Dear Mummy, we’ve really enjoyed all the summer sun we’ve recently had in the UK and we’ve had many trips to the coast so far during the school holidays. One of the best days was a local visit to Lepe Beach just outside Southampton.

We’d been to Lepe Beach before, most recently after my mummy’s hospital operation last year. So it was lovely to return when everyone was at full health or as close as possible, to enjoy a fun day on the beach.

When we arrived it was the heat of the day and hot. Really hot. Lepe Beach Country Park is near Exbury Gardens and we chose to have something to eat first in their newly refurbished lookout cafe. The queue was out of the door as people waited to be served and it was proving to be a very popular place but the views of The Solent, the channel of water, was wonderful.

The nice thing about Lepe Beach is that it’s a really accessible beach for families, with a carpark just behind the cafe and one right on the beach. No long walks carting windbreakers and picnic bags to find a spot it was great for little legs. Parking wasn’t bad either and we spent £6 for the whole day by the coast. Also there is a nature walk, a natural play area and plenty of good toilets nearby.

The beach is a mixture of shingle and sand and we couldn’t wait to grab our wetsuits and head into the sea. The stretch of water is called The Solent and you can see the Isle of Wight on the other side of the channel. It was so hot we needed to take a dip in the sea and beach shoes helped us navigate over the stones as we entered the water.

It’s a really great spot to go crabbing too and we had fun trying to find them under rocks, in pools and in the sand. Unfortunately we found a lot of them dead, dried up in the midday sun. Check out our little vlog of what we got up too!

We’d definitely recommend a trip to Lepe Beach this summer and we’re sure it would make a nice spot for a Winter’s walk too!

Love Bella x