Every Friday we have an afternoon filled with activities for a five year old. That is because Sam only has a half day of school on Fridays.
This Friday I decided to go to Potobello Beach, Edinburgh’s only beach. It is only three miles to the east of central Edinburgh and is served by several buses.
The weather has been a mix of rain and wind for the last several days and it started raining during our bus ride. We arrived in the rain, so what do you do on a rainy day at the beach? check out some charity shops of course. For a small community, there were a lot of charity shops. We went into six different shops. My favorite was the Cancer Research UK shop.
As we finished browsing, the rain stopped and the sun came out. We made a break for the beach.
The sand was extremely clean and a walk along it offered some great views and some meet and greet with lots of dogs. We even got to observe a photo shoot. We did not come prepared with swim suits but the Portobello Swim Centre has Turkish baths if you are in need of some real relaxation.
In addition to digging in the sand and running on the beach, there are a lot of other kid friendly activities along the boardwalk of Portobello Beach, including several playgrounds and an arcade with an old fashioned snack stand.
The arcade had some traditional arcade games and activities, driving a race car and the strongman game where you use a mallet to ring a bell. I have to say some of the other activities looked like gambling and even the atmosphere reminded me of a casino. There was a section that was clearly labeled 18 and over, but even the kid’s area had slot machines.
Sam of course LOVED it. After we were about four pounds in debt, I managed to drag him out of there.
We ate a late lunch at a very cute, kid friendly place, The Beach House. It had a casual atmosphere, great beach views, and a casual lunch menu of sandwiches, soups, salads, pastries and an ice cream counter.
Portobello Beach is an easy trip from Edinburgh that makes you feel like you stepped back in time, to a time where a stroll along a beach boardwalk while eating an ice cream cone or jumping in the puddles left by a recent shower felt just right.
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