A Day At The Coast

[sharonsiff]

Lee's shift pattern yesterday meant we could spend a day at our beach hut (shed on the beach) so I took a couple of photos to share.

 

So there are lots of different designs and colours of huts, and lots of them! It really is a mini community in it's own right down there (Dovercourt Bay, Essex) which I love. Ours is the sky blue with deckchair striped doors. The council charge us £162 a year ground rent. This covers the grass being cut, bins provided and emptied weekly, lights along the promenade and fabulous news toilets.... oh and water.

 

Inside the huts everyone decks them out to suit their needs. Those with garden shed brown tend to just have them as storage and somewhere to use their camping stove to make a brew, or heat up food. Others, like us, make them more like a room that you can sit in but hide all the items you have stored. He is the inside of ours.

 

And the favourite thing, our view! In my home I have a fabulous field view and here I have a sea view. It's the North sea so some days it's blue and some days not ;) It's too cold for me but my family take a dip, go out on their rings or go crabbing. It's lovely as we get lots of sailing boats go past and to our left we can see Felixstowe docks and the container ships coming and going. Yesterday was a quiet day, which was lovely, but the 6 weeks school holidays start on Monday so weather permitting it will be full of families and fun....and I can't wait! So as it was just the two of us yesterday it was lunch for two.... perfect.

 

Tiny pic is playing up now...grrr...will post the sea view again later.

[sharonsiff]

Nah... still not working.

 

The cost of beach huts aren't too bad, in my opinion. At the moment they are selling from £4500 to £6500 obviously depending on the condition. When you buy a beach hut you buy as seen, so, if I was to sell mine that would include everything that you see on the picture. About 5 go up for sale a year and I think there are about 400 huts down there.

 

Lots of people buy and then rent them out to make extra cash. I think they charge about £25 a day. During the Summer break we see lots of new faces due to renting, which is lovely. Some people rent, love it then go on to buy. We never rent ours as we want it for ourselves but of course anyone is welcome to hang withus when we are there. If we go on holiday we let ffriends have the keys and use as their own.

[sharonsiff]

Although the grass in front of you isn't yours, it is really ;) so it gives you plenty of space to set up your sunloungers or table and chairs, or both. We are lucky with the position of ours as directly in front, but slightly to our right, there are access steps to the beach. The beach directly in front of us is more of a pebble beach but along, and round the corner, it is a sandy type beach. The beach is a Blue Flag beach so has passed all the tests to claim it is clean, safe and of good quality as far as beaches go. I don't go on the beach tbh but enjoy watching the kids larking about on it.

 

[Pippa]

They are so cool - I can imagine how much fun it must be to,hang out there

[action]

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that you like the colour blue... ;)

 

I have to admit, that yours in the best looking hut there, and the inside is so homely!

 

It must be great to get to go there just for a day, here and there when the weather is good... I can't believe that there are no other people in the photos!

[El Bandito]

How very British!

 

Not sure about those wine glasses though Sharon - a brew required methinks....can you get Lee to put a knotted hankie on his bonce? (That'll fox the septics!)

[sharonsiff]

They are so cool - I can imagine how much fun it must be to,hang out there

Thanks Pippa, they are cool and very handy in our current financial climate tbh. Fewer and fewer families are stretching their budget to a two week jolly abroad so the huts come into their own... weather permitting ;) The cost of mine, 3 years ago, was £3500 so no holiday that year but it means I have a mini holiday every time I go down there for the rest of my life. I was holiday mad!, didn't have kids till I was 30 so I could holiday each year. Now I feel it really wouldn't matter if I wasn't able to fund one ever again. Obviously I hope I can ;) but if not, no hardship... head down the shed on the beach.

 

Action: everything I love is blue!.. blue sky's, blue sea and blue jeans. Deffo in the blue camp...lol The reason no one was around is it was only about 9:45 ish. People at work but those who are retired or off for the day turn up late morning. Some days Lee and I pack the kids off to school and get there just after 8am.... cook up bacon and eggs for breakfast, on the camping stove. My favourite part of the day is morning.... just love it. There are other lovely colour huts now too. When we purchased it was mainly shed browns or dark green or blue. Since we painted ours lots of gone for seaside pastel shades and they look fabulous! Mine is having a make over in a couple of years as I fancy pale lavender and french white. We still have enough blue paint to touch up for two more seasons so I'm not being wasteful...or Rockerfella!... but once we run out of current paint I will be on a make over mission.

