Our Weekend in Pictures, in Portsmouth

I’m not sure why we’ve never ventured to Portsmouth or Hayling Island off the South Coast before (just 1 hr and a half away from Windsor) but I’m grateful that my husband Peter suggested it as part of a series of weekend Baby Moons we’re having as a family in the run-up to our baby girl’s birth in November-and last weekend away was one of the most nourishing we’ve experienced.

Nowhere beats being by the sea and we’re now seriously considering a move closer to the coast. We recently bought a house in Windsor we like but after totting up all the work we want to do on it to extend and convert it, we think it might be easier to simply move to a bigger house in a year or two. Moving doesn’t phase my husband and I as we’ve both moved countries and counties over the years, before we met and since.

We don’t regret buying the house as the value has already shot up massively (particularly with the London exodus) and we’re going to make it pretty for the time we’ll be here but we’re on the look-out for our forever home now and it feeling exciting to be honest.

Sometimes you have to move somewhere to work out what exactly you want, right?

But back to the beach.

It was the warmest weekend in October in my memory (we felt like we were in the South of France mid-summer) and we whiled away the days at both the beachfront on Hayling Island (a short drive over the bridge from Portsmouth) and Monk’s Hill Beach in Lee-On-Solent, popping to the pretty marina at Port Solent for lunch at Zizzi and fun in the playground by the port where the kids, and we made new pals in friendly locals.

Everyone there was so hospitable and kind; the views were breathtaking, the food fresh and delicious and Peter sending me photos from RightMove of houses with heated swimming pools within our budget nearly sent me over the edge and planning a move asap! Not sure we’d venture that far out but being closer to the sea would definitely make us all happier!

Xander even jumped into the waves, swimming with his clothes on, lapping up the water and letting go. He cried when we left.

Argh, sweet sea air and a chance to switch off and reconnect with one another and nature was just what we all needed.

Bliss.

Have you visited Portsmouth?