A few weeks ago we decided that on this particular Monday we would drive the fifty or so miles to the west coast to spend some hours seeking out the shoreline. J knows how much I love being by the sea and that a day spent pootling around on the beach would be guaranteed to make me happy.
Being a Monday morning it was very quiet indeed, and the usually bustling promenade was pretty much deserted. Oh, I forgot to say, in case you didn't recognise the photos, this is Lytham St Annes on the Lancashire coast. We've been here many times before, and it was the place that inspired my Dune blanket.
There you go - away from the promenade and to the north of the pier area, the huuuuuge sandy beach is backed by miles of sand dunes.
The openness of this coastal land/seascape is very captivating, even though I definitely prefer cliffs to dunes. I also really happen to like pebbly beaches, and beaches with rock pools to explore at low tide. I like harbours too (love them actually), and cute little harbourside cottages. St Annes has none of these things, but what it does have is space. Loads and loads and loads of space, and on a quiet, sunny Monday in October it was an incredibly relaxing place to be.
By the time we were walking in the dunes it was lunch time (the morning had been spent strolling along the promenade and stopping for a morning coffee in the park). We hadn't taken a picnic lunch with us, but after a quick call into the local supermarket we had the makings of a really super al fresco lunch. This is one of my favourite types of meals to eat and I crave it often. Salty crackers, Spanish salami, impossibly thin slices of Iberico cheese, herby Italian ham. Sweet cherry tomatoes, grapes and crispy apples, thickly cut salt and vinegar crisps. Salted Caramel dark chocolate to finish off.
Oh my. So so so good.
We spread out a picnic blanket in a sheltered spot in the dunes above the beach, and settled down for a while to eat and enjoy the warmth of the sun.
I found a tiny, perfect stripy snail shell in the sand, isn't nature just amazingly mind blowing at times? I have a particular love of shells of all forms (land and sea), in fact it's probably right up there with my moss obsession.
You can see in the above photo that the sea is a long way away, in fact you'd be hard pushed to actually see any of it from the dunes but you could certainly hear the waves. It was around 1 o'clock and we knew the tide was on it's way in and that high tide was sometime after three. So we decided to take advantage of the tranquil location and indulge in a bit of total relaxation while we waited for the water to come a bit closer. We lay down on our picnic rug, and with the sounds of the distant waves and the breeze blowing through the grasses we both had a little afternoon sunshine snooze! It was unintentional - we both kind of dozed off at around the same time and it felt absolutely amazing to be so totally relaxed and in the moment.
Eventually we were ready to pack up and walk down to the sea....
....over the wet sands....
....stopping every so often to collect little bits of beach treasure.
We saw some kitesurfers having fun in the shallow waters, and I couldn't wait to reach the waves. It took about 15 minutes to walk from the dunes to the sea....
....and as you can see the waves were very small and dainty because the sea is very shallow as it moves across the sands here.
The tide on this coast is famous for the speed at which it moves, and you can honestly see the sand disappearing by the second as the water rushes in. It's mesmerising to watch and I could have stood there for ages but sadly it was time for us to head back.
These little day trips on a school day are short and sweet, I think we spent about four hours in total by the sea today and I absolutely loved it. It was such a relaxing way to spend some time, and I'm hoping that we can do it again soon. Sea air is so good for the soul.
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Hello Dear Lucy, I totally get your sea addiction. I went to Cornwall mid Sept and did lots of costal walking the scenery was stunning.
Posted by: Claire Hayden | October 13, 2021 at 05:04 PM
Such a lovely thing to do on a Monday! xx
Posted by: Winwick Mum | October 13, 2021 at 11:47 AM
Ah bliss!
I’ve never been there, must put it on the list for when we are travelling ooop north!
Posted by: Rachell | October 13, 2021 at 08:22 AM
Missed one of your posts yesterday...belated Birthday Wishes from Tasmania! Mine is today...I did get taken out for lunch with my daughter to a Honey Farm, everything was delicious. The farm is further along the NW coast of Tasmania and beautifully remote area. Although I live here was actually born in London came to aust. With mum and dad at 18. England will always be home, and my fondness for Yorkshire goes way back after visiting first time and James Herriot books and films. So I love your blog watching the countryside and all your photos. My dear mum was still doing crochet up until her 100th year, I use to share your smaller patterns for her to use.
