Northumberland :: part II

Ahhhh you know what?? I Very Ever-so-much Hugely Enormously DO Like to Be Beside the Seaside!!!!!! And today's post is all about just that....welcome to my Northumberland Tales part II :: in which we Explore All Things Beachy and Seasidey.

This is a tale of three Northumberland beaches and three essential holiday activities :: rock pooling, beach combing and sand/sea fun.

 

Just a short stroll from Driftwood, through the wooden gate, the grassy field gently slopes down to the right and gives way to a rocky, pebbly beach. It was a lot of fun for the likes of us, with our eager, inquisitive Little People. Most days you would find us here at low tide, stepping and jumping from rock to rock exploring the rock pools. 

The usual suspects were to be found there of course :: limpets and barnacles, sea slaters and shrimps, fish and anemones. But these little sea creatures, as fascinating as they are, did not quite cut the mustard this year with the Little People. No, it seemed they wanted more exciting specimens to wow over and they searched high and low to find them. It became a Daily Quest. And I am happy (relieved) to tell you, they were not disappointed.

 

First up for discovery were a couple of rather large crabs, they were as big as your hand and quite something in the eyes of the Little People.

Much excitement.

 

A few days later and this amazing starfish was discovered sitting beautifully in a clear pool, waving it's thirteen amazing legs gently in the water....and oh! The Excitement Factor was pretty damn large here, let me tell you. A real, live, genuine star fish, just imagine that!!! Can you really believe it?? I certainly have never seen anything like it before and was just as excited, it really was awesome. And beautiful, very beautiful.

We all LOVED that particular rock pool event.

 

And then the following day, what next but a Jellyfish...oh oh oh, a Jellyfish, yes a real, live, genuine jellyfish!!!! The Excitement Factor was pretty much off the scale for this one. It made the small crabs and one solitary shrimp of last years' rock pooling escapades seem so insignificant in comparison. There followed much debate as to what to do with the jellyfish, which looked very out of place in it's little rock pool. Another family came to see, and it was jointly decided by the Little People of both families that Mr Jelly should be scooped up into a red bucket and released out into the sea.

We all rejoiced as the jellyfish was saved, such thrills and spills to be found down on the rocks don't you know.

 

I do really enjoy a good pootle around the rock pools, but I am also a very accomplished Sitter. I like very much to select me a warm, flat rock and sit myself down with legs outstretched to relax and just Be-by-the-sea.

Sitting. Breathing. Taking it all in.

The Little People however will not, under any circumstances, be persuaded to Sit down on the beach. Not ever. They are perfect examples of Perpetual Motion. Here on the rocky pebbly beach, they choose to Throw. Pebbles get slung and hurled towards the sea, bouncing and ricocheting and splitting off the rocks. An elaborate scoring system is set in place, with points being awarded for the number of times a pebble bounces, and an overall score given for distnace achieved. J is the Judge.

I continue to Sit. And breathe. And take it all in.

 

Another day and another beach :: this large, open, fabulous beach is at Boulmer, and you may remember me mentioning it to you when we discovered it last year. It always seems so empty and windswept and fabulousy wild when we choose to visit. Plus, its the bestest beach for beach combing that I think I've ever come across.

And  Beach Combing is my number one favourite seaside activity, I love it even more than Rock Pooling and Sitting.

Little Man is a huge asset on any beachcombing expedition, he is fabulously enthusiastic, and very very keen to out do me on the treasure-finding front. He gets right down on his knees to be as close to the beach as possible (can you spot him in the above photo?) and he does indeed find some wonderful treasures.

Shells and seaglass and sea-washed pottery :: I never, ever tire of finding and collecting these treasures.

We found a good selection of seaglass this year, including some very prized unusually coloured bits. I found the deep blue piece and the amazing reddy-orange piece too. Little Man discovered the patterned yellow piece there, and oh bless him, such an excited ta-dah moment when he proudly presented it to me. Heart-melty stuff.

Northumberland is the only place I've ever discovered sea-washed pottery, and I absolutely love, love, love it. Possibly more than seaglass, although crikey, that's a hard decision to make. These pieces were found on three different beaches and I find them so captivating, so sort of heart-warming and comforting somehow. I love to think of the journey these little fragements have been on :: that they were once a treasured part of someones home before being discarded and abandoned to the elements, smoothed and washed and tumbled by the sea for goodness knows how long, and now finally back into a home to be loved again. Sounds quite romantic, doesn't it?

I'm not sure quite what to do with them yet, but I'd like to make something mosaicy out of them I think....ooooo another project in the piepline to give me the Excitable Heebie-jeebies!

That's Dunstanburgh Castle you can see on the horizon, it's about a mile and a half walk from where we stayed in Craster. On this day last week (cor, was it only last week????) we were not sure quite what the weather was going to do as it was warm but windy, with a lot of very fast scudding clouds. But we decided to set off to walk the familiar walk to the ruins in the mid morning, carrying a packed lunch, a flask of tea, a blanket, swimming costumes and a towel, and hoping it would stay dry for us.

The ruined castle is in a magnificent position and the views up and down the coast in each direction are stunning. In previous years when the Little People have still had quite Little Legs, we have walked to this castle to rest and recuperate before turning around and heading back to Craster again. But this year, with Little Legs seeming a little Longer and Stronger, we decided to carry on walking past the castle to follow the footpath to the sweep of Embleton Bay :: you can see it in the above picture, curling round in the distance.

