1. Make a sandcastle

Of course! You’re only restricted by your imagination and the number of buckets, containers and spades you’re willing to carry.

My favourite thing is to build one near the waters edge as the tide is coming in. There’s a time pressure to finish it before the water arrives and then you have to see if it will fill the moat before destroying the castle.

2. Drawing in the sand

First off, hunt for a good stick! Then go for it…

Can you draw something REALLY BIG? Can you write your name in the sand? How about a game of noughts and crosses? Or draw a picture of something amazing…

3. Play with driftwood

We’ve found this is far more available in spring than summer. I suspect the council tidies it away before the holiday season starts.

Can you find a big bit to walk along? Can you make a den? Or something else? Maybe you could make a dam – little rivers running along the sand are great for this. Or you could use it to see how deep the rockpools are?

4. Test out the wellies

Wading in the sea and jumping over waves is always fun (though dangerous – those wellies only go so high). Better still are little streams which run up the beach and can be walked up, crossed, dammed, etc

Keep an eye out for sink sand too. Too deep and it’s dangerous but so long as it’s shallow it’s very satisfying getting dug in and pulling your feet out with a squelch.

5. Footprints

Making them is fun but following them is even better. Can you be a nature detective and work out the animal from the print? Or the person?

Can you play hide and seek just by following footprints? Or turn them into a pattern.

Can you make your footprint different by walking on your heels? Or your toes? What’s the coolest type of print you can make?

6. Stamping on lugworm coils

A beach specific one this but if you have muddy sand they shouldn’t be hard to find. Stamping on them is very satisfying.

Can you jump from one coil to the next? Maybe don’t tell them it’s lugworm poo if you want them to do this one.

7. Beach combing

My mum remembers her dad doing this on holidays in the 1940’s and 1950’s. I suspect there’s less interesting rubbish these days (hurray?) but it’s still a fun thing to do.

Depending on the area you need a bit of patience so it’s a good thing to do alongside other things. If they find something to take home it will make a real impact. If they find lots of plastic pollution there’s another lesson to learn. It’s always fun thinking about where something’s come from to end up where it has.

8. Exploring rock pools

Approach with care and you might find a crab scuttling out of sight. Or a small fish doing circles. They’re great for finding shells in. Check if there’s anything still living in it before you play with it.

They’re great for testing wellies out in and for clambering around too. See who can find something first and keep an eye on the seabirds.

9. Building ‘Makka Pakka’ towers

They probably have a proper name. How many stones can you get in a tower without it falling over? Can you make a really big one? Or a really secure one? Or one in a whole new sort of shape?

It can be addictive.

10. Throwing pebbles in the sea

Finally, our BEST activity when B was younger. Still works. Collect lots of pebbles in a bucket and go and throw them in the sea.

I love doing lots of little tiny ones and they make pretty patterns when they splash. There’s a lot to be said for finding the biggest splash too – just make sure it goes in the water and not on someone’s head.