We went to Sauble Beach, which was about an hour and a half drive from Thornbury for the day. It was recommended to us as a lovely beach and a good place to swim.
It really was a great beach. We took a picnic, including some of my aunts homemade meat pies based on my grandmas recipe - they are amazing! The weather was great, and the water was unbelievable; possibly the nicest water I have ever swam in. It was crystal clear, and you could get so far out before you couldn't stand. It was lake water as well, so not salty, and it wasn't cold. It was fabulous. We also took a game called 'Smite' with us - great game. It's a bit like 10 pin bowling, but outdoors with a different points system. You have to knock down pieces of wood and get a score depending on which you knock over, and you'e aiming to get exactly 50 points; no more and no less. I definitely recommend the game - it's simple to grasp and good for families or groups of any size and any age.
We sunbathed, ate, swam, played smite and had a generally great beach day.
We went back to Thornbury for dinner, and had dinner in a restaurant next to the marina. There was about 20 of us (or more) having dinner because more people had arrived from England and other parts of Canada in preparation for the wedding. It was great to see everyone who had only just arrived and we had a nice evening.
Later that evening (around 11pm) the last of the English arrived; my cousin and her boyfriend had flown in from Alabama. It was great to see them since it had been ages since I last had, and they were staying in the house with us.
The next day we had a surprisingly busy day. We were told that jumping off the pier in Thornbury harbour was some a must-do before we left, and so naturally we all met in the morning to do that. We loved it, and probably jumped in 10-15 times, before swimming back to shore. I love the water for swimming in Thornbury. We were told we were lucky to still be able to in September, although I'm sure even if it wasn't as warm, us Brits would still consider it warm compared to what we are used to! But even the Canadians were impressed by how warm the water was.
We went to a wine tasting for lunch which was fun. We got to try 4 different wines each, and we ordered some cheese boards, and then we had a tour of the winery.
We had to be back in time to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Obviously, those of us not actually in the wedding didn't attend the rehearsal, but we all met for dinner in the evening at one house (aunt and uncle of the bride) for another delicious meal! (The soup was a definite highlight D&T if you're reading!) The whole evening was lovely, and more people had arrived that we hadn't seen yet which was great.
It wasn't a particularly late one, since everyone needed to be ready for the big day...