Our Holiday to Weymouth 2017

Last week as you may know, Lily and I went on a family holiday to Weymouth in Dorset. I say family holiday, but there was one person missing which would have made the holiday even better. My partner Chris, who couldn't get the time off work to come with us. So it was just Lily, me, and my mum and dad. 

The holiday went really fast and was such a blurr. Feels like ages ago that I went even though it was just last week. So Im going to try and put as much as I can remember into this post.

My dad drove us down in the car and we set off at 4am. I thought that It would be hard getting Lily out of bed and into the car, and she did wake up but the first hour of the journey she was super excited and pointing at all the robots (electricity pillons) she could see and dancing about to the music. She eventually slept which meant I could get some sleep too.

We arrived in weymouth at about 9am. Did our usual of going for break fast and heading to our holiday flat. One difference from this year to last year was that there was the Seafood Festival on this year. The street where we were staying on which is on the harbour was rammed with people. We didn't get to get our suitcases into the flat until 6pm. But it was interesting to see all the stalls that they had on. It ended up being a really hot day. We spent a little time at the beach for Lily and also went for a nice walk around the Northe gardens. This is where we went to the small pebble beach that is quite secluded. Its one of my favourite spots and Lily enjoys going there and throwing the pebbles into the water. When it came to dinner time, I then had the yummiest pasta from one of the food stalls. Actually thinking about it, I really could eat that right now. It was a very different day to our normal saturday as the crowds meant we couldn't relax by the harbour as we usually did. Later that night I took Lily to the arcades. She has always loved this. I do find that the prizes are getting harder and harder to win each year though. There is one bar open at night time in weymouth that allows children and so we went there most nights.

(My Dad and Lily)

The next day which was Sunday we headed back to the beach for the morning. Lily had a great time running around and splashing in the little sea puddles that kept forming. Lily isn't a big fan of getting her feet wet so took a little while to convince her, but when we had, we then couldn't get her back out of it. Lunchtime came, as it was a sunday we decided to go for a carvery. I have to admit, it wasn't the best one I had had. The beef was still bloody which I couldn't eat and then the vegatables quite raw. I filled myself up as much as I could and then we decided that it was today we would head out on our extra long walk along the front to Bowleaze cove. It my favourite walk to do, and it wouldn't be a holiday in Weymouth with out doing it. It does take over an hour to walk there and there is a massive hill that we all had to take turns pushing the pram up. But when we got there we all treated our selfs to an ice cream. I say all...I didn't actually get an ice cream. I ended up having to hold Lily's and help her eat it because it was so big. We then spent a little more time on the beach there which is another pebble beach. We found a new little bar that had opened up on that beach and this is where we sat and had a refreshing drink. We sat on the benches on the actual beach before we realised that they had a terrace up on a balcony you could sit. I was on the strong stuff... Lager Shandy! Im not a big drinker and especially not when i'm around Lily. 
We then walked it back. Yes another hours walk. Had some food and then did our usual routine of arcade and child friendly bar and then I would take Lily back to the flat to bed.

(Me on the Balcony)

Monday we went on a long walk called the rodwell walk. Its where an old railway line used to be and now the tracks have been removed its just a path which leads to a beautiful garden with a ruined castle in it called Sandfoot Castle. I am not going to tell you much about this day here as I plan to write a full blog post of what we saw on the walk.

(My Mum and Lily)

Tuesday we had a rainy day. A VERY rainy day in fact. So I decided to take Lily to the Sealife Centre. Im not sure what was wrong with Lily on this day but she was super moody. Maybe the late nights were catching up with her. She also said she didn't like the fact that it was a little dark. But I wasn't having any of it and insisted that she looked at the fish. We found a dory fish like the one from Finding dory and that cheered her up a lot. We then went for some lunch, which cost me a fortune but Lily loved the pasta I got her and ate loads of it luckily. She then fell asleep and so I decided to try and wait to see if the rain would stop. As I waited I got a cup of tea and then suddently everyone else from the park came into the cafe. (or at least it felt like it was everyone). It was madness and I was in screaming child hell. I waited, but the rain wasn't going to stop. Lily was still fast asleep so I decided to take a run for the next room of fish. Thats the problem with the Sealife centre at weymouth. It has different buildings for each type of fish so there is a lot of out door things too. Lily eventually woke up and in her dazed state watched the fish from her pushchair. She really enjoyed seeing the penguins, even though we was getting soaked from the rain. But her favourite part was watching the seals. The room wasn't too dark and she loved standing by the windows watching them. We must have stayed here for ages. There was also a button that she could press that made bubbles in the tank. She loved pressing that button and making the bubbles.
That night the weather got a little better. I wanted a earlier night for Lily so it was a quick trip to the arcade and then I let her burn her energy off on the beach. 

