What an uplifting start to the day

The shorter days are romping in now, as they tend to do. However, it remains remarkably mild, which means that the sea temperature hasn't dipped yet. So I'm making sure I get the dog down to the beach as often as possible before the sea is too cold for her little paws.

This week has been particularly lovely, I've managed to catch the sunrise on our morning walk. Every morning it's been utterly stunning, but I didn't have a camera with me. This morning I was prepared.

I have to say I checked the tides before I headed off and it said that tide was coming in, but I'm not sure I've seen it coming in that fast for quite some time. Dog couldn't spend long in the rockpools because the water was flooding in. By the time I got cold feet and decided to head back the rockpool was chest deep on her.

Also yesterday there were lorries dumping shingle on the far beach you can see on the picture. It's all about sea defences. There must have been quite a tide last night, because this morning it had dumped all that shingle a mile along the beach, to my bit of beach. 

Normally on my way back from the rockpools I go up a flight of steps onto the promonade. To get to these steps I am already standing on a ledge that's about 3 feet up from the beach. Then there are 6 precarous steps (precarious because they take full onslaught of the sea and so are very worn and covered in seaweed). Then I get to the main 'proper' steps that take me up the promonade.

So much single had been swept down the beach by the tide that there were just 2 steps showing before the main steps. Essentially about 7 feet of shingle washed downshore.

I can't help but think that somebody is going to be highly irritated by this. What a waste of time effort and money for the other beach.

I shall continue to get down to the beach for as long as I can, but the parking costs when you get to 08:00. So there will be a point reasonably soon where my beach walks are for the weekend only. Quite apart from the fact that soon there will be a chill wind and probably lashing rain. Which somewhat takes the pleasure away. That's what the woodland walks are for.

Still I consider myself hugely lucky to have such a diverse choice of walks with 5 minutes drive from the house, depending what direction I go in. 

- Walk across the South Downs (3 different options).

- Walk through the nature reserve.

- Two woodland walks.

- Seaside walk.

- Walk along the farm track.

- Plus 2 boring old recreation grounds.

I remember back in the days of COVID reveling in how lucky I was with this diversity. But there is no doubting that my absolute favourite walk is along the seafront to the rockpools. Part of the joy of it is that it's dog's favourite walk too. Unusually she'll happily entertain herself whilst I just sit and stare at the horizon.