Our little story...
Our story may well be relatively new, but unbeknown to me it had been writing itself for quite some time. I’ve grown up with my own family spread all over the country, from County Durham to North Wales, Norfolk, Leicestershire and Hertfordshire. Getting together with family has always been harder than it should be. I now have four wonderful children and my sister three and whe
n we all get together it’s magical. Our go to place to get together has always been my parents, their grandparents place, (or Granny and Gramps as we affectionately call them) in a beautiful little village in County Durham. Unfortunately my Poppa, their Gramps, passed away last year following a long battle with illness. This has understandably been a momentous occasion in all of our lives. But out of the darkness of loss, shines the light of hope. It was Gramps’s hope that we could all have somewhere of our own closer to home, where we could all get together for weekends, weeks away or the odd occasional day. Add to this Gramps’s love for the outdoors, fish ‘n’ chips, ice creams and yes of course, the seaside it was a natural choice to find our own special place that combined all of these. My own childhood holidays were spent throughout the UK at various seaside holiday parks and country farms and likewise the same goes for my own children, we all have fond memories and a true love of the British Seaside Holiday staying in a caravan or tent in the fresh outdoors. Having grown up and still living in my home town of Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire it was important to find somewhere within easy reach. I have been bringing all of my children to Mersea Island for many many years and have always longed to have somewhere of my own on the island. We all fell in love with Mersea Island the moment we discovered it. For us, Mersea Island has so much to offer – unspoilt beaches, stunning wildlife, world class arts, picturesque village, laid back lifestyle – and as one of England’s driest sunniest counties provides the weather in which to enjoy them. So, I guess the choice was relatively simple... or was it? Though Mersea Island was our dream destination we realised we had spent several years going to the same places and not actually explored the island to a greater extent. And so our adventure began. With my children spanning the ages of 6 years to 20 years, and all with different commitments at weekends from clubs and events to birthdays and work, it was left mainly to myself and my youngest daughter to do the leg work. Every weekend for months on end we travelled across to Mersea to discover more about the island and visit different holiday parks. Sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with the whole gang in tow. It was important to me to visit Mersea Island in the sunshine, cloudy days, full blown storms and everything in between to make sure my love of Mersea Island wasn’t tainted by sunny days and Sunday’s. One thing we learnt, was that hugging a hot chocolate on a cold and crisp morning at the beach, watching angry waves rise up and crash onto the sand, was just as enticing as licking an ice-cream on a scorching hot summers day watching the yachts sail past. Though I went prepared with list of likes and dislikes and aspirations and expectations to tick off as and when we found them, this all simply went out of the window the day we discovered Waldegraves Holiday Park. To say it was love at first sight would pretty much sum it up. We both looked at each other and I instantly knew we had found our happy. More than that, I also knew that Gramps would have thought the exact same thing. We walked around the park, the lakes, the fields and of course the private beach. It was simply perfect. We approached the reception and were greeted with warm smiles and a lovely island welcome that felt so natural. We were given a guided tour of the park and the facilities and then shown around several plots soon becoming available. Everything was just how I had imagined the perfect park to be, and so much more. Outstanding natural beauty, wide open spaces, secret hedgerow paths leading around the site and direct onto the beach, the fishing lakes and boating lake, golf course, driving range, heated outdoor swimming pool…. the list goes on. As we meandered around we met other owners on the park who were all incredibly friendly and happy. It really was infectious. When we were told most of them had been their for over ten years we realised that Waldegraves truly did offer something special long term. With my youngest running hither and dither with anticipation of what may be around the next corner I continued with my tour when I was suddenly stopped in my tracks with the cry of -
“daddy, you’ve just got to see this”. We turned into Farriers Way and there it was, the perfect plot with my youngest daughter jumping up and down in the middle with excitement. An enormous open space, much bigger than anything else we had looked at. Fully enclosed with a well kept horseshoe hedge the plot was laid to an equally well kept lawn. Close to the beach, close to the lakes, next to the park, direct access to the swimming pool, even a secret twitchel through to the clubhouse and pub, yet completely tucked away for peace and quiet. This was it, this was our plot. Perfect Place, Mersea Island - tick. Perfect Park, Waldegraves- tick. Perfect Plot, Farriers Way - tick. Now, there’s something missing? Oh yes, a Holiday home! Well, we were equally lucky. By the time we had found Waldegraves we had already visited every other park on the island and toured countless holiday homes of all shape, size and layout. We had a good idea of what we wanted and what we didn’t. Call it luck or call it fate, but a new luxury lodge had just come up for sale, only a few months old and ready to view. It was stunning. Bursting with natural light. More spacious than anything we had looked at and packed full of extras and clever technology. It instantly felt like our home from home. Not wanting to get my hopes up too much I enquired about the price and availability and to my delight both came with a big thumbs up. This was it. After such a long journey it all came down to this single moment. This was going to be our “Seahorse”. Obviously we didn’t name it there and then. We toyed with several names but then it just fell into place. Almost too easy. Our dream place by the seaside on our dream plot in Farriers Way. Simple - seaside, sea - farrier, horse shoes, horses, horse. Short, sweet, friendly and tells a story of it’s own. And so came the time for our very own Seahorse adventures to begin. As I write this, we are one season into our adventure and eagerly looking forward to this coming season and what new experiences it brings. As new islanders ourselves (I’m sure there is a name for that, but I’m yet to find out), we have spent last season busy exploring – seeking out the best walks, tastiest fish and chips, local artists, water sports, the cosiest pubs and of course Mersea Island’s world-renowned seafood. We also keep our ear to the ground to share what is going on locally that friends and future guests might otherwise miss. There really is so much happening for such a small island. We’ve met so many new friends and families and islanders who all keep telling me that Mersea Island is a place that once you visit, you never really leave. With everything so perfect, you may ask, why the decision to offer out Seahorse to others? Well, to be honest it wasn’t something we set out to do. But over the last season, so many friends and guests have given us such amazing feedback and have all enquired about holidays at Seahorse we thought it only fitting to test the water and give it a try with extended friends and family. After all, we can’t get over to Seahorse every week of the year and it seems a shame not to invite others to enjoy it when we can’t. Gramps and I had a vision from the start, a happy place where family and friends can come together surrounded by nature to create memories that will last a lifetime. I’m proud of what we have created, and know in my heart Gramps would be too. There you have it, our story so far…
Seahorse Mersea Island, a place to Escape. Explore. Experience. We invite you to join us for the new season and come and see what Seahorse Mersea Island and the surrounding area has to offer, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.
