This year we have decided to discover more of our beautiful county. If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen some snippets of our adventures so far and know how much we love the beach.

I think it is lovely to have somewhere familiar to visit frequently, through the seasons, to really get a good understanding of a place and our place within it. But there is always room for an adventure and sharing new experiences together creates a wonderful and lasting connection. There are so many beautiful beaches to explore in Cornwall and one I had never been to was Holywell Bay. So off we set with a few changes of clothes and a flask of hot chocolate.

Holywell Bay has the sand dunes of childhood dreams. You can access the beach without climbing them but we wanted a view from the top. First we crossed a little river. A bridge is always very exciting!

We felt like real explorers navigating an unknown land.

I can see the sea!

 

I love these large stretches of sand on the Cornish north coast that always remind me of Shirley Hughes’ poem: ‘Sand in the sandwiches, sand in the tea, flat wet sand running down to the sea…’

These purple mussel shells were oh so pretty! I’d never seen one before.

We scaled a sand dune and had a picnic lunch at the top. We’ll have to invest in a sled and bring that along next time as we saw another family with one – what fun!

Plenty of little puddles to splash in on the way down to the sea.

He wanted to follow the river to see if we could find where it started. We stopped for a  play on the bank and a little explore.

  

I do like coming to the beach out of season and having it almost to ourselves.

It was such a lovely day and we weren’t quite ready to go home so we popped around the corner to Crantock beach!

  

Another river (and a change of clothes) and more little pools. These will be delightfully warm in the summer! Our faces were frozen crossing the beach and I can’t believe how far he walked! But the sand and the tempting sea was irresistible.

We danced with our reflections and splashed in the shallows, the seagulls taking no notice at all.

And then we said goodbye to the sea as we always do and promised to come back again soon.

I stood and watched my little boy, with seemingly the whole world stretched before him. So many wonderful possibilities lie in store. I am so thankful for the time we share together and the memories we are making. I hope wherever life leads him, he will always know home. The sound of the sea, the breeze on his cheek, the call of birds and water in his wellies. The freedom and laughter, his hand in mine. When I look at my beautiful boy, I know I am there.