Portobello beach vibe was just wonderful – Hayley Matthews

My legs are a bit sore from the weekend but I can’t complain because I had such a great time ­walking along ­Portobello promenade with baby Oryn as we watched the buskers setting up for The Big Busk, writes Hayley Matthews.

Portobello Promenade was jam-packed with talent for the Big Beach Busk. Picture: Scott Louden

I joined the Daisy Foundation Buggy Walk which was held just before all the action started. The weather held off and it all went really well.

The walk was organised by Kathryn Lawrence who this year was raising money for Make 2nds Count, a charity dedicated to women and men living with secondary breast cancer. They aim to do so by raising funds to support research into secondary breast ­cancer, helping to extend and improve quality of life whilst battling against this currently treatable yet incurable disease.

I was delighted to head along with all the other parents and to be honest, it didn’t even feel like a walk as we all chatted whilst some of the babies snoozed.

I don’t get interesting adult ­conversation too often and it’s ­something that I crave. Interesting chat is getting increasingly hard to find in amongst the Love Island and Coronation Street drivel of a morning. It was also a great chance to take the buggy out for a brisk walk as Oryn and I have been reviewing Phil and Ted’s dash buggy for my blog.

It’s been getting well used over the summer in the city and we’ve had it out on all terrains. We’ve been testing it on country walks, the cobbled pavements of Edinburgh and now we can add sand to the list too.

Oryn seems comfortable and happy but I have to admit that a few parents have been swooning over our nice wheels and I’d now rather have a cool buggy than a swanky car! I’d still like to be driving a big fancy car but if that’s not going to be possible then I’ll have a swish buggy to jog up and down the promenade with any day. I had promised that we would refrain from eating in the buggy but you can’t turn up to a bake sale with a chocolate-loving ten-month old and not let him have a tiny bit of brownie.

In true unorganised style, I turned up with no cakes – but to the rescue came Harris and Kenny. They saved me by bringing down some wonderful muffins. Now, given that Kenny had an hour’s notice, they weren’t home baked muffins but they were from a bakery. Anyway, I’m sure nobody would be able to tell. Kathryn and her family had made homemade lemonade which was going down a treat and her helpers were helping shift a few gallons of the best juice in town.

It was such a lovely day and the Big Busk atmosphere was great to soak up. Portobello was absolutely jam-packed, with so much talent scattered along the beach giving off a wonderful vibe on the day!

It was also lovely to chat all things babies, kids and parenting. It really is one of the hardest jobs I have ever done, so even just spending some time with women and men who are in a similar situation – and I’m talking sleep-deprived, not showered in three days, skint and winging it – makes you feel like you’re not alone.

So a huge thank you to Kathryn who organised the walk and who runs the Daisy Baby Foundation in Edinburgh. She really is incredibly kind and generous with her time and her nurturing. what she does for her mothers, babies and charity is just wonderful to see.