 

Stu: I loved it when you said how British... that was the exact theme I went for and was hoping to get across. Lee and I have so many fabulous childhood memories of British seaside holidays we wanted to make it a memory box of our past. You can't see them on the picture but I have 50's style pictures of every seaside resort both of us visited as children, like a trip down memory lane for us. On my doors I have fab ice cream and strawberries and cream style pictures, all the treats we would have at a day at the seaside.

 

Lol at the brew reference, had plenty of those..lol... Lee and I are light weights and the wineglasses contain pop...Vimto I think ;)

Will get a knotted hanky piccy of Lee with his beer (vimto) belly hanging out, oh and his string vest and a stick of rock in his hand.... I will too you know... ;)

[Still winning]

They are such a brilliant idea if you are close by!!  I think they're ace and we looked at renting one down southampton in the summer hols for a day out. Great and much cheaper then keep buying drinks at the seaside :)

[sharonsiff]

They are such a brilliant idea if you are close by!!  I think they're ace and we looked at renting one down southampton in the summer hols for a day out. Great and much cheaper then keep buying drinks at the seaside :)

We save a fortune Marti. Pity you don't live nearer me as you and your kids could use ours. If you're ever in Essex just let me know. Even on dry non sunny days the kids can fish or go crabbing.

[Susana]

Sharon, that is the loveliest hut I´ve seen. Really pretty!

 

Huts are a great idea. So British and clean and proper!

 

I´ll go to the beach on Sunday and post pictures of the contraptions the Spaniards put up here... hahahahahaha!

[sharonsiff]

Sharon, that is the loveliest hut I´ve seen. Really pretty!

 

Huts are a great idea. So British and clean and proper!

 

I´ll go to the beach on Sunday and post pictures of the contraptions the Spaniards put up here... hahahahahaha!

Oh please do, I'd love to see them, their design and take on it. It's funny you know Susana we go to Tenerife and last holiday I didn't do a beach day.... no flipping beach hut to store my stuff. Although I did the fab walk from Los Christanos to Puerto Colon instead ;)

[Paul723]

I've never seen such a thing, I think they are great! I'd need an umbrella and a barbecue grill and a cooler of cold beer. I bet there's been some epic parties there that you're keeping quiet about.

[Tink]

love it sharon! great pictures 

 

keep the tea the huts definately demand wine :)

[Doreensfree]

Aawww how lovely......great idea....

[sharonsiff]

I've never seen such a thing, I think they are great! I'd need an umbrella and a barbecue grill and a cooler of cold beer. I bet there's been some epic parties there that you're keeping quiet about.

We have had some fun times Paul ;)

 

If you visit the UK Paul I'll get the bbq on and pop you some beers in my cool bag :)

[Jenny]

I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say that you like the colour blue... ;)

 

 

lol @ action!  I was thinking the same thing.  

 

Those are wonderful pics Sharon!  Thanks for sharing.  I love to see pics from places I've never seen.  We don't have huts like that where I am.  If you want to rent or buy on the ocean you need lots and lots of $$$$.   I love how you have decorated it!

[sharonsiff]

lol @ action!  I was thinking the same thing.  

 

Those are wonderful pics Sharon!  Thanks for sharing.  I love to see pics from places I've never seen.  We don't have huts like that where I am.  If you want to rent or buy on the ocean you need lots and lots of $$$$.   I love how you have decorated it!

Thanks Jenny, we like it.... it's clean, tidy and nautical.

 

Living in a house by the sea is mega expensive here too, it's a dream of mine but in all reality it would need a lottery win to fund it. The terms and conditions set by the council are use them from 8am and please leave around 11am. You are not allowed to sleep overnight in them, wouldn't want to..... what if I needed a Jimmy Riddle in the night? The toilets are a good 2 mins walk, would NEVER make it...lol

 

My dream home by the sea would be the fabulous property used in the 'Sleeping With The Enemy' movie, loved that so much. Obviously I'm not married to a can straightening hubby so I'm safe..... I do that myself, that's MY job!! Ha ha ha......

[Petra]

Very cool!  And looks like a great place to hang out.  :)

[Nancy]

I've never seen anything like that!  Fabulous!!