For a few days I have swapped my normal staid, land-locked location for the liminal, changeful one of the coast. It's a bit of a nostalgic journey - I came here for holidays when I was small and some of my happiest childhood summer memories are tied up here. The British coast is both uncompromising and incredibly accommodating. The sea is seriously cold - I cannot believe I ever regularly swam as a child in these chilly waters, but I did - every year, without fail! And you have to be careful even if just paddling, as the undertow is fierce, even quite close to the shore and not to be messed with.
But the shore is as engaging and welcoming to me in my forties as ever it was when I was four or five and the same things that delighted me then, still do.
There is something rather wonderful and timeless in that. Staying in a three-hundred year-old thatched cottage emphasises the timelessness - even the beams in the rather low ceilings are made out of wood rescued from long ago wrecks off the coast.
Apologies in advance for the humble nature of these snaps. My son has taken far better ones at every turn (just for a change!) but for me they encapsulate a lot of what is still timeless and delightful and simple in an ever-complicating, ever-complicated world. I feel a real need to reconnect with some of that.
A couple of examples of H's rather better efforts (with his permission but only just without having to make payment - no one more open to commercial opportunity than teenagers!)
I like these pictures very much; the grey water makes me think of "The Sea, The Sea" by Iris Murdoch. I also like that you showed a pebbly beach in all it's beauty, rather than miles of sand. I love the way the tiny stones glitter when the sea has washed them.
ReplyDeleteHow I long for the sea just now. The proper sea, as pictured here - love that last shot - and not the thick, silty stuff that splashes onto our nearest beach, Prestatyn.
ReplyDeleteWonderful shingle beach - is it wrong to prefer them to sand? Devon? Suffolk? Where are/were you?
Beautiful photos! Enjoy your time--I would love to see what a 300 year old cottage looks like -- we certainly have nothing like that around here.
ReplyDeleteLove the sea (bit scared of it though) and it is STILL fantastically cold even in the height of summer. Of course I use the term 'height of summer' very loosely here (or lack of therein). Nice snaps of rolling water there. Where is this?
ReplyDeleteI love the top photographs - they really show how scary and cold it can be. I used to spend six weeks of each summer by the sea in Ireland and I too used to swim in it all day everyday, even when it rained. Now all I do I'm afraid is paddle - I let my husband and in-laws get in the water with the kids to supervise them. I think the sea is best appreciated from behind a good book or with some crochet/knitting in your lap!
ReplyDeleteLove the photos. Love simplicity :-)
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