East Strand

Chased away by the tide

OK, so it's not strictly hiking and we didn't load up with backpacks and things, but there were hills involved, if you count sandhills!

Leo is a Jawa

It was fantastic! The wind tried it's very best to blow our heads off, it crept down the back of our necks, blew sand into our eyes, did everything in its power to turf Leo into the sea and flung a handful of rain at us. But it didn't make us turn back! Today we braved the Northern Irish Summer to walk up and down Portrush East Strand  -described as " a magnificent, flat, gently shelving beach which runs from Portrush to the White Rocks and is approximately 2 miles long. A beautiful walk in any weather." 

See? We climbed up a hill....

The kids started out enthusiastically. I had prepared individual check-lists to keep them entertained(thanks for the idea Jonathan!) and was brilliant for 15 minutes 'til they had everything ticked off - next time I'll make longer lists! Leo had to find: a dog, an old man, a Jellyfish, a white pebble, a feather, a sandhill and a shell. The older 2 also had to find: a cave, a seagull, a windsurfer, a child in the sea and somebody getting wet. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Leo got a lift again

Frozen on the Beach

The kids climbed sandhills and rolled back down them (Rowan brought half the beach home in his hair); they hid from a shower in the White Rocks caves; they squealed as the tide chased them out of the sea. It was cold but it was fun. Leo's little legs carried him three and a half miles but couldn't manage the last half mile and, inevitably, he ended up on Daddy's back again.
We had a Norn-Irish-style picnic in the car in the carpark (we're just not fool hardy enough to eat sand sandwiches or to have to sit on the picnic blanket so it doesn't blow away). And as all good trips to the port deserve, a spin on the Cyclone in Barry's and a stick of rock.