The best weather for camping is most definitely lots of sunshine and we were lucky enough to get plenty of sunshine last week. I was keen to get the Beans out and about in the fresh air. I had taken lots of outdoor toys to keep them amused whilst on the site and since Jelly Bean started walking just a few weeks before our break he was keen to get out and about too. Our tent has quite a few windows so when he spotted Beanie Boy playing at the side of the tent he was keen to join him (after he had raided the food box).
Jelly Bean was very impressed with Beanie Boy’s giant bubbles and I was happy that for a change Beanie Boy wasn’t pouring the bubble mixture all over the floor!
The plan for Tuesday was a trip to Rutland Water for a picnic and a walk (or a scoot if you were a little person). We always park at Whitwell and walk back towards Sykes Lane. 
The sun disappeared whilst we ate our picnic and since Jelly Bean had fallen asleep in the car we decided to have a car picnic before heading off. No sooner had we walked out past the Rutland Watersports Centre and Marina than the sun came out blazing and stayed for the remainder of our visit which made it all the more pleasant.
It’s great now that Jelly Bean is more active as he can join in with his older siblings and had lots of fun playing on the climbing equipment but we will definitely need to monitor him closely in the future as he wasn’t very keen on other children climbing with him and began growling rather fiercely at them.
Whilst Jelly Bean was safely under Nanna’s supervision on the baby climbing frame, the older Beans did the circuit of the adventure playground and then according to Little Bean, she was digging a passage for the fairies? As you do . . .
The latest exciting thing to arrive at Rutland Water is a man-made beach!! I hadn’t heard anything about it otherwise I would have taken the Beans’ swimming costumes so we didn’t venture down to the actual waterside. We found something which I loved even more; a fenced off children’s sandpit further back towards the car park. This is genius as far as I am concerned as I can happily go in here with my three and sit back and watch them play without worrying that they will venture down to the water’s edge. We will definitely be going there again before the summer is out!!
The Beans had so much fun in the sand and played there for over an hour without any fuss. The buried themselves, made sand-angels, the jumped, dived and dug to their heart’s content – it was perfect.
On the way back to the car we said hello to the resident cows and sheep. The Beans practiced their scotter skills and did a pretty good job of wearing themselves out.
Back at the tent in the evening, I waited until the sun had gone down and then set up my camera on a tripod to play around with light trails and I had intended to do a spot of light painting on the tree next to our tent but if I’m honest, I got spooked as we were the only tent on the top field and it was a little creepy out there without any lights so I packed up and went to bed. Maybe next time!
It sounds and looks like you had a great time! What perfect weather for camping too, we are never that lucky!