She passed last year and I just wanted you know your blog was well received by her. We both thought you are very talented. Carole.
Posted by: Carole Rievaulx | October 12, 2021 at 09:25 PM
It looks lovely.
Posted by: Deb | October 12, 2021 at 02:19 PM
You really do have a super range of different countryside to explore near where you live (!) Who could resist that perfect little snail shell? I have a large collection of shells and stones, reminding me of special days, places and people.
Posted by: Charlotte Pountney | October 12, 2021 at 12:16 PM
Looks like you had a lovely relaxing day. Fabulous!
Posted by: Lindsay | October 12, 2021 at 11:08 AM
What a lovely day out, and a very atmospheric spot. Some of the coastline around here is similar, miles and miles of space and fast-moving tides. It looks like a very restful and relaxing place to be. CJ xx
Posted by: CJ | October 12, 2021 at 10:01 AM
Oh I long to see the sea, we really must make the effort before the year is out.
What beautiful photos and 15 minutes to the sea wow
That picnic made my mouth water
Thank you lovely blog
Posted by: Jacqui | October 12, 2021 at 09:53 AM
It was a lovely day here yesterday - I'm so glad you came over and enjoyed it 😀
It made me smile when you said how long it took to walk to the water - in all the time I've lived here I have never seen the tide in at St Anne's, so the trek to the tideline was no surprise! It's a lovely stretch of beach though, and the dunes are ideal for a picnic with a view.
There are sort-of-rock pools at the Blackpool end though, because there are big concrete hexagons built on to the sea wall at Starr Gate, and Lancashire Wildlife Trust (who look after the dunes) do rock-pooling sessions there during the summer holidays.
Posted by: Jools Morgan-Jones | October 12, 2021 at 06:05 AM
Hi Lucy Always love your photos and blog...they take me away to another place, and that is relaxing in itself for me. My Yuletide yarns are on their way and I am so excited about it! I have my postman trained so that if there is a parcel from Wool Warehouse from the UK, he delivers to my door instead of just leaving a key for the parcel box. LOL Today is Thanksgiving here in Canada, and usually a turkey meal event, but neither of us care for turkey, so it was BBQ steaks for us. But it's nice to reflect on the things to be thankful for, and you m'dear are one of them. Hugs, MO
Posted by: Marylin Ollivier | October 12, 2021 at 04:14 AM
Sounds like a blissful day!
Posted by: Corinna Mazzotta | October 11, 2021 at 10:35 PM
Thank you for sharing! I always love your beautiful snaps!
Posted by: VickiB | October 11, 2021 at 10:25 PM
Ah you probably walked past me and I didn’t even know! I had a splendid coffee at the #nofilter coffee house on the high street this morning, sat in the sunshine feeling happy to be alive. Our high tides are very few and far between (can you believe they’ve just agreed to spend millions on sea defences here??) but it makes it very special when the tide does come in! We actually had a high tide on Friday and Saturday, we walked down specially to see the sea right up to the beach huts! I’m glad you had a lovely day here and got to have a perfectly relaxing day xx
Posted by: Karen Dodgson | October 11, 2021 at 10:22 PM
What a perfect way to spend the day :)
I'm lucky to live by the sea here in Kerry and days like today are beautiful, although I have to say I also love stormy days!
My perfect seaside retreat would have to be Bexhill in Sussex, it's so English :)
Posted by: Dawn | October 11, 2021 at 10:01 PM
Looks lovely, the lunch very abundant. Good to see the sea again, living inland with forest is nice but one has to see the sea every now and then eh?
Posted by: Tineke | October 11, 2021 at 09:43 PM
We were there on Saturday only it was a mizzly sort of day but still so good. We were visiting our youngest son and his family for the weekend and had aslendiferous time especially since it included the sea 😊 Loving your blog, thank you x
Posted by: Jaconline | October 11, 2021 at 09:26 PM
A lovely way to spend a day, thanks for sharing it
Posted by: Geeha | October 11, 2021 at 09:13 PM
Beautiful!
Posted by: Christine Whiting | October 11, 2021 at 09:12 PM
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
Posted by: Corinne | October 11, 2021 at 09:03 PM