Crab, lobster & Wittering – a day out at the beach

Quick, quick! The sun is out, run for the beaches… I’ve purposely kept my Mondays free of baby activities, nursery sessions, work and anything else, to let Minnie and I enjoy a long weekend away or have a fun day out.

Long weekends achieved so far – none. Days out… well, not very many. So with my mum visiting my brother and sister-in-law, and the sun shining away, we all headed to Sussex for lunch by the coast and a walk on the beach at West Wittering with a baby.

For more inspiration on my favourite sandy beaches in Sussex, click here.

If I needed reminding, it was a testament to why you shouldn’t listen to the panicked internal voice saying it’s too much effort with a baby (How will I fit meals around the driving? What if she doesn’t nap? Did I remember everything she needs?).

Because despite forgetting one or two ‘essentials’ for mealtimes (essentials which it turned out we could live without) and a mildly erratic napping pattern, we had a lot more fun than I’d have managed in the local park.

First stop, the Crab & Lobster restaurant in Sidlesham. It’s on the banks of the Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve, with some gorgeous rooms above the 350-year-old pub, all recently renovated.

It doesn’t advertise itself as family-friendly, but there seemed no problem visiting the Crab and Lobster with kids – certainly on a fairly quiet day.

And while there were no high chairs for example (and the parasols for the garden are still on order, which meant no shade and therefore no babies), the staff couldn’t have been more helpful, finding a high-backed chair for the Totseat, pointing out the baby changing, whisking out some bread in time for Minnie’s lunch, and stopping to cajole a smile – not hard – out of her every time they passed on the way to the kitchen.

Despite catching them after a summery weekend when the holidaying hordes had eaten them almost out of provisions, the meal was fantastic.

Battered cod cheeks to start – it turns out cod have bigger cheeks than I knew, while the batter was fantastically light, no greasy stodge.

Then stone bass with seaweed tagliatelle and a mussel and bacon cream sauce. So delicious, I didn’t even stop to take a photo.

I was driving so no wine, alas, but there’s 17 different options by the glass as well as a string of local beers on tap. And as well as being too full to manage dessert (though I’m prepared to travel back for the sound of the espresso crème brulee with chocolate shortbread) the babies – Minnie and her nearly five-month-old cousin – were finally a bit bored.

From Sidlesham, the Witterings are only about 15-20 minutes away, including the fabulous 20 acres of beach at West Wittering, a huge open stretch of sand lined with grassy dunes and beach huts.

The kite-fliers were out in force to enjoy the breezes, and it’s a wind-surfing hotspot for the same reason, as well as plenty of families enjoying the good weather, playing beach cricket and having a paddle.

With the babies strapped into the Baby Bjorns, Minnie wriggling with glee while attempting to wrestle her hat from her head every few minutes and fling the hated thing off into the sea (Velcro straps? What Velcro straps…), we wandered along the shore.

The beach here is flat, flat, flat, and at low tide the sand stretches right out to the water on the horizon.

On a clear day like yesterday, you can see for miles, just the shimmer of the water and blue of the sky, plus rows of brightly painted huts.

Part of the West Wittering estate, you pay to come in and park (vexingly we turned up just before the high season price drops at 3pm), so it’s hard to believe it’s ever as busy as some part of the south coast and tempting to stay for hours to make the most of it.

Before long, it was time to turn back though. Too cold for a paddle, I had to get to the little café with enough time to give Minnie her tea before heading back to the motorways.

But driving past Chichester, somewhere I’ve always fancied visiting, I have a feeling we could be back before long.

 

Images copyright MummyTravels