Holiday sketches

We’ve returned from a relaxing holiday at the beach.

Just what we needed after yet another stressful year.

Rockpools.

Holiday house.

Every year, I draw a sketch of our holiday house. This one looked out over the sea and had a giant hot-tub.

My favourite thing was playing in rockpools at low tide.

Paddington Bear has an adventure in London.

Hello, I am Paddington Bear. Today, some humans called Mike and Alex bought me from a shop in London, and took me on an adventure. I have always lived up on a shelf in the shop, so had never seen London properly before. Just a lot of tourists’ heads.

We went on the tube, which is an underground train network! Even though we were underground, I didn’t see any earthworms or mud. I sat on Mike’s shoulder for a good view.

We went on a boat ride on the Thames. It was so cool: we saw lots of things, like this big wheel. I think that people who have been very naughty are made to go on it, as punishment.

My owners took me up a ridiculously tall building, called the Shard. I was too scared to get out of Alex’s backpack. Bears are Not made to be this high up! Afterwards, I needed a cuddle and some marmalade sandwiches to recover.

I got tired from all the adventuring and needed a sit-down, and look what we found! A bench with my name on it. What are the chances?

There is a tube station named after me! How cool is that? 

Then we went to a very noisy and busy train station. I like London, but there are just too many people. I found this extremely old bear, who told me all about Peru, which is where us Paddingtons all came from many years ago. He is very popular: I saw lots of people getting their photo with him.

 

We found an awesome shop, full of bears just like me! I made lots of friends. They are all hoping for families to take them home. Living in a shop can be quite boring. Except for the parties after closing-time, of course.

Mike, Alex and I got on a train, heading for Swindon, which is where cool people live, so I hear. I read a book.

Alex let me sit on her shoulder for a while. Trains are interesting. There was a man on his phone though, talking about business for the whole journey. I felt very sleepy and had a quick nap. When I woke up, we were in Swindon.

Mike and Alex took me to their home. I have a new owner called Bethany, who loves me very much. She makes me marmalade sandwiches every day. ☺

I love Beer

I have recently returned from a family holiday to Devon. We stayed in a gorgeous 100-year old house called Upcott House which sits between Beer and Seaton. The view is stunning – from Seaton beach to the sea, to a cliff – nearly uninterrupted by houses – it almost feels like you’re the only person for miles. By night, the lights of Seaton remind you that you are not too far from civilisation. From the bedroom window, you can see all the way to the base of the cliff, and tell whether it’s low or high tide.

The nearest beach is Seaton Hole – a small pebble beach only a couple of minutes walk from the front door. The road is steep to the coast, but it’s worth it. We spent hours searching the rock pools for crabs and other creatures at low tide. You can also walk all the way to Seaton along the beach at low tide, but make sure you don’t attempt it while the tide is coming in!

There are no local sandy beaches, but my 8-year-old loved the pebble beaches and we enjoyed making beach art together (with the help of Uncle Phil and Aunty Mary) so it was just as much fun. If you fancy a little drive, Branscombe Beach is beautiful and has a good gift shop/ café. We sampled their ice-creams – I had my favourite flavour: bubblegum. There is a good size car park and access is easier than many local beaches.

Beer is a beautiful old fishing village. The pebble beach sits at the bottom of a steep road, and it busy with fishermen’s boats and lots of brightly coloured deckchairs. We were there for regatta week and caught some of a boat race. The village was decked out in bunting and looks just like a tourist’s idea of a perfect English beach holiday destination. My husband and I enjoyed a dinner date at The Dolphin Hotel (you will need to book but it’s easy enough to get a place early in the evening). I had a vegetarian meal and my husband has fish, which he said was fresh and tasty.  We enjoyed a cream tea/ coffee at a local café the following day with our kids. The weather was a mix of showers and sunshine through the week, but there is enough to do to keep you occupied when the rain is pouring down.

There are also some cute touristy shops, like The Cream Shop which sells fudge and gifts.

Seaton is a larger town – not as pretty as Beer but still worth a visit. I walked there from Upcott House and it took my 25 minutes (with a pushchair). The road is much less steep than the way to Beer. It would be a lot quicker, but the road near to the house suffered from a cliff fall a couple of years ago, and is unpassable. Seaton has a good restaurant called Frydays . They serve a good range of food and our Canadian waitress was pleasant and helpful. The town has a good mix of shops, from budget to independent to a large Tesco with Costa attached. There is a big pebble beach with a promenade all along the seafront.

Next to Tesco is the tram station – worth a couple of hours of your time, especially if you have kids. You travel through wetlands and past Axminster – another picturesque village – to Colyton which is cute but tiny. You can buy toys, gifts and postcards from the Colyton tram station, as well as snacks ( and, no doubt, cream teas) from the small café. The tram driver on the journey back to Seaton was friendly and gregarious, and he made sure Grandma had a good seat in a sheltered section of the vehicle (it was a rainy day).

We had a great week in East Devon and I would be happy to visit again soon.