Last week we went to a beach that I am almost embarrassed to admit we had never been to before. It took visiting friends looking for a beach trip to get us there!
This beach (Long Beach, part of the Lynn Shore & Nahant Beach Reservation) had been recommended to us many times, as being close and beautiful with reasonable parking charges! But, not being huge beach fans (sand… just a bit irritating!), we preferred to stick to the small beach at Breakheart, along with enjoying the novelty of lake swimming.
However, I will fully admit to having been completely won over by this beach. It was huge, the beach stretched on and on, an expanse of beautiful pale sand; the view was simply stunning. And the sand, well it was so fine the irritation factor was just not there, it flowed over your feet; no scratchy, bitty, sticky stuff! There were restrooms, plenty of parking spots and it was pristine. I can imagine long walks here in the winter as well as swimming and sandcastle building in the summer.
I will apologise now for the number of photos, which I have whittled down… It was beautiful, the kids had an amazing time and I took a lot of photos!
It was a gorgeously warm and sunny day and when we arrived, the first words out of the kids mouths were this is awesome!
But then, this was the view…
The first request was to go and splash in the sea. None of us could resist, so off we set. The tide was out, so it was quite a walk down to the sea.
Once we reached the waters edge all three of the kids ran in. The water, being the Atlantic, was chilly, but on such a hot day it was wonderfully refreshing. There was lots of splashing and wave jumping, on a small scale (and a larger one for the bigger boys!).
There were unexpected waves – resulting in a suddenly very wet wee girl! – and lots of shells to find.
And, there was the biggest sea snail ever!
The kids wanted to know why the beach was so wide, and we explained that the tide was out. They then wondered if it was still going out or if it was coming back in, so my husband drew an arrow in the sand so that we could see. It was coming in :)
As I stood and took photos of everyone having such an amazing time, this was my view.
Eventually the 5yo and the wee girl asked to go back up the beach and play in the sand. The wee girl was interested in how her feet seemed to sink and slip, resulting in a precarious, almost doing the splits, position! They spent some time playing in the fine, dry sand; running it through fingers and burying toes, before moving down into wetter sand to dig.
Bad mummy had forgotten to put the sand toys in the car, but a few big shells served as spades and they had a great time digging. I love how they sat next to each other, occasionally turning to see what the other was doing.
While they played happily, I had a moment to lie back and simply enjoy the moment. This was what I could see. Pretty much perfect.
I’m linking up with the wonderful Country Kids at Coombe Mill, as always. Click on the badge to see what everyone else has been up to and be inspired to get outside!
What a beautiful beach, just gorgeous. Love the fluffy clouds in bright blue sky at the end & that sea snail is huge x
Beautiful photos Sara – looks like a wonderful place and your little ones look like they are having an amazing time :-)
There is something about the freedom and space on this beach that makes it look so appealing. No fighting for your windbrake space here! I’m not surprised the beach won you over, it looks so perfect on such a beautiful summers day. Thank you for sharing everyone of these lovely photos on Country Kids
Beautiful. It has been years since I have been to the beach. My sister is getting married on the beach in October and I get to go all by myself. So excited. Where did you get your daughters swim suit? How awesome to have her mostly protected from the sun.
Oh wow Sara, that view is breathtakingly beautiful! I find it often takes visitors to make you do stuff like this. Reminds me of when our Alaskan friends were here and going to the Tower of London… lovely post xx #CountryKids
That looks so beautiful! They clearly loved it, and that snail is huge! Nice to find somewhere like this that you just know you’ll go back to again and again x
Utterly stunning post-love the heart shaped cloud at the end, so symbolic of a day and post bursting with love! Perfection x
I am not a sand fan either but this beach does look stunning. And you look like you had a lovely day, great photos x
A trip to the beach has to be one of my favourite things to do, even with the sand issue! That looks amazing Sara and gorgeous photo’s. My husband and I have been in the sea by Nantucket-I remember it being very cold but equally beautiful :)
This place looks amazing, Darren would love it here. So would Ethan, for the sea. It sounds like you had a perfect day, can’t wait to read about your next visit ;0) #CountryKids
What a beautiful place and lovely day. So pleased you took a step back to enjoy, lucky you :)
That is the most amazing beach, I will confess I am a sand lover, and need to go to the beach more often!
Beautiful! Reminds me a bit of Polzeath! :) #CountryKids.
Stunning shots of what looks like such an amazing beach! Looks like such a lovely day out :) #countrykids
Beautiful! I’m not a huge fan of sand either, but kids always seem to like it! Great pictures!
That beach looks amazing, so big and great for children to run and explore. Lovely photos. I love the beach, but our car doesn’t, you end up finding sand everywhere days later.
I love the beach, I’ve always lived within a few miles of a beach, so I count myself pretty lucky. You are right about sand, it seems to get everywhere is a little bit annoying sometimes!
That beach looks perfect, a lot of the beaches close to where we live now are very pebbley which I’m not a big fan of!
Also, what a sea snail, it looks huge!
That beach looks amazing, what a wonderful expanse – jealous! #CountryKids
What an amazing beach Sara! If that was in England it would be absolutely swamped with humanity wouldn’t it yet it seems strangely empty of other people! The sky looks amazing and the kids had a blast didn’t they?! X #Countrykids
Gorgeous pics. What a lovely beach. Looks like you had a great time. Such a lovely sandy beach. #countrykids
You have convinced me more that I am not going back to our local beach again – some things are worth travelling for.
Wow that is a big snail mind.
What a fabulous beach – it really does look awesome and your photos make me want to just be there, like now!
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