Sutton on Sea.......and relax

We have just had the most relaxing couple of days at the seaside. We managed a little bit of light exercise, a swift pint at the pub, lots of sleep, a trip to the cinema and some sitting around reading and fiddling with new phones. It really could have done with being a longer break but 2 nights away has been marvellous. The exercise part of it included some gentle walks by the sea where there is a lot of digger activity on the beach. Nope, not giant sandcastles, but a lot of beach nourishment. I have always thought that 'beach nourishment' was a strange term for pumping a load of sand from offshore and piling it up on the beach for sea defences, but that's what it is called. It certainly feeds my strange fascination with big diggers which I will share with you in the video below.

Sunny Sutton on Sea part 2

Here again at Sutton on Sea. It's the August Bank Holiday weekend and the weather is glorious. Great news for the seasonal seaside economy, and of course great news for us because it truly is beautiful. Sutton on Sea has been a perennial seaside favourite of my family and I still love it here. Sometimes I don't even mind if the weather is a little less than welcoming......sshhhhh say that quietly,  because it means that it is perfectly acceptable to stay indoors and read or sew or crochet, or even just watch a good film. Occasionally, we break out the board games, although not so much these days as the children are all grown up and mostly not here. However, when the weather is good you just want to be outside. Yesterday I went for a swim in the sea and was treated to the sight of terns diving right in front of me. Today I managed a swim and then a jog along the beach before breakfast. Again, the bird life was teeming. The terns were scouting back and forth and my little jog along the beach was interrupted by the sight of a host of terns, gulls, sanderlings and even a giant black backed gull all resting? roosting? on the part of beach restricted to dogs. 

Later I walked to Sutton on Sea village along the sea front. It's a typically british seaside view with all the brightly coloured beach huts. Joy of joys, my favourite beach hut was open and occupied. I wrote about it in my post 'Sunny Sutton on Sea'. I couldn't resist asking if I could have a look and take some photo's. Fortunately, the owners are used to these sort of requests and were happy to oblige. I've since been informed by a blog reader that the painting of the beach hut was commissioned by the town crier for Sutton on Sea, Mablethorpe and Trusthorpe when he owned the hut.

I have to mention my new favourite wool shop 'The Mill' in Sutton on Sea. It opened in Feb this year  to a new owner @TheCountedSheep  It has all sorts of lovely yarn, and some very tempting ribbon as well as other bits and bobs. I'm so inspired that I'm looking  for a pattern so that I can buy some wool whilst we are on holiday. I'm also particularly taken with the antique sock knitting machine in the window. I really want one. In fact I came very close to buying one from  a lovely gentleman in Ashbourne. He has a huge collection of antique sock machines ready to restore and when our finances have stabilised after the barns are completed, I'm having one!

Sunny Sutton on Sea

We managed a few days away to Sutton on Sea, a small seaside town on the Lincolnshire coast, for the half term holiday. It's our familiar and favourite place to go to for a relaxing holiday. Along the promenade, I just had to show a photo of my favourite beach hut. The front is amusing, but the back really shows the skill of the painter.

In between walks (and runs's -see C25K blog posts) by the sea and visits to the pub and the cinema I have been beavering away with some crochet - all will be revealed when I get around to finishing it all. I'm good at starting new things and a lot slower at finishing and taking photo's of  them! 

We went to the Saltfleetby and Theddlethorpe nature reserve at Rimac a few times. We are not really very good at identifying birds and butterflies but have a go and it is so beautiful down there on the salt marsh, especially as it was mostly sunny and not too windy. We heard a cuckoo and saw a sparrowhawk hunting quite spectacularly close to us. It was also really quiet being off the beaten track.

C25K Week 4 and Week 5

Phew, week 4 is over. A bit more of a challenge with a total of 16 mins running and a lot less walking. But.....it wasn't too bad. The first run in the block is always the worst, but by the end of the session I felt like I could run further. Wow. I might just get to that tantalising 30 mins running and 5k distance. After having a bad back for, well, ever..... at least it seems for ever when you are used to being reasonably fit, it's nice to have aches from sore muscles rather than tight tendons and joints. I absolutely love my running track - it has views, a gentle hill (up and down - so time for a breather), a grassy track and the grass is not too long. Perfect. And, it is just over the garden wall from our new (future) home. Happy, happy person.

Week 5 and a new location during the half term holiday. We were at Sutton on Sea on the Lincolnshire coast, and just look at my running track.

No hills on this track, and I most definitely didn't run on the soft sand -  that would be a challenge too far. I stuck to the hard sand near the sea and it was lovely. I was fortunate in that the wind wasn't too strong because that can really make it feel like running up a hill. Week 5 has three different runs with the first having three 5 minute runs, the second run has two 8 minute runs, and the third has just one 20 minute run. Yes, I know......20 minutes. I nearly choked when I heard that on the podcast. I managed it, but it wasn't fast. I must have been a bit conservative with my energy because I was able shuffle a bit faster for the last 2.5 minutes to compensate a bit. I was really pleased that I could do it, but it makes me a bit nervous for the week 6 runs. On the whole I am enjoying that I can keep up with the programme and that I'm definitely getting fitter. The only negative point I have is that I'm getting really fed up with being attacked by dogs. On my second beach run a dog bit me. Not a big bite, and if I had long trousers on then it would have just got a mouthful of trouser leg, but it flipping well drew blood. I regularly have to stop and wait for an owner to get their pesky animals under control. Anyway, gripe over. It's not going to stop me running.