Wednesday came, and this is where I start feeling like the holiday is half way over and we will be coming home before we know it. It was a slightly cloudy morning so I decided to take Lily to the local play cafe they have there. I swear down its the best play cafe I have ever seen. It has so many toys for them to play with and tons of big play things like a car with a slide attached. Lily was in her element playing with all the toys. It was something she hadden't had much chance to be doing on holiday so far. The out door area to the cafe is amazing too. It has so many play houses. One is even in the design of a princess castle. Which lily loved. The weather booked up that afternoon and we went for a nice walk around the Northe Gardens. The views from the gardens are amazing and you can see right out to sea. There is also a little tea cabin up there that we love and visit a few times in the week. That night we headed back to the arcades with Lily. By now she is starting to get a right little gambler and fully knows what to do with the 2p machines. Its great that they have little stools for them to stand on to be able to play themselves. She really takes after her mummy and daddy for enjoying the arcade so much.

Thursday was a very busy day. We started by heading to the local market which is open on a Thursday. There was a car boot there also which I ended up spending way to much money on Lily there. But she has some nice new books that we shall be reading toggether and that will most likely get written about on here soon. Lily loved looking around the toy stalls, but then she spotted a bouncy castle. Lily has a love hate relationship with them and sometimes loves going on them, and sometimes hates it. Today she asked to go on. So I payed for her and luckily she loved it! She was laughing her little head off as she bounced around and was falling over everywhere.
After the market we jumped into the car and headed to a little cafe at the end of Chesil Beach. We had a lovely lunch and then spent some time on chesil beach. This is where we did some hunting for nice rocks which have crystals in them. We relaxed here for a while and then decided to jump in the car and head up to portland bill. Which is where the lighthouse is. Lily wasn't very interested in the lighthouse though and was more interested in ice cream. Me and my dad took a nice walk to the edge of portland where there are cliffs and rocks and waves crashing agains't them. I love this area, it feels like your at the end of the earth. We then went back to weymouth where I left Lily with my mum and dad and went and did a photoshoot of my friend. Maybe you may see some of those in a photography post soon.

Friday is our last full day in weymouth. This is the day we made sure that we did all the things we love to do on holiday one last time. We decided to pack that morning so then we could relax for the day and not have to do it later. It was cloudy out and the weather was meant to get better as it went on. After packing we did a little gift shopping and then decided we would walk to one of our favourite cafes called Jurassic Rock Cafe. Its such a lovely cafe that looks out over the sea. It also sells the best Dorset apple cake that I have ever had! After our lunch we took Lily to a near by area which has a paddling pool and sand pit. It was empty that day so we had it all to our selfs which was great. Lily loved running around the sand pit with her nan. It took us a while but we finally encouraged her to go in the paddling pool and when she did she really loved it. It was really nice to see her trying something new. 
After a decent amount of time in the paddling pool, we set off walking back to the beach. Lily and I walked along the pebble beach and collected shells and pebbles which we plan to use for an activity soon. The beach eventually turns from pebbles to sand and so we sat on the beach and let Lily build some sandcastles. She really enjoyed the beach this year.
We then went out for a nice family meal at Prezzo, Lily really enjoyed eating pasta again and it was nice to sit toggether and eat. I put Lily in a really cute dress for the last night and we then hit the arcades for one last time. After winning lots of tickets and claiming a prize of a paw patrol blanket and cushion we went to the child friendly bar one last time. Lily loved dancing to the music there but soon got distracted when she noticed the soft play area was open. We sure did have a great last day and night and Lily stayed up until 11pm!  

So saturday arrives and later this day we will be going home. I always feel so sad on this day. Weymouth is like a second home to me as we have been so many years. We spent the last day wandering the shops, going for nice walks and made one last trip to the beach. Lily made sure her last trip to the beach was fun by having a go on the trampolines. It was tricky to get her off these and I had to climb on to get her off haha. We made out last stop at the tea cabin in the gardens before getting into the car at 2pm and driving home.

We had such a lovely holiday, and I hope you have enjoyed reading about it. I mostly have written this down so then in years to come I can read about it. I cant wait to head back to weymouth next year for more holiday fun.