If you’ve been reading my blog for the past six months, you have probably guessed that the beach is one of our favourite places to go. It doesn’t matter what the weather is like, we try and go down to our local one once or twice a week. As the weather improves and the nights get lighter, we will be spending more and more time there. We love it because there is so much that you can do – the only limitation is your imagination! I’ve put together a list of 15 activities that are free or cost next to nothing that you can do on the beach. Some we’ve done, some are on our to-do list for this spring and summer!
1.Skim Stones
This is one of the things the boys love doing the most. Our local beach is part sandy, part rocky, and the kids love getting rocks to skim across the big puddles or the waves. As soon as we are down by the shoreline, Benjamin is looking for stones!
2. Build Sandcastles
The most obvious and my favourite thing to do on the beach. It doesn’t matter how old I am, I love digging up the spade with a brightly coloured spade, filling a bucket up and trying to create an intact castle. We like to look around to see if we can decorate our castle with anything – stones, shells, bits of driftwood, even seaweed!
3. Jump Over Waves
Another one of the classic and best-loved things to do on the beach. In the summer we love doing it barefoot – in the winter we stick our wellies on and try not to get too wet!
4. Write Your Name in the Sand
Find an expanse of damp, flat sand and use a big stick, the edge of a spade or even your fingers to write your name in the sand. You could take this even further and create sand art like Family Days Tried & Tested with rakes!
5. Have a Hot Chocolate Picnic
We did this just before Christmas (read our post here!), and we really enjoyed it. All we did was take a flask of hot chocolate, mugs, squirty cream and marshmallows and set up in a sheltered spot on the beach. The kids keep asking me when our next hot chocolate picnic is!
6. Create land art
The beach is full of wonderful bits and pieces to make a spectacular piece of art. Collect shells, sea glass, stones, seaweed, driftwood and see what you can create!
7. Sand Angels
Harrison and Alex love to do this! Just like a snow angel, but less cold – lie on your back and use your arms and legs to create a star shape. Stand up and admire your sand angel!
8. Scavenger Hunt
Make a list of all the things you think you might see on the beach. Create a checklist- the first one to spot or find everything on the list is the winner!
9. Treasure Hunt
I’ve actually got some fake plastic gems and gold coins on order ready to do this. Discreetly drop them in the sand or amongst the rocks (remember where you put them so you can collect them all up afterwards!). The kids will have fun digging for them and finding the treasures!
10. Litter Picking
Perhaps not as fun as the other ideas, but an important one. This one was inspired by Harrison, who I recently asked what he wanted for his birthday. He wants a litter picker and a black sack to pick up the rubbish on the beach so it looks nice for everyone. It’s a shame that this even needs to be thought about, but why not take a litter grabber ( a couple of quid from a hardware shop), a black sack and some plastic gloves and spend ten minutes filling a bag. It makes the beach look much nicer and safer for the wildlife. Take some anti-bac hand gel to clean your hands immediately afterwards, and wash them properly as soon as you can.
11. Have a picnic
We love going on proper picnics, and just after we moved here we were sent a gorgeous picnic backpack which we use all of the time. Sometimes we take one full of treats and nice bits and bobs, other times it’s just a sandwich and a packet of crisps. It just makes lunchtime that little bit more fun. One thing we always take with us on a trip to the beach is a flask of coffee and some squash for the kids. In the summer, we are planning on having a breakfast picnic on the beach.
12. Read a Book
The beach is the perfect place to read a book. Get comfy in the sand, listen to the sound of the sea and immerse yourself in a book. I usually pop whatever I’m reading in my bag, and we will be taking our school reading books down there in the summer, just for a change of scenery.
13. Painting
This is something we are really looking forward to doing over the Easter break. Pack up some watercolour paints, a plastic tub, a clipboard and some paper and head to the beach. Fill up the tub with water from the sea to wash your brushes, and see if you can create the scene you can see in front of you on paper.
14. Play Sports
Kick a football about. Take a tennis racket. Have races. Set up a little cricket pitch – the beach is perfect for sports. One thing I can always remember doing when we were little was taking a little cricket set to the beach and playing!
15 .Water Fight
One for the warmer days – although we have just had one on the beach in April! All you need is a bucket, a towel and a change of clothes. You’ve got all the water you could possibly need, without the worry of wasting it. Who doesn’t love a good water fight when it’s hot?
What are your favourite things to do on the beach? Let me know in the comments!
Never tire of going to the beach
Great ideas to have lots of fun