We are not going into the water unless ....

you come in with us.

The magic Sponge

Probably the oldest treatment for minor sports injuries was cold water,

 liberally applied to the injury site by the trainer on his  "magic sponge".

Yesterday the heavens opened

as our latest Atlantic storm, "Deirdrie" arrived.

It made me wish I would be spending Christmas "Down Under",
on the Beach at Surfers' Paradise.Queensland.

 

A beautiful Autumn day.

This is Newquay on the North Cornwall coast, about 50 miles from Plymouth.

For many of us who live in Devon and Cornwall this is the best time of the year.

The vast majority of the visitors have left the area and we have the region to ourselves.

You can see just how uncrowded the beaches are at this time of year.

Unfortunately this spell of Indian Summer is not scheduled to last.

This picture was taken on Wednesday10th October,

 but take a look at the forecast for today, Friday 12th October.

Saucy seaside postcards by Donald Magill.

I came across these wonderful chairs outside a rather down at heel shop in Newquay, which sold everything you could possibly need for a day at the beach.

They commemorate the work of Donald Magill, which epitomised the spirit of the British seaside holiday in the inter war years.

The introduction to Magill's Wikipedia entry explains the nature of his work.

"Donald Fraser Gould McGill (28 January 1875 – 13 October 1962) was an English graphic artist whose name has become synonymous with the genre of saucy seaside postcards that were sold mostly in small shops in British coastal towns. The cards feature an array of attractive young women, fat old ladies, drunken middle aged men, honeymoon couples and vicars.^[1] He has been called 'the king of the saucy postcard', and his work is collected and appreciated for his artistic skill, its power of social observation and earthy sense of humour. Even at the height of his fame he only earned three guineas a design,^[2] but today his original artwork can fetch thousands of pounds.

Timeless

There are still some family activities that don't require a high speed broadband connection.

Low tide at Constantine Beach

Monday, of this week, was a beautiful day to enjoy a stroll on the beach, at low tide.

By late afternoon the clouds rolled in and it has rained, almost non stop, ever since.

The season is over.

The holidaymakers have gone home.

Constantine Beach, on the beautiful North Cornish coast, is left to the dog walkers and surfers..

Rockpooling

The weather so far this summer has been very disappointing indeed,

but some pastimes never lose their appeal for small children, no matter what the weather.

 

Barefoot on the beach.

Ouch!

The beach in question is the aptly named PEBBLESIDE BEACH, 

 on the Plymouth Sound Waterfront at West Hoe.

 

The view from the window.

Set off from this North Cornish beach (Constantine) and travel due East across the Atlantic,

and the first dry land you will encounter will be a beach in Newfoundland.

This is the view, at low tide, from this house , but it is only a few metres from the high tide mark.

The "lady of the house" maintains a ceaseless vigil for those in peril on the sea.

A stranger on the shore

Yesterday was a stormy day on the beach at Constatine, on the north coast of Cornwall, 

about fifty miles due north of Plymouth.

As far as I could see, this minuscule figure and me, were the only people in this entire landscape. 

 Plus of course his/her dog.

The last chance?

This couple were grabbing what could probably be the last chance this year,

 to stretch out on the sand and sunbathe.

Summer is late in getting started this year.

A few days ago I visited the Atlantic Coast of North Cornwall, 50 miles from Plymouth,

where the lifeguards out numbered the swimmers on Constantine Beach,

while next door, at Booby's Bay, this lifeguard maintained his lonely vigil.

One small step for (a) man .......

..... one giant leap for mankind.

 After testing the sand at Constantine Beach

the intrepid explorers set out into the unknown.