And as we got nearer to the bay, the sky began to look very good indeed. Clouds were still scudding and the wind was still blowing, but more and more blue was appearing and the sun felt warm and inviting.

This is a most glorious, unspoilt beach :: vast and sandy and backed by sand dunes and grasses.

The view back across the sands to the ruins of the castle was beautiful....

....as was the beach itself. So summery looking! The sky so blue! The clouds so perfectly white and fluffy! It had really turned into the most perfect summers day for whiling away a few hours doing sea and sandy things.

We set out our blanket at the foot of the grassy dunes and ate a simple packed lunch in the midday sun. Then while us Oldies drank our tea and nibbled chocolate biscuits, the Littlies busied themselves racing up and down to the waters edge for some excited screeching and paddling.

There was also lots of sand activity to be carried out :: in the absence of buckets and spades, they improvised and used their hands.

Tunnels were dug, hands and feet were buried.

And all the while I was able to Sit. And Breathe. And take it all in.

It was, quite simply, a perfect seasidey day. Lodged in my memory to be savoured and treasured.

So............................there you have it.....lovely as ever to have you with me today as I strolled about the beautiful beaches and riveting rockpools of the north eastern coast, you've been great company.

See you tomorrow for Part III, in which we Visit Historical Buildings and Magnificent Gardens.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Comments

[Erica K]

I've never been able to find any sea glass...and certainly not pottery! *sigh* Such a wonderful place you live in to be able to go to the beach and visit a castle at the same time! Your grass most definitely seems greener than mine...

[Carol]

Such lovely photos and such wonderful descriptions of one of England's most beautiful counties.
Thank you for sharing your holiday memories with us.

[Sunitha]

Wonderful pictures and your writing helps one to virtually experience the sea. Thank you!

[Bree]

A nice thing to do with your 'beech tresores' is to use a hot glue gun to stick them to a plant pot, or fill a hurricane lamp with them and sit a big pillar candle on top.

[Liz M]

We spent a lovely Spring Bank Holiday Monday on the beach in Northumerland - it was glorious, sun, wind for kites and the palest soft sand to dig :-)
This summer we found buckets full of sea glass (and pottery!) on Polperro beach - perhaps not as pretty as the North East but very fruitful!

[Helen from Boston]

Such lovely photos. I would love to visit your beaches some day. I live on the eastern coast of the US and never tire of the beautiful beaches of New England. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us, Lucy!

[Chez Tine]

grâce à toi je fais une balade iodée les pieds dans l'eau ... un vrai bol d'air moi qui n'ai pas eu de vacances
merci, Tine

[cathleen]

Speechless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Beth in Washington, USA]

I must say your pictures are beautiful and your narritive keeps me coming back for more! I am truly envious and can't wait for part 3 :-)
Thank you for sharing your wonderful adventures!

[Molly]

Lovely beach glass. It has gotten very hard to find on beaches in the US.
Tidepools are one of my favorite things thank you for sharing.

[Vicki]

I just can't say enough about your photos...so lovely! The rockpools! Oh my, would've brought such joy to my granddaughter...she loves looking along the coastline and inland bays (way down in Florida), for sea creatures...was delighted when she spotted starfish this past spring! I can just hear your children's excitement...what a thrill! The starfish and jellyfish are quite the wonder aren't they???

[blueadt]

We love Embleton Bay as well & I've got some pics of my dogs playing there taken a few weeks ago on my blog. We've been going there for the past 5 years & it's the most wonderful stretch of golden sands I've ever found....

[Sylvia]

Lucy, simply wonderful!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the pictures.....Sylvia.

[Jen]

Looks heavenly. Reminds me of Cape Cod inlets where my kids used to find all sorts of critters when they were small.

[periwinkle]

Aren't the beaches up there just amazing -- we went to Alnwick gardens and Amble just a couple of days ago

[citronyella]

I've combed on all coasts in the US and never ever found sea glass, one more reason I must visit your country one day. I definitely am feeling some mosaic-y creativity with those lovely bits of pottery and glass. A few years back Kaffe Fassett was busy with mosaics as well, and did a book on it. His books are always full of gorgeous pics for inspiration, if you need any more than the lovely bits themselves. Glad you are back, though. I missed your blog! How's it going with the needlepoint?

[Anna]

Beautiful photos of beautiful beaches - I was a student in Newcastle many moons ago and fell in love with the glorious Northumberland coastline. Long may it stay unspoilt :)

[josiekitten]

What beautiful pictures. I don't know this part of the country at all, but I must take a look. Thank you. I made your cranberry and pecan tiffin today - delish! And I'm hooking away on my Attic24 bag too!

[Anna]

Now I can't wait for tomorrows story, love it!

Anna x

[BeBe]

What lovely pictures you take Lucy!!! I am so glad you had such a wonderful time, once again you have brightened my day in the dreary police station. Thanks! Enjoy the "back to school" BeBe in Florida

[Sue]

I am loving your tales of Northumberland - it is indeed a magical place. Your photos are fabulous. Thanks for sharing your lovely stories :-)

[Lorraine]

Just beautiful and the sealife is amazing. What a fantastic holiday!

[Pomona]

Those beaches look so beautiful and so empty - quite amazing! I think I must head north for the summer next year!

Pomona x

[angela]

Thank you for the pics....they take me back a long time...my secret love NOrthumberland....
Love
Angela

[Zyle]

It looks so gorgeous! Ohh I so want to go to the seaside now!