There hasn’t been a better time to holiday at home, the winds been way over the average and more than made up for its lack lustre start in the spring. Ok, it might not be perfect for sun worshipers, but it does keep the queues down in the theme parks. Put your foot in the sea and you’d think it’s been the hottest summer on record, I can’t ever remember the sea being warmer.

With the kids on holiday we wanted to get up to Alton Towers, plus we were over due a day out with Ian and his family. It’s always hard to get the timing right when everyone ca make it, fortunately we timed it right with the weather. A bad forecast kept everyone away, but as seems to be the norm lately, the forecasters got it wrong. Warm and windless is my perfect day out with the family.

The park’s been updated; Rita’s got the fastest take off of any ride I’ve been on, but the Pirate ride proves that the simplest rides are the best. It looked so  as we just passed it by on the way in and only caught it on the way out. It’s just water pistols in a posh box; the kids were soaked before we could drag them away.

 Windsurfing is never far from my conversation; being with Ian (Boardwise) just makes me worse. We figured out windsurfing was the only thing we could think that was cheaper now than when we started. I paid £750 for my first board just over twenty-three years ago, obviously it would be cheaper compared to houses, but since then mars bars have tripled in price as just about everything else we could think of.

It’d be hard to imagine a board costing over two grand, but after this weekend I couldn’t stop windsurfing even at that price. Clacton was dark and dingy on Saturday a grey sky full of rain kept Shaun shooting from inside the van, so the few pix we got don’t do justice the fun we had on the water, Sunday on the other hand was different.

Most people think I come from Southend; funnily it’s quicker to get there from the south coast than from my place, though it’s got a lot more to offer than speed. Normally I can’t get Shaun off our local beaches, think the frustration of a broken leg is getting to him, he was pushing to go, “I’ll sit on the camera”. Not wanting to disappoint we all went over.

Low tide is perfect for speed, but this time we headed to Uncle Tom’s for a couple of hours kitesurfing, plus I wanted to get a few tips from the Wet ‘n’ Dry boys. This spot really can rival Rodrigues for its expanse of flat shallow water, it may not be blue but with the water temperature the way it is its easy to forget.

As the tide came in I visited a few other beaches, but ended the day at Canvey Island. It’s nothing like I expected, you know how you have pre conceived idea’s, well the reality was nothing like it, and apparently this wasn’t a good day.

With wind over tide, large ships in the background and being able to sail off the wind all day without loosing ground you’ve be forgiven in thinking you’re in the Gorge… ok, maybe not, but you get the idea.