There is another lovely beach near Melbourne, called Mount Martha, that I have fond memories of. We used to weekend there as children and I recall early morning swims with my grandfather before taking fresh baked bread home to the rest of the family for breakfast.

Mount Martha beach is one of several Melbourne beaches that still has the traditional bathing boxes sitting above the high tide mark. These relics of the 19th century are very handy for storing all manner of beach equipment.
On Monday we spent the afternoon with friends who holiday at Mount Martha. It was a perfect, hot summer's day - a day to remember.

Our host rowed his little wooden boat up the beach to collect the fish and chips for the children. They ate dinner under umbrellas as the afternoon sea breeze picked up and the sun descended.

Will, who used to row at school and university, loves any chance to pick up an oar. He took the boys for a little row around the bay after dinner. All in all, it was the perfect beach day.