Sunday 18 May 2014

Seaside living


We've just come back from a gorgeous weekend away in Crovie, a small village on the coast of the Moray Firth. It's close to Pennan, our "spiritual home", and favourite retreat. There were no houses available for rent in Pennan this weekend, so we opted for Crovie instead.
The house we stayed in was lovely, very comfy and had beautiful sea views. The whole village is literally at the bottom of the cliffs, right next to the sea, and the water virtually touches the path in front of the houses at high tide! There's not even a road in front of the houses, you have to park your car at the foot of the cliff and take your stuff to your house in a wheelbarrow.


We love staying in little remote places, and the kids are in their element when they can step right outside the house and be on the beach. I think we're all beach dwellers at heart - even Molly, the salty sea dog!



Everyone had a great time, we loved hearing the waves swishing right outside the house late at night, and waking up to see the sun coming up over the sea. 
It's always tiring (in a good way), because we have to be constantly making sure the dog is safe, the baby is safe, the kids are entertained, and everyone has something to eat (do these kids EVER stop eating???), but it's all a brilliant experience. 
The kids loved rockpooling - Daisy even bravely held a crab this time, and Charlie just becomes a mini Bear Grylls when you cut off his internet connection. He goes from a minecraft addicted computer slave, to a rock scaling, crab finding seaside adventurer. It's amazing to see!
We all enjoyed a wifi free weekend of fresh air, conversations and quality time. 
I think we all need to be disconnected from the world once in a while to remind us where are most important connections really are.





As for Crovie itself, it had a certain rugged beauty - you can imagine it's a hard life if you live there permanently, but I like the idea of being right by the sea. The only thing was, it felt more than isolated, it felt almost abandoned. Of the 70 houses there, we only saw signs of life in about 5 of them, the rest appeared to be empty, with big wooden shutters closed over the windows and doors.
It was a shame, for such a beauty spot, it was almost like a forgotten village...












On the way home, we had to stop in past Pennan, it would have been wrong to just pass it by!





On the whole, we had to agree that Pennan is far nicer - just more charming and well kept, although Crovie was well worth a visit.
We all had a ball, but we're knackered. Roll on an early night and then we'll get to planning our big Highlands and Islands camping tour, wish us luck!










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