Livin' in a Toddler's Paradise

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday, and while we sat indoors playing "Jenga" (I build a tower of wooden bricks, he knocks it down and shrieks with laughter, repeat repeat repeat) I looked outside and thought actually, d'you know what, we should be outside in weather like this. I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk, and he said he wanted to a) go in the garden (I don't have one) or b) visit the woods (which is miles away and I don't drive). Hmm. "Let's go outside anyway," I said brightly, putting some toy cars in my pocket and attaching his cute backpack-slash-reins in case he tried to run away.

We toddled down the road and onto the cliffs and watched the boats bobbing far out where the tide was coming in. "Beach!" he shouted. I looked at the excitement on his face in the sun. "Let's go to the beach, then," I said. We walked over the bridge into Old Leigh and to his great joy, a train zoomed underneath us. "More trains, Rachel!" he shouted, jumping up and down.

This is where I swiftly realised that Old Leigh is the best place to take toddlers. What do little kids love? TRAINS! And what is the c2c? A generally reliable service with frequent trains in both directions! Thankfully, over the next 30-40 minutes, we saw several trains rocketing back and forth between Leigh and Chalkwell. They seemed to go past on cue every time he shouted "More trains, Rachel!" - which was lucky, as he seemed to want to see a LOT of trains. Every time one went past, we waved at the people on it. He loved it. It made me realise just how frequent the trains are going through Leigh. I'd forgotten this since giving up commuting, and moving from my old flat, which had the c2c line running through the back garden.

Aside from trains, my little pal and I also spotted lots of boats (he thought the Wilton was a pirate ship) and planes going over to and from Southend Airport. Dogs ran in and out of the paddling pool, barking and splashing like the sun-seeking, playful, lovely idiots they are. I felt like I was in an Usborne book! It was all his favourite things in one place. After a lot of trundling along the sand, in the sun, picking up stones and seaweed, it was all of a sudden time to go home. We made sure we stood on the bridge to see a couple "more trains!" go past, and toddled home.

It was so cool. It was a couple of hours, didn't cost a thing, and we had a lovely time. It doesn't have to cost a fortune to have fun in our town, and for that I feel very fortunate indeed. And yes, it allowed me to quote Coolio in one of my L-O-S blog titles. Doesn't get much better than that does it?