflated and we sauntered off to the cliff railway.
For the princely sum of £2.50, this saved us the trudge back up the hill to the town and the car.
When we set off back to the cottage, it became apparent, as we hit the moors, that there had been a deluge of rain as there was standing water, in places, all the way back to the cottage!
I think I found a whole day reading more tiring that the walking up hills we had done!
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