Mersea

Sunday was one of those gorgeous days where the air was crisp and cold and the sun was shining brightly.

As days like this certainly don't come along very often I decided to make the most of it. Yes that is right, we went on a Sunday drive.

Dreaded by children the world over, the Sunday drive was much feared in my household until a few years ago. Then I realised the sheer joy of driving along with the sunroof open on a sunny day, on a quiet country road. It gives you a sense of freedom that I think few things can.

Now that I live in one of the busiest cities in the world without a car I miss my long drives - so thank goodness The Boy has a car!

Back to Sunday - our meander led us to the seaside destination of Mersea Island in Essex.

Rugged up in many many layers and adorned with my waterproof adventure boots we set off along the beach. The beach in Mersea is adorned with beach huts painted in pastels overlooking the estuary and thousands of oyster shells were awash on the shore.

Upon our first arrival, we both agreed it would be a lovely place to retire or spend a holiday. However the longer we stayed the more creeped out I became. It was deathly quiet with empty caravan parks, the beach huts (that incidently cost £26,000) were shut up and there wasn't an ice cream van to be found.

Not only that, the streets reminded me very much of home - straight blocked streets with no corner shops or pubs to be found. I did enjoy however the abundance of dogs and old men with beards smoking pipes.

But despite the slight eeriness of the place, it was ever so nice to spend a day in the sunshine by the sea.