Swashbuckling at Shipwreck Isle 2016 in Ryde

​I felt a bit of an idiot in my shorts and tshirt on Appley Beach in Ryde. Everyone else was dressed as 17th century pirates so I must have stuck out like a sore thumb. 

It was our first visit to Shipwreck Isle (which was two days in 2016 rather than just one) and most people had really gone to town. I was expecting the plastic eye patches and inflatable parrots you'd get at a New Year's Eve party but these were proper costumes which you felt people regularly wore at home whilst they sat on the sofa and watched Bargain Hunt with a bowl of Frosties.

We sat happily on the beach whilst a band performed what sounded like grunge sea shanties, before trying out various piratey beach games. 

There were coconut shies which appeared to be giving out fruit as prizes (pirates were very aware of the value of five a day) and a buried treasure game which involved sticking a flag in the sand - the pirate equivalent of a needle in a haystack. 

There was also some mock wedding ceremony involving the daughter of some Duke or something, though we were rather fixed on building a straight row of sandcastles at the time so I rather missed the conclusion. Finally we moved onto the decent playground at Appley to try out the multiple slides.

Alas, we didn't win the £100 buried treasure prize but I did have to chase my three year around the playground and drag her back to the car under protest - which is surely the sign that she's had a good day out?