Weekend in Amble - Day 2

On the Sunday of our weekend away we met up with Lee's brother Andrew, his fiancee Libby, and our friends Lianne and Paul. I wanted us all to go to Barter Books in Alnwick so we decided to meet for brunch first. Andrew and Libby picked Lee and I up in Amble and we all met at the Running Fox Bakery in Shilbottle (they have a few branches and I would thoroughly recommend because the food was SO good). Lee and I both went for the veggie breakfast with "lashings" of toast and it was so nice, we really enjoyed it. Everyone liked their food too. I bought some cakes in the bakery afterwards and then we set off for Barter Books.

I have been before but not for well over a decade so I didn't really remember it very much. We all had a good wander round. I picked up six books and Lee picked up one. We both enjoyed Dark Matter by Michelle Paver so reckoned we would enjoy something else by her too. The books are all second hand and are all reasonably priced so I could have bought loads but I reined myself in a bit. I did like the Tatty Devine book - there were two copies and one was a pound more expensive so I chose the cheaper one. You can see it's a bit sun bleached but honestly once I've read it I'll probably cut it up for collaging anyway! Everyone bought some books and I will definitely be back! I loved the little train which goes round the front room and I like how they've kept a lot of the old station things like the little fountain. 

Next we went next door and had ice cream in the parlour. I had chocolate and lemon sorbet which were both nice. Then we discussed what to do next and I looked at the map and said we should go to Boulmer to the beach there. It turned out to be absolutely gorgeous - the beach was nearly deserted and it was really accessible for me. I went paddling and we all walked along a bit and then sat on the sand for a while chatting. It was absolutely soul restoring for me - I haven't been doing very well so some sun, sea and fresh air really helped me feel better. 

We said goodbye to Paul and Lianne at Boulmer beach and Andrew and Libby took us back to Amble before saying goodbye too. I stole a book from them that they were going to pass on to Andrew's grandma so when I've read it I'll pass it on to her too. 

Lee and I watched the TV for a bit but then I mentioned that I fancied a drink so Lee googled and found a bar that was open until 8pm in Amble, so we drove there. I had a Tia Maria and coke and Lee had a hot chocolate. We sat for a while chatting and then walked on to the harbour again. We tried to go into a different bar but they weren't letting anyone in as they had a big party coming, so we just went back to the cottage to watch a film. We finally had some tea later on as we weren't hungry! 

You can see in photos that I was wearing my Bruce Springsteen t shirt and one of my flamingo skirts, and my Barbie Snag tights. They're capri length but they're basically full length on me - I think it may be because they're a bit big on me so they go lower down on me. 

It was such a nice day, I'm so glad we could see people while we were in the area!

I have been trying to wear more make up recently so this was my face before we went out. My lipstick was a Models Own one. You can see I was wearing my contact lenses too as it was bright and I like to wear sunglasses

Look how cute the cup was with the fox on it!

This was my breakfast and it was SO good - it's eggy bread underneath the fried egg, too

The waitress took this photo of all of us. The restaurant and the book shop were both pretty empty because of the World Cup final going on

Inside Barter Books! 

Stacks upon stacks of books

And more in the other room!

The shop's cafe is in the old waiting room

And I loved this old water fountain. Under it, it had water for dogs to drink

My ice cream next door in the ice cream parlour

All of us on the beach - I'm just sorry my hair was covering Libby's face!

I went paddling! I was the only one of us who did, but I just had to! It wasn't at all cold, either - if I had been in the area for longer I would totally have gone swimming here

Proof I was paddling - as Lianne said, my Hello Kitty mermaid tattoo wanted to be in the water!

Look at the beautiful beach!

And looking out to sea

The water was SO clear here

My shadow

I took this while we were sitting on the soft, white sand

These are Lianne's photos - here's Andrew and Libby walking up the beach I think

Here's Paul and Andrew

And Paul, Lee, and me

Me and Lee while I was paddling

Paul scrawled 'Andrew is a dick' into the sand, because he is an idiot

While I was sitting on the beach a bit later - these sunglasses were from Accessorize I think last summer

Lianne made beach henge - it was so tiny!

On the front at Amble a bit later having a drink

I love lobster pots all piled up like this

This boat had just come in too

The sky was beautiful too

And here's the books I got!