Rock Pooling at Sandhead

Our short breaks and holidays are usually planned on a fairly last minute basis, but for a dedicated week every year we choose another bit of Scotland to explore.

This year it was the small village of Sandhead in Dumfries and Galloway.

Only 2 hours drive from bustling Glasgow but a world away in terms of pace of life. We stayed in an old converted school house overlooking the expansive Luce Bay and had our best family holiday yet. The mornings were spent on the sandy beach, and we needed nothing more than a bucket and spade, a net, a wetsuit, and a few sandwiches. Scattered rock pools let Ruby enjoy her first attempts at crab and fish catching (she was an ace by the end of the week). After a brief snooze we'd then nip out on a short car journey to enjoy some beautiful and remote spots. I'd recommend Mull of Galloway lighthouse, built on Scotland's most southerly point, an ice cream and a wander round the wee galleries and craft shops in Portpatrick, and a visit to the Logan fish pond and marine life centre; all of these lie within a 30 minute drive of Sandhead.

In the evenings we sat on a deserted and warm beach and enjoyed a family BBQ or headed to the single cosy pub for a tasty seafood dish.

Sandhead and the friendly locals exceeded our expectations and I felt like it was the first time we had truly switched off and relaxed since Ruby's arrival 18 months previously!