A few Blissful Days by the Sea.

Spending time by the ocean restores my spirits like nothing else can.

I went to Newquay with two friends – we have holidayed together before many times, so we know it works. This was a special birthday treat for one of us, spent in a very special place.

The video was taken on our balcony and the round room at the end was our sitting room with 360 degree views – it was spectacular.

We walked, we ate delicious meals, we did a mind-scrambling jigsaw together, we danced to 60s and 70s tunes, we read, we watched the surfers and the golfers below, we relaxed, we laughed and breathed in all that ozone.

lunch at Lewinnick

I hope you too can soak up some holiday vibes from the photos – put on a bit of Elvis, the Stones, the Beatles and the Proclaimers and you will be right there with us!

Would you like to live here?

look at the salt water swimming pool

On the walk home: a bench with lichen and rusty bits!

on the beach we found thousands of these magical remains of By-the-Wind-Sailors

a type of jellyfish, but so much more than that

we watched the stormsand drank coffee in the cosy Seaspray Beach Cafe

and every day a rainbow!

it was magic!

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Silent Sunday: Newquay, Cornwall.

 

 

 

 

The First Bluebell

Yesterday I went on a lovely walk with my daughter’s mother-in-law. There really ought to be a name for our relationship. There was a nip in the wind but the sun shone and created the most glorious colours in the sea.

The sun filtered by the clouds gave us purples and blues

shimmering steely glints

and glorious aqua greens.

We walked from Osmington Mills to Ringstead and came across this cottage that under normal circumstances would be buzzing with people. I took the number, because I might like to stay there one day – just a 5 minute walk to the sea.

Walking up through a sheltered wooded valley, we saw our first bluebell in flower. Crumbs! that’s early!

and then this stange plant which turned out to be a Japanese Butterbur or Sweet Coltsfoot.

Next time we go there for a walk, we hope the cafe near the beach will be open and we will stop for a coffee.

Fingers crossed.

 

Silent Sunday Sunny Saunter

so good to see the sea again

Silent Sunday: Castle Cove

Seaton on Sunday

Two Bloggers Go Walkabout

Here comes a RainbowJunkie

It is always exciting meeting someone from a train, but a fellow blogger – that’s very special! I was looking forward to our day and RJ seemed very happy to have arrived at my local station.

We went back to my house for a quick cuppa