Freya's field is brilliant, and we go there a lot, but we fancied a change last weekend, somewhere else that Freya could run free. I also managed to drag Matthew out of the house for the first time in ages – lockdown is getting my kids down a bit this time, and they're sleeping a lot, which makes them tired ... so they sleep a lot. We wasted quite a lot of fuel trying to find our way to Half-Moon Bay. It's been years since I last visited that beach though, and I couldn't find it. We drove all round the power station (the outside, not the inside – I think it has armed guards now), and through Heysham village twice, but I was clearly missing a turn somewhere. In fact, now that I think about it, I know which road I missed, so we'll save Half-Moon Bay for another weekend.
Instead, we went to Middleton, which is on the other side of the power station. It has a vast beach of mudflats – I don't know if there's quicksand here, but I think the worst of it is way out in the middle of the bay anyway. Or maybe not. Well, we'll keep our wits about us!
I didn't quite dare to let Freya off straight away because there were other people and dogs close by. And you can see what we were dealing with here – little grassy islands that probably have a proper topographical name, but I can't find it. Whatever, I wanted to be sure she was going to come back to me here before I risked losing her in a rock pool or to another family. Let's remember, she's big, but she's still only five months old, and still more than capable of acting like an idiot and running off without me.
We didn't wait too long to set her free though. As soon as we were clear of people and dogs, she was loose. Of course, she loved it, and despite her usual aversion to puddles, she didn't seem to mind getting her feet wet. Also, she seemed to quite like the taste of seawater. Hmmm.
Fly, Freya! Be free! How awesome is that?! We have one of those ball chuckers, which made things extra fun. She's already very good at chasing the ball and bringing it back. You do get a bit of frothing at the mouth though when the tennis ball gets seawater-logged. Freya seemed to enjoy remedying that by eating sand.
And how awesome is that?! Contrary to what your eyes might be telling you, Matthew and Freya were not running on water. The tide was way out, but I guess there's a high water table here because it seems to stay wet all the time. What I've also noticed is that it's surprisingly difficult to get the horizon flat in a beach photo – I took loads and loads and all of them are wonky. Huh. Weird. Still cool though.
I'll just leave this here for your optical delight!
We didn't go too far out because Freya was tired quite quickly in this new and exciting place full of strange wonders and exotic smells. Also, I don't know about the tides, except that they come in very quickly and you can get stuck out there if you wander too far and don't notice that the water's surrounded you. We didn't have any adventures like that this time. Incidentally, we used to drive on this beach when we were little, my brother and I. Yes, sitting on my mum or my dad's knee, driving in circles. I can't remember if we did the gears. I brought my kids for a drive once, but that was in a different car that wasn't as nice. They still ask if they can drive the car on the beach, but I ain't gettin' sand in my engine for nobody!
We walked back to the car the pebbly way, up there by the static caravans. My god, there was a lot to sniff there! Not for me, obviously – everything on the beach just smells like seaweed to me. But I couldn't hold Freya's attention at all when there were pools to explore and a billion stones and bits of driftwood and other random bits of bone. Why are there always bits of bone on the beach?
Delightful walk. Matthew loved it but vowed to bring his wellies next time – it's not quite as much fun when it's freezing and your trainers are soaked through. Either way, this place definitely goes on our list of favourites. Picnics in the summer ... oh wait, no, still illegal. Picnics in the distant future.
Until tomorrow, waders,
WQ+M+F
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