Ad: Gifted. Disclaimer: we were kindly given a free visit to Millie’s Beach Huts in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own

 

Mrs Lighty has long had a little pipe dream. It’s a little dream that bubbles away under the surface, as I gather ideas and thoughts on how I’d like to implement the pipe dream one day. Most of these ideas tend to end up on my Pinterest board dedicated entirely to this dream, aptly titled with a hopeful “One Day…”. This dream is mostly squirreled away, occasionally getting a passing mention in conversations with friends and family. And then one day recently, I get a little taster of this pipe dream. You see, we were lucky enough to have visited the new beach hut in Felixstowe belonging to Millie’s Beach Huts.

Yep, Mrs Lighty’s dream is to one day own a beach hut or a holiday home of her very own. Preferably both. I’m not fussy!! So when we were invited to spend a day at the new hut owned by Millie’s Beach Huts in Felixstowe, it very nearly was a dream come true for Mrs Lighty! The night before our visit, as I packed a picnic lunch for us to take with us, I remarked to Mr Lighty that it felt a bit like we were off on our holidays the next day. It was that delicious sense of anticipation, I suppose. We’d never been to a beach hut before, and I didn’t know what to expect. And I can now say that Millie’s Beach Huts have exceeded our expectations.

The majority of Millie’s Beach Huts are located in Walton-on-the-Naze, on the North-Essex coast. We’d been to Walton previously and loved it, and so I’d been eyeing up a beach hut visit for a while. But our beach hut visit was to be to Felixstowe, just across the border in Suffolk. I think this added to the sense of holiday excitement, as we were leaving our home county for the day and visiting the county where I dream of having a holiday home!

We set off nice and early, as the hire was available from 9:00am, arriving at about 10:30am after our hour and a half’s drive from home. Parking was easy, and we managed to park right behind our hut. At the time of writing, parking is a very reasonable £3.50 for the day in the pay and display carpark directly behind the huts.

I know I’m probably biased having been for a lovely visit there now, but on reflection, Abbie is definitely the prettiest hut in the row. Its beautiful pink and blue tones make it stand out from the crowd of white, blue and brown huts around it, and it gives its visitors a really jolly welcome. All of this, and then you open the doors of this little hut and find a veritable treasure trove inside!

We were the first visitors to Abbie, and we were blown away by the level of detail within the hut. Decked out in pink, blue and yellow ice cream shades, no detail has been spared: from Cath Kidston crockery through to cute little ornaments; children’s books and games through to a blanket to snuggle up in. It really was love at first sight!

One of the details that we really appreciated was the gas stove and kettle. No time was spared in putting a brew on, and once the fold out table and chairs were set up, we settled down to a cuppa and a biscuit with a sea view.

We loved the fact that Abbie is located on the promenade. The huts themselves are built on a slightly sandy area, which meant that Baby Lighty could get to work with digging straight away while we finished our cuppa. It was so peaceful watching the world go by!

After buying a bucket and spade set, it was time to hit the beach! We really appreciated having the hut as a base to change Baby Lighty into his swimwear (complete with hoodie to guard against the May winds!). We then set up camp on the beach just in front. At nearly two years old, he really got into the swing of sandcastling, as did Mr Lighty, who decided to make a moat and tunnel! We did laugh when Mr Lighty was caught out by the tide coming in a lot quicker than expected and collapsed his moat! Luckily Baby Lighty was slightly further back on the beach, safe and sound!

Lots of hard work digging later, Baby Lighty was starting to tire, so we retired back to our beach hut for a rest. There was enough room to pop Baby Lighty in his buggy, and for us to sit inside with him (and have another cuppa). We timed our rest well, as the heavens decided to open at this point! We loved having somewhere to shelter from the rain. On any other trip to the seaside, this could’ve spelled the end of our day. At Millie’s Beach Huts, we could sit safe and sound and watch the world go by until the rain passed.

Once it had passed, we decided to go for a wander to take in the local area. As I’ve already mentioned, we didn’t know Felixstowe, so it was nice to explore. We found Felixstowe to be your typical seaside town. Although it had a faded glamour feel to it in parts, we actually really liked how traditional the town was. There were many aspects that we remembered from our childhood, such as the Sooty Show machine. There’s also a little market to the rear of one of the arcades, with some quirky shops around the perimeter.

We took our time exploring and also had a go on the two pence drops. Baby Lighty has definitely inherited our love of the British Seaside with the way he took to the penny drops! Located just down from the beach huts, there’s also a children’s park. It was really well equipped, and Baby Lighty had a great time running around and clambering on and off of the play equipment.

By this point, it was nearing the end of our day. Having taken a picnic lunch and eaten it in the beach hut, we opted for fish and chips for dinner. When in Felixstowe, and all that. By the time we returned to the beach huts, we were the last ones left on the row. It was really peaceful and cosy to sit in our hut with another cuppa (!) and our fish and chips, looking out to sea. The perfect finish to our day!

Vicky really has thought of everything when it comes to the beach huts. This included details such as colouring books and toys for the children, and Baby Lighty happily sat colouring while we packed up. We had had the forethought to bring his pyjamas with us, and therefore got him changed just before leaving. I think the fact that he happily snuggled up on the beach hut’s bench seating as we packed the last few bits away showed how at home he felt and what a fantastic day he’d had!

We really couldn’t fault our first visit to Millie’s Beach Huts, and I’m certain that this won’t be our last visit. We’ve fallen in love with beach hut life. If I didn’t want a beach hut before our visit to Millie’s Beach Huts, then I definitely, one hundred percent do now! I’ll keep on saving, and in the meantime, there are always these very special beach huts awaiting our booking…

 Disclaimer: we were kindly given a free visit to Millie’s Beach Huts in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

 

If you enjoy reading All Things Spliced, I would be completely chuffed if you could nominate Mrs Lighty in the Readers’ Choice category of the BiB Awards! Please click on the badge below and complete the form, my full web address is https://allthingsspliced.co.uk and my Twitter handle is: @MrsLighty. I will love you forever and will send (virtual gluten free) cake!

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