The Castle on the Beach ♥

A bright but blustery and blisteringly cold February day led us to Little Island, where we went in search of somewhere new to explore.

I like that we're a family of explorers, always thirsty for adventure and new places to discover.

It warms my heart knowing that our eldest boy, Tyler, is a lover of finding new places to run, jump and search about in too - his love of finding new places makes for the most perfect of photo opportunities for me, making me a very happy camera mama indeed.

Nestled on the beach (or should I use the term 'strand' for craggy, rock dotted shorelines such as this) is Carrigrenan Tower, an abandoned, decaying ruin that is free for anyone to explore.

I don't think this is a castle as such, but Tyler had great fun pretending it was and he even exclaimed when he set eyes on it - "A castle!".

Honestly, the excitement an old, crumbling ruin can give to a child and their imagination is such a precious thing.

The bright blue skies and shining sun made for the most colourful of lens flares - just adding to the magic of our little adventure even more.

I love stumbling across abandoned places such as this. There's so many abandoned, crumbling buildings dotted around the Irish countryside and they make for the most beautiful of photo backdrops too.

I'm going to begin a series on here named 'Abandoned Ireland', to show some of the lovely, charming little abandoned houses and ruins we come across on our travels.