We managed to get away from home for a night last weekend, and it was amazing. As D is a teacher he normally spends the whole of Saturday working, and as I work for a church I normally spend the whole of Sunday working; it is rare that we get a proper weekend together, and it is practically unheard of to actually get away! A whole weekend was pushing it, but we did manage a Friday/Saturday stopover to visit my sister-in-law (L) who recently moved to Eastbourne.
We set off for the deep south as soon as D finished work on Friday. We headed straight to L’s for pizza and made our way to the hotel a few hours later where, naturally, we played a few games of musical beds before settling on our sleeping positions for the night. Then, as soon as breakfast was over in the morning, we headed straight for the beach.
I adore going to the beach in the winter; I think I even prefer it to the beach in summer (I realise it is not officially winter yet, but it is starting to feel like it, so I am pretending that it is). The weather was just beautiful; although rain was expected later on in the day, the morning was absolutely stunning and we got a good amount of time on the beach. And a couple of hours on the beach was enough to highlight the stark differences between A and E!
A noticed a few shells hidden amongst the beach pebbles straight away and so began exploring. She quickly found a large variety, in differing shapes, sizes, patterns, textures and colours. She described each one and selected her favourites to take home. With the remainder she decided to create a piece of artwork in the sand. She set to work, gathering pebbles, sand, sticks, and more shells. She focused on her task, piling up sand, and carefully placing all of her additional finds. She didn’t seem to think about anything else at all. She spent most of the morning completely absorbed in her work, always scouring the beach for more treasures.
E, on the other hand, found lots to climb on. He realised that he could slip, slide and run down the bank of pebbles on the seafront. So he did, repeatedly, throwing himself in all directions, with the same excitement each time; he is such a boy sometimes!
After a while on the beach we went for a wander along the pier before lunch. It was very calm and peaceful, with very few people around at all; this meant that A and E were able to run around and explore more than they may have been in the height of summer.
We stayed in Eastbourne until just after lunchtime. As there was still no sign of the predicted storm, other than a few distant moody-looking clouds, we decided to head out to Bodiam Castle for a quick visit to break up the journey home. Naturally, it started raining as soon as we arrived.
Bodiam Castle has definitely become one of my favourite National Trust places to visit (and we will even be back in a few short weeks to visit Father Christmas there), but I am yet to visit on a dry day! We didn’t let the weather put us off though; obviously we stayed in the tearoom until the initial rain had passed, but after that we went to explore, and we even got to see the armoury for the first time.
The fairytale castle really did look even more stunning with the backdrop of autumn colour. I was sad not to have our proper camera with us though (so please excuse the rubbishness of my photos; we forgot the camera so they were all taken on my phone on this occasion)!
It was so nice to get away for the night (and day), and I am now wondering how soon we can fit it in again!
Chocolate and Wine and I'll be Fine... 
Eastbourne Beach is lovely especially in the winter time! We’ve yet to make it to Bodiam Castle, even though we’re National Trust members. Looks like a blustery day! Sometimes it’s nice to get away from the usual scenery xx popping over from #CountryKids
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I agree! Bodiam is so lovely, and very friendly. Because it is a ruin there isn’t a great deal of damage my two can do there!
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Gorgeous photos – that castle really is beautiful. My girls would love visiting there.
I am also a teacher and completely understand the loss of time spent working over family. It is tough. Thankfully going part-time minimises this for us.
#countrykids
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It is hard isn’t it? My husband does well – thankfully he is the teacher and not me. I definitely couldn’t do it!
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It looks like you had a wonderful time exploring Eastbourne and Bodiam Castle, even if the rain did come in for you last visit. It’s fab that you managed a mini break as a family, sometimes it can be so difficult to get time away as a family. It’s always interesting to watch your kids explore in their own different ways, I’ve always been impressed by how something so simple as the beach can affect each child differently. A and E look like they loved their mini break to visit their auntie.
Thanks for linking up with me on #CountryKids.
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They really did and they are asking when we can next go! I can’t believe how difficult it is to get away, some people manage it all the time – nevermind!
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Glad you had a good time. I hadn’t thought of going to Eastbourne but we’re going to be going to Bodiam in 2 weeks time as part of Monkey’s birthday surprise. Thanks for the idea #CountryKids
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It wasn’t overly close, but definitely worth tagging on if you can fit it in! Thankfully Bodiam was part of the way home for us. Have fun at Bodiam – we will be back in a couple of weeks too!
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These are such lovely pictures, it’s an age since we have been down that way, you have inspired us to visit again!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Some beautiful photos. I agree that beaches are nicer at this time of year – we live by the coast in North Wales and it is spectacular now. Glad you managed a weekend together without work #countrykids
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Oh wow I bet north wales is stunning now! I wish I lived closer to the seaside!
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How fabulous that you got to come away for the night and beautiful Eastbourne, just down the road from me and my kids adore Bodium. Mich x
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It is such a lovely place. I would love to live nearer the seaside!
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How wonderful to enjoy a precious evening and day away in such gorgeous surroundings. Love the photos. #countrykids
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Thank you! It was such a lovely day though feels like so long ago now!
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We have friends in Hastings and Eastbourne so quite often make a whirlwind trip across from Hampshire. We visited Bodiam Castle last time too and I love it! Sounds like a great trip #CountryKids
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I’m with you on the winter thought. Brr! Love beaches at this time of year. Isn’t it interesting how different their play can be. Does look a fabulous castle. #CountryKids
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What a glorious day out! I love the pictures on the beach. Sliding down the pebble Bank looks so fun! That fairytale castle is amazing! We don’t have castles like that in America. #CountryKids
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Now that’s a proper castle!! How wonderful to be able to get away for even one night. I find that we feel like we’ve been away for a week on those one day excursions because we pack so much in. Love the beach photos 😀 #countrykids
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Awesome photos. Looks like you had a great time, despite the rain! Love the stoney beach photos…
Coming over from #CountryKids 🙂
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It looks like you had an amazing time, what fab photos. I really wish we lived nearer the seaside, I need to make more of an effort to get us there as it’s always so amazing. #CountryKids
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How lovely to be able to get away for the weekend and the sun was shining for you…for a little while! #countrykids
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This looks fantastic. What a great place to visit and beautiful photos xx #countrykids
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