Seaside

VALENTINES WEEKEND AWAY

Published on February 23, 2025 by simplycarinaxo14 Comments

Last weekend Luis and I packed up the car and headed up to Cresswell for a long weekend at our favourite caravan. We first came across this holiday let on Airbnb last year and enjoyed our time there so much that we keep returning. I think this was our fourth visit. The caravan is situated in the Cresswell Towers Holiday Park and is only about a 5-10 minute walk away from the beach. It’s really reasonably priced, always clean and well kept, and offers a quiet and relaxing spot for a seaside holiday. Note, we’ve only ever gone off season, so can’t speak for what it’s like during peak times.

Cresswell is about an hours drive for us so a good distance for a long weekend away. With my travel anxiety I don’t like being in the car too long, especially if we’re only going away for a couple of nights, so this is an easy enough drive for me to do. The first 30 mins are just up the A1 and then we tend to turn off at the Seaton Burn services, which although kinda dirty, rough and run down, are in a good location as a half way stop to settle my anxiety before we continue on through Cramlington, past Blyth and up to Cresswell.

We both still had to get some work done on Friday, but managed to finish a bit earlier and ended up leaving the house at about 4pm. Once we arrived we unpacked and before wrapping up warm and heading out for a short walk to the beach.

For Valentines dinner I made a vegan spaghetti bolognese which turned out yummy even though I forgot the herbs and spices at home. After dinner we cosied up and unpacked Patchwork, a new game we’d got for Christmas from our friends. I didn’t know what to expect but it turned out to be an easy to understand and really enjoyable 2 player game.

On Saturday we headed out to Amble for a mooch around the Marina. It was icy cold and rather miserable, but it was good to get out. We stopped off at the supermarket on our way back and got some pastries to enjoy with a coffee for once we got back to the caravan and settled down to another game of Patchwork.

On Sunday it rained on and off for most of the day and we enjoyed a cosy day inside. I read my book, Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi, spent a lot of the day crocheting, trying to finish my granny square cardigan and got stuck into trying to solve some Murdle logic puzzles with Luis which was good fun. It was a lovely relaxed day.

Check out was at 10am on Monday and so we got up early to start our day by heading out to watch the sunrise before having to pack up. It’s something we’ve been doing since our first visit. Although I always find the 10am checkouts somewhat stressful, starting the day by watching the sunrise is always so worth it. We really should make the effort more often to get up early to watch the sunrise – it’s always so beautiful – such a magical time.

Frozen after our early morning beach walk we headed back to the caravan to have breakfast and then pack up the car. It’s always sad having to leave the caravan – we’ll have to stay longer than a weekend one day, but it was another lush weekend away for Valentines. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too.

DESTINATION ALNMOUTH

Published on November 9, 2018September 2, 2024 by simplycarinaxo8 Comments

Good morning beautiful souls,

My travel blogs are coming at ya a little belated, for which I am sorry, but I’m finally getting back into mu blogging and I have a lot of belated content to share haha, plus it is nice to reminisce all the cute mini getaways I had this summer! A couple of months ago I had my last holiday of the summer which was a couple of days in Alnmouth with my family and I just wanted to share a few photos from my time there with you!

We had a lovely few days together just relaxing by the seaside and enjoying each others company. We went for walks along the beach…

Let our creative juices flow spending time painting together, exploring an art gallery and taking a trip to Potadoodledo to paint some pottery which was great fun!

I cooked everyone delicious vegan food every day from tofu scramble to pea risotto all the while enjoying some delish holiday G&T’s whilst doing my thang in the kitchen haha – anyone else love a drink whilst cooking dinner?!

My sister and I introduced our parents to Queer Eye (if you haven’t seen this program you’re missing out- it’s the cutest) and we chilled watching tv or reading our books in the evenings…

All too soon however it was time for me to go home and back to work, whilst my mum, dad and sister were allowed to enjoy another couple of days there (I totally was not jealous!)

I love Alnmouth! If you live in the north east and haven’t been yet I highly suggest you take a trip to this cute coastal village with a beautiful beach!!!

