a few weeks ago rebekah sent me a picture of a row of colourful beach huts and a message that read "this is mersea island. it's not far from colchester. wanna go next weekend?" i'm sure that - based on the title of this post and the image above, you've already figured out what my answer was. so yeah, on saturday we jumped on the train at liverpool street and headed east for a day of sunshine and ice cream, and exploring another of england's wonderfully retro beaches, this time on the uk's most easterly inhabited island of mersea.
mersey is officially only an island twice a day when the tides come in and flood the only road going in and out of the place. apparently it's quite the bug bear, according to locals, being stuck on either side of the rising tides (as the salt water can totally ruin a car that's stuck in it) - which can get to be almost six foot deep with really strong currents, and there's constant discussion about raising the road to a better height, blah-di-blah, but i think it's kinda cool! our cab driver was telling us some fab stories about people being trapped out there and the firefighters having to come to rescue them.. well, i suppose that wasn't much fun for them, but still... common sense will get you everywhere.
the english seaside has always had a really vintage vibe to it, don't you think? so i thought it quite fitting to take my newest vintage find out for it's debut, especially as the weather promised to be in the low twenties with zero rain in sight. i picked this incredible midi dress up from donna in one of her incredible insta-sales, for less than a tenner and it fits me perrrrrrfectly. it's the perfect length, it's the perfect size, it's the perfect print; it's perfect and i absolutely love it. with my cats eye sunglasses and some jazzy silver sandals, i felt like the vintage vixen i've always wanted to be. heart eyes!
mersea island claims to have a lot of stuff to see and do, but realistically, we were there for three reasons: eat ice creams in the sun, take photos of hundreds of colourful houses, and eat fish and chips on the beach. we got suuuuuper lucky with the weather, like i said, though there were some fantastic clouds hanging about all day for those moody seaside 'grams that i like so much. it was so warm, we figured we deserved not one, but two ice creams, and then took a loooooong walk on the pebbly, shelly, sandy beach to walk it off. top tip: strappy sandals and pebbly, shelly, sandy beaches do not a comfortable pairing make.
in conclusion: mersea island was everything we wanted. we had the ice cream(s), we took the photos(ssss), and we ate the fish and chips (singular). it was a lovely little day trip out of the city, that only took an hour by train and then a bit by car, and i would totally recommend for anyone wanting a low-key beach break that isn't as over populated as brighton or southend. apparently the beach huts go for between ten and twenty grand (to buy), so that's a nice way to get on the property ladder - if you consider a beach hut property, and are prepared to sleep in one for the rest of your days. failing that, you can hire beach huts for about fifty quid a day, which is a much healthier, more financially stable solution for all the cuteness, and still all of the money (and a real bed to sleep in at night). thanks for having us, essex.
