Our friends, Kevin & Helen from church first took us to Ferring Beach in early May on a sunny bank holiday. Well, it was foggy when we began, but the fog burned off and left us with a nice day.
Kevin, Helen and their kids.
Swing Ball! So fun!
Karis & Brennen loved it. Reegan couldn't quite get enough power in her hits.
We've gone a few times, since it's only about a 40 minute drive. It's a rocky beach when the tide is up.
England is one of those places with strong tidal changes. When the tide is out, you can see miles of sand!
This beach is somewhat secluded, not very busy and has FREE PARKING!! In this country, that is a huge plus and a huge draw for us!! We drive through small neighborhood roads to get to the Blue Bird Cafe. I've learned while writing this post that this little cafe has quite a rich history. If you click on the link you can read about its early days in the 30s, it's renames, and its use as a canteen by the Canadian army during the war.
Cafe, ice cream shop and miles of beach. Just how we like it!!
Jerry had a day off recently, so we took the kids to school and headed to the coast for a day out on our own. I wanted to get some beach hut photos. We're having some amazing weather right now, very non-English weather!
Since it's hard for us to get away in the evenings, days out like this make for a great date! Works perfectly for us! And probably one of our last ones before school is out on July 24.
Yes, I said July 24. Another thing about England, a longer school year with 2 weeks off between each term and one week half terms spread throughout the year. Then we have a 6 week Summer break.
Enough about that, back to beach huts!!
Aren't those colors lovely?!
Blue Bird Cafe in the distance.
I love how the owners of this hut used sea glass to spell out the name of their hut.
We then headed over to Goring beach, the next beach over, and had a late English breakfast at the cafe and had a look at Gorring's beach huts.
First we stopped for a bite to eat at Sea Lane Cafe.
Typical English breakfast fare often includes baked beans. My dish is without! I just can't be THAT much like the locals to eat beans for breakfast! Ha!
Goring Beach has opted for white beach huts with colored trim.
I had a nice little chat with this man, below, and told him of my fascination with beach huts.
Some other photos from our walk along the beach.
This house, right on the beach, had it's own sweet little beach hut in their garden.
Now that's some beach house with quite a garden!
Their own private route to the beach.
Cuttle Fish bones. These are found all over the beach. Someone decided to make a Cuttle Bonehenge. Get it? Like Stonehenge! Ha!
Grab some fresh fish straight from the beach.
We enjoyed our lovely day out and finished our trip off with a stop at Starbucks! A nice day for a date!
Beautiful pictures. Thanks for posting them.
ReplyDeleteSo what does one actually DO with a beach hut? Is it for storing things? Or changing in? I'm assuming they don't stay overnight in them...? So they are owned by individuals, or people hire them for the day? Totally foreign (lol! pun intended!) concept to me!
ReplyDeleteIt's used in many different ways. Most beach huts are privately owned and they must follow regulations. Each beach is different as to the regulations. Some owners rent out their beach huts. We saw one that you can rent for £40 a day. They are used in many different ways, for storing beach items and having a spot to escape the sun. There are only a very few areas of England that allow you to sleep in your hut, so the book (that I mentioned in my previous post) said anyway. And some actually have electricity, but I don't think any have running water. Still, those that have electricity are few and far between. But if someone wants a cuppa, they can make their own with that electricity! ;) I guess they just have to bring their own water. It's a new concept to me too, but a completely fascinating one to me! I learned that a couple in our church owns one of the white huts on Goring Beach. We have a church wide fish and chips on the beach planned next month at their hut. I'll be sure to post about that!
DeleteThe funny part about the whole thing is that these beach huts are in ENGLAND! I mean, have you seen those English beaches and the English sun? We should have beach huts here, where they are actually needed! ;)
DeleteEnglish beaches have a beauty of their own! Maybe not world renowned or anything. ;) Many are rocky in our area, but I've seen pictures of some beautiful sandy beaches that I'd like to explore soon. And the weather has been hot for England lately! And cover from the rain, (as Vic below mentioned)! That's what they're good for! You can enjoy the beach while being covered by the beach hut! :P
DeleteLove the beach huts!
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures! I love daytime dates...they feel so leisurely. Michael has one Friday off each month, and if our schedules allow, we love to spend the day together when the kids are in school.
ReplyDeleteCan't believe your kids are just getting out for summer. But you can enjoy it a little longer when we go back mid-August!
I love reading your posts about what you think of England! I think British beaches are like no other I've seen on my world travels. They have a certain... something, which includes beach huts! These are pretty useful when it starts to rain:)
ReplyDeleteMy son finished school on Monday and I know some schools are finishing today. I don't know how you guys in the States manage with such long summer holidays!
You know, I prefer the shorter summer holiday. The longer ones get to be too much!
DeleteWe are really enjoying our beaches nearby! Maybe it's not tropical, but I actually like the cooler temps, although lately it's been quite hot! :)