Mother's Day in Sandsend

On Saturday my parents, along with my aunt and my grandparents were going to Sandsend for a week.  Whilst I was at my mums giving her our presents and cards for everyone for Mother's Day my dad called to say he wouldn't be finished at work in time to set off with them.  To cut a long story short my dad very kindly offered to pay for us a B&B on Saturday night in Sandsend in exchange for a lift there that night.  

After a quick phone call to Ant it was agreed that we would absolutely love to go for the night and off I trotted home to pack for our impromptu trip. 

We packed our overnight bag, bathed Luca and popped him into his pj's before setting off to pick up my Dad at about 7:30pm.  It took just less than two hours to get to Sandsend from where we live so by the time we arrived Luca had fallen asleep and it was pitch black outside.

We found where my parents were staying and dropped my dad. My mum then loaded us up with food, a big bowl of pasta, chunks of fresh bread covered in butter, a small cake, some ginger biscuits, a small carton of milk (for a cup of tea) and a bottle of beer for Ant. Seriously, she's a feeder. 

We then drove 2 minutes around the corner to our B&B for the night, checked in and got Luca all snuggled back into bed before sharing the food my mum sent us and settling down for the night ourselves.  

We knew our room overlooked the sea as the owners had informed us of this at check in, and we could hear the waves crashing all night through the old sash windows (not a bad thing, it was quite relaxing) but we had no idea what it would actually look like in the morning as neither of us have ever visited Sandsend before and it was absolutely pitch black when we arrived.

We weren't to be disappointed.  When Luca dived out of bed the next morning and threw back the curtains this was the site that greeted us, it was a perfect start to Mother's Day right there.  

For once Luca was more than willing to get dressed that morning, he couldn't wait to get outside and play on the beach.  

After a huge breakfast, again with views over looking the sea, we checked out and set off walking back to my parents cottage they were renting for the week.  My dad had taken our car back around to their cottage as there wasn't any parking where we were staying.  It was only a five minute walk though and the sights that greeted us along the way were just beautiful.  Sandsend really is a picture perfect seaside village.   

As we crossed the tiny bridge over the duck filled river that flows onto the beach and into the sea, my mum came out to meet us and give Luca a huge Mother's Day cuddle. 

One quick cup of tea later and we were all getting wrapped up to hit the beach.  

We took a bucket, spade and fishing net down to the beach with us and Luca relished in trying to catch things in the river, making sandcastles and collecting different coloured stones. We paddled in the river and braved it all the way across the deep bit, it only just missed the top of my wellies. 

Even the snow and hail couldn't dampen our spirits, although it did limit my photo taking, and we only decided to head back inside when Luca fell over in the river and filled his wellies with icy cold water.  

We all got snuggled up in front of the roaring fire my dad had lit and watched The Lion King, ate a takeaway lunch from the beach cafe and drank pink fizz.  

With the afternoon slowly coming to an end we decided to go for one last play on the beach before we would have to set off home.

It was absolutely the best Mother's Day ever.  I'm not sure you can ask for anything more on Mother's Day than being surrounded by love and laughter with your family can you?

It was such a perfect day that when my mum suggested we go back on Thursday night and stay with them (they had discovered one of the sofas was a pull out bed), we snapped her hand off.  I picked Luca up from the childminders on Thursday night and drove us back up to the seaside.  Luca slept the whole journey so was wide awake when we arrived at 7:30pm so he ended up having a late night.  

The next day was a beautiful sunny day but Luca woke up with a bit of a tummy bug so wasn't quite as excited to visit the beach as he had been at the weekend.  We started the day by feeding the ducks.  

Then we hit the beach again and we raced Lightening McQueen & Mater along the stream into the sea with my mum and dad.  

They then took him to one of the little cafes that sits on the beach front whilst I played with my camera in the sunshine for a bit.

We ate ice cream and drank prosecco over looking the beach and the sea before being joined by a friendly, and not at all camera shy, duck.

My dad walked Luca back to the cottage as he wasn't feeling too good again and I took another little walk with my camera. 

The rest of the day was spent back inside as Luca was really not feeling great. We watched rubbish telly and played with his toys before having a huge bath and snuggling down for the night in preparation for the drive home in the morning.

Sandsend really is a beautiful little seaside village which is really worth a little holiday to if you ever get the chance.  We have already decided to go back in Summer for a few days.