A day in Beccles, with its lido, river, quay and market, is almost as good as a holiday for our family days out guru Sally White

Norwich Evening News: Beccles Lido. PHOTO: Nick ButcherBeccles Lido. PHOTO: Nick Butcher (Image: ©archant2016)

My favourite thing about summers are the mornings: when you take a long sniff of the air and you can already smell it's going to be a scorcher. That scent transports me to lazy beach holidays when you're eating yoghurt and fresh fruit for breakfast and deciding which book to read next. Although all these blue skies and birdsong til midnight is making the 'folks feel just as exotic and intoxicating as any Greek island.

And so, on one such blue-skied morning, we packed our swimmers and headed to Beccles: it may not be Mykonos, but we were about to find out it darn well felt like it at times.

Beccles is a really handsome market town. We were meeting a friend at the lido: she'd promised me it was a little gem and she was right. Beccles lido is an outdoor pool with primary coloured changing rooms, sun loungers on the grass and slight whiff of chip fat from the onsite café: like a holiday resort but surrounded by Georgian homes instead of high-rise hotel rooms. (I've laboured quite hard over a Greek island pun and all I've come up with is Corfolk and Sufforini. Pitiful! Get in touch with any improved attempts.)

Now, my older boy goes for a 'belts and braces' approach to pool safety and swims in a flotilla of foam (who wears two sets of armbands?!), but Alex, 2, is a bolder soul and likes a good splash about. He was tempted by the waterslide until an older boy started crying at the top of it and so happily sploshed about with his frantic doggy paddle.

Norwich Evening News: Beccles Quay. Picture: Nick ButcherBeccles Quay. Picture: Nick Butcher (Image: Archant � 2017)

A cloud passed over the sun and things got a bit shivery so we got out and had a warm shower and a towel down and a free banana (not sure if that's a regular thing but it was welcomed) and hit up the play park by the pool. A few loops around that and we were ready for some grub.

From the lido, a boat runs to the nearby pub. It would've been great to have tootled along to Geldeston Locks … maybe when I'm retired (my Wistful Refrain of the Moment).

But for now, we were heading into town. We were there on a Friday, market day, and so passed the cheese, fruit and veg, book, and cake stalls. It was nice to see such a bustling and enticing set up, but we had plans to head to the very instagrammable Baileys Deli where we had strong coffee and sticky cake. It is, after all, important to refuel after such a gruelling swim.

Suitably energised our friend and guide took us to Beccles library where they host all sorts of sing-a-longs, groups and meet ups. Right next door is a fabliss vintage shop called Number 21a. It's filled with brooches, feather boas, fabrics, tea dresses, shoes and floaty skirts. It's a treasure trove of great buys - although, rather fewer now that I've bought up half the stock. I'm loving the smugness I feel when people comment on my skirt: 'Oh, it's vintage dontchaknow.'

Norwich Evening News: Sally and Alex at BecclesSally and Alex at Beccles (Image: Sally White)

With the end of the school day beckoning we just had time to nip to the quay to feed the ducks and play Fantasy Boat Game (rules: pick the boat of choice.) There's a great park near there too. We didn't have time to go in and Alex enjoyed throwing a tantrum about the injustice of that.

So, after a glorious day, it was back to the drudgery of normal life. Sloping home on the way back from the school gates, post-holiday blues in full swing, my older boy asked us about our day. We didn't have the heart to tell him about our mini-break in Lesvos-on-Land, so I did what all great parents do: lied, 'Not much, darling, but how about we take the caravan away this weekend? I know this great little spot…'

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