Do you have a place that you remember with fondness from your childhood? For me that place is the sleepy little village of Portballintrae, a stones throw from Bushmills and the Giant's Causeway on N.Ireland's North Coast. The name alone is enough to conjure images of family holidays of yesteryear and the faces of loved ones long since passed on. So it was with some trepidation that I made a return visit for a short break last week. I wondered if the Portballintrae of 2014 would live up to the Portballintrae of my memories, and if it was still a good place for a family holiday, thirty years on.

     

                                              Portballintrae and Runkerry Headland.

     

                                                      Portballintrae Harbour

In my memory the sun always shone on those family holidays, and Portballintrae did not disappoint in 2014. The sun shone and temperatures reached a sticky 28 degrees centigrade!

So what is there to recommend Portballintrae for a family holiday? Well there are three beaches - the harbour beach pictured above, the 'town beach' and the magnificent strand at Runkerry, just over the River Bush next to Portballintrae Golf Club. There is a large variety of accommodation available from self catering apartments and houses to B&B's, caravans and a hotel. Portballintrae is well situated - close to Bushmils, Coleraine and Portrush. And for golfers it boasts a beautiful links golf course, in some of the most glorious scenery that N. Ireland has to offer.

            Runkerry strand in late evening sunshine       

For families with young children the Harbour and Town beaches provide safe sandy beaches with rock pools and water sports such as kayaking and paddle boards available. For surfers the strand at Runkerry provides large breakers perfect for surfing, however, it must be noted that the beach shelves very quickly and the currents are extremely strong, so is not suitable for anyone who is not a strong swimmer. 

There is one large, bright and attractive hotel in Portballintrae, The Bayview. As the name implies the restaurant looks out over the bay, with floor to ceiling windows making the most of the spectacular view.

                                           The Bayview Hotel, Portballintrae

I had lunch in the restaurant, and although there was a good selection of dishes on the menu, I was rather restricted by the need for a Gluten free meal. 

      A little salad on the side would have really improved the look of my gluten free chicken option!

 

  The food was a little bland, and lacked colour on the plate, but tasted nice and was well cooked.

       

There are plenty of options for eating out or takeaways in nearby Bushmills. This rather quaint little town, home of the world famous Bushmills Distillery, also has a good variety of shops catering for everything a family might need on holiday - from buckets and spades for the beach to crafts and gifts in The Millhouse.

                    

                         Local crafts are available in The Millhouse, Main Street, Bushmills

                                         

     The Millhouse stocks local crafts, jewellery and even some children's knitwear and toys! Definitely   

                                                           well worth a visit!

And when you've had a look around why not take time to sit by the beautiful River Bush and watch the world go by!

              

No trip to Portballintrae would be complete without a visit to nearby Portrush, stopping on the way to take in the magnificent view of medieval Dunluce Castle.

    

                                      The spectacular ruins of Dunluce Castle

When you arrive in the busy town of Portrush, take time to visit the towns beaches - there are plenty to choose from.

                  

           This, the smallest of the town's beaches is right in the middle of the front next to the Arcadia.

Portrush is a big hit with families - it has superb sandy beaches, excellent restaurants and cafés - of which my personal favourites are The Ramore restaurants situated at the Harbour, (www.ramorerestaurant.com) and 55 Degrees North on Causeway Street, (55-north.com) just opposite the beach above!

There is also a wide range of water sports available, a selection of shops and for those occasional rainy days Barry's amusements provides plenty of entertainment of or children young and old!

So did Portballintrae live up to my childhood memories? Is it a good destination for a family holiday in 2014? I can answer a resounding YES to both. I had a wonderful break, and my only regret was that it was too short!

The Millhouse Bushmills can be found on Facebook - www.facebook.com/millhouseni

For self catering accommodation contact Causeway Coast Rentals www.causewaycoastrentals.co.uk

Accommodation including caravan rentals can be found at www.holidaylettings.co.uk/Portballintrae

and at www.golflinksholidayhomes.co.uk/Portballintrae.

Portballintrae golf club is called Bushfoot Golf Club, www.bushfootgolfclub.co.uk

The Bayview Hotel can be found at www.bayviewhotelni.com

How I wish it was fashionable to be pale and interesting, but let's face facts those days are long gone and pale white legs just don't cut the mustard. So faced with the choice of paying for a spray tan (which with my red hair frankly just looks wrong) or a DIY tan, I always choose the DIY option. 

I have tried many self tanning products over the years, most of which turned me a very unattractive shade of orange, and many of which gave me a most unalluring perfume that was hard to eradicate even after showering! Now I have tried a new self tan from none other than M&S! Formula self tan lotion is easy to apply and I found it very moisturising even on my rather dry skin. The secret of success for a streak free self tan is preparation and this holds true with Formula self tan. Make sure you exfoliate thoroughly first (I didn't first time I tried it and paid the price with darker patches on knees and ankles), I'd also advise using a self tan applicator mit as this allows a smoother application, particularly with a non tinted tan such as this one. As for price, Formula is amazing value, it's currently half price, at only £3.75 for 200ml. My tip? Stock up while this offer lasts!

I simply cannot resist a challenge, especially if that challenge also has a craft element. So when I heard that 'Nancy Said' of Lighthouse Yarns, Whitehead was running a mystery crochet-along I was in! 

The challenge involves following a pattern to crochet a mystery item. Although the pattern is available at the 'Nancy Said' Facebook page I couldn't resist a trip to her lovely shop to choose some beautiful wool for the project!

                               

Nina of 'Nancy Said' in Lighthouse Yarns, Whitehead. The shop is situated in an historic building - a former bank - in Whitehead's quaint Conservation Area.

                                      

Lighthouse Yarns has a wide selection of beautiful yarns, patterns, books, accessories, indeed everything the keen crochet or knitting fan could possibly want!

 I chose this beautiful yarn - I just couldn't resist the beautiful warm colours and the soft texture.

                      

The rules of the crochet-along state that no photos of finished, or even partly finished work are to be posted online until the challenge finishes on 15th August, so you'll have to wait until then to see how I get on. However, I can say that so far it's looking lacy and rather lovely!

If you want to take part in the crochet-along, or in the knit- along, also being run by Lighthouse Yarns, then contact Nina through her Facebook page 'Nancy Said' and get crafting!