DAY TRIPPING – DESTINATION ALNMOUTH

Published on August 6, 2018September 5, 2019 by simplycarinaxo8 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

Last week I was lucky enough to have 3 days off, which for me is very rare and thus meant that I actually had time to do something nice for myself once all the housework and various other tasks were completed. The weather was so nice and I was craving a beach trip, but not being able to drive made this wish a bit problematic. Sadly there aren’t many easily accessible by public transport beaches around, well not unless you want to sit on a bus for over an hour which for me is a big no no as I get serious travel anxiety when it comes to bus journeys that are longer then 20mins! After some research however I discovered that Alnmouth station was pretty easy to get to only being a 30min walk away from the beach and so I had my day trip destination.

The walk to the beach is quite a pleasant and easy to follow as it’s just along the main road. From the station you firstly walk through a small housing estate and then it’s out in nature with wild fields on your left and glimpses of the sea on your right. After about 20 minutes you reach central Almnouth and walk through it’s floral hanging basket lined street until you reach the golf course and the beach.

On my way down to the beach I came across these beautiful roses and I had to stop and give them a sniff – does anyone else do this whenever they see roses?! They smelt divine and I’m not going to lie, I was very tempted to snap one off and take it with me!

The beach was relatively busy, the sun was out and there was a light breeze rippling through my hair as picked a little empty spot to put down my picnic blanket. Once settled I sat back with my feet in the sand just enjoying being in the present moment and watching the world around me; the grandparents sitting in their folding chair reading their papers, children hopping from stone to stone and family’s running around playing Frisbee and flying kites. It was a beautiful afternoon.

It wasn’t long until I unpacked my picnic full of healthy vegan goodies and read a bit of my book whilst savouring my lunch. I had grapes, blueberries, pretzels, veg, hummus and crackers as well as a little can of G&T. It was the perfect picnic! Afterwards I lay down with my headphones on listening to my audiobook (The Count of Monte Cristo) and relishing the feeling of the sun warming my skin.

Sadly the clouds came in not long after and they didn’t seem to want to budge meaning I got chilly quite quickly and ended up deciding to pack up and head on home again, but not before I took a stroll along the beach and dipped my toes in the chilly sea of course. Although I was only there for about 2 hours, it really was worth it and I enjoyed every minute of my mini excursion!

I hope you’ve all found the time recently to go out and do something nice for yourselves too! I know I need to make time for myself like this more often. I don’t do it enough and it did me the world of good!

MINI GETAWAY – DESTINATION ALNMOUTH

Published on October 8, 2017September 2, 2024 by simplycarinaxo4 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

At the beginning of the week I was away in Alnmouth, a beautiful village on the seafront. It is my dads 50th this November and he’s celebrating early with his brothers, sister, their spouses and his mum who have all flown over from Germany so they can enjoy a weeks holiday together in Alnmouth. I could sadly only visit for three days as I had to work, but I did enjoy three days with my extended family. I took the train up on Monday and on Wednesday we all drove down back to Durham together so the family could see our hometown. Although short it was so lovely in Alnmouth; I am already missing it. Anyway the coastal scenery is just so beautiful there I just had to share some photographs with you.

On Monday we went to Bamburgh a short drive up the coast from Alnmouth, for a lovely walk at the beach, although it was so windy the sand whipped around our legs in a bit of a sandstorm.

The next morning the sun was rising over the beach and I enjoyed my breakfast with a view. The living room window had a lovely window seat looking out onto Alnmouth beach and it was the most peaceful breakfast I have had in a long time – breakfast goals on point!

After breakfast I went for a walk at the beach with my dad which was lovely as the sun continued to shine. The weather was just fab!

Later on in the day we went to the Alnwick Gardens where we had booked to eat lunch in the tree house in which is just so cute and quaint. The food was amazing and we all enjoyed ourselves. I sipped on my favourite Rose Lemonade, had a terrine for starters and pork belly with broccoli and apple mash for mains which was just scrumptious!

After our meal in the tree house I walked to Barter Books in Alnwick. It is one of the cutest bookshops I have ever been to. A large building filled with secondhand books, antiques and first editions. One can really spend half a day here browsing through all the books. If you are ever in Northumberland I totally recommend you take the time to visit this quaint bookshop. There is a little cafe for refreshments and chairs to sit and read in oh and there are some CD’s and DVD’s too, but only a small section. As far as I am aware you can also exchange books, as in if they don’t already have certain books you can trade them.

On Tuesday evening we continued family time and had a lovely night reflecting on the past by looking at old photos which was cute.

Well that sums up my mini getaway in Alnmouth; thanks for reading! Also I’d love to know if you have ever been in Bamburgh, Alnmouth or Alnwick, so please do let me know!

Love Carina xo