A Walk On The Beach

Living on a teeny tiny island, you’re never really that far from a beach. Of the many beaches on the island I have a couple of favourites; Ettrick Bay, which is a proper holiday sort of beach with a cafe and a park for the kids; and the Wee Bay at Kilchattan, which is a lovely quiet sandy stretch of beach which was just across the road from the flat we stayed in when we came here on holiday when I was eight.

Tara loves the beach too so last month, when the weather was fairly decent, we got into the habit of taking her out to a beach in the morning for her walk. This worked out well for all of us. Tara would have a nice long run about on the sand then collapse in the car, Mr Click would get to play with his radio and I would then go for a wander along the beach with my camera.

I’ve taken a lot of photos on the beaches and until now they’ve just been sitting on my hard drive doing nothing, so I though I’d share them here. These were all taken during two separate trips to the Wee Bay. I’ve mixed them up so some are from one and some the other.

 

There used to be a lot of rubbish on the beaches here, but things have improved recently. It always fascinates me the things that you can find when you’re out walking. That Irn Bru can was just sitting there in the middle of a clear stretch of beach and the Barbie just seemed so incongruous that I had to take a photo; what is she doing, naked, in that animal feed bag? I could quite happily spend all of my walks taking photos of the random junk that you find lying around, but most people probably wouldn’t find those as interesting as I do!

The beach is split in two by a little river that runs down to the sea. There’s a rickety old bridge that you have to cross to get to the other half (which I hate going across because I’m always convinced it’s going to fall down!) and beside this is a field which occasionally has cows in it. On the day that I took the above photo they were really interested in me and a bunch came over to say hello.

 

 

The sand at the Wee Bay is just right for sandcastles. Whenever we go there, there’s usually some sign of kids having been playing in the sand. I’ve got lots of fond memories myself of spending time digging holes (then worrying all night that someone would fall in) or making heaps of sand and decorating them with shells and things. I can’t wait until I can do the same things with my own kids.

The Wee Bay has a shingly strip that runs pretty much its entire length. In some places the sand gives way to the shingle entirely. It’s really not fun to walk on barefoot but does make your feel feel lovely and smooth afterwards. Plus it looks really pretty when you take photos of it.

The beach is intersected by loads of little streams. They never seem to stay in the same places either. Obviously the place where they come out onto the beach doesn’t move, but when the tide comes in the sand changes and so when it goes out again the stream takes a new course. I think there are less of them than there used to be. I used to spend hours as a child carting stones around and making little dams and reservoirs. I loved watching the water build up and then force its way past.

 

I’ve been swimming in this water a couple of times. It’s so shallow and clear (though after a few feet in some places it drops off quite a bit), in the summer it can get really warm too. I could stand for hours just watching the waves crash on the shore; sometimes they’re nice and gentle and at other times they get a bit ferocious so you’ll get soggy toes if you’re too close. They make lovely patterns when the tide goes out too; like something from another planet. It doesn’t half make your eyes go funny if you try looking at them through a camera lens while you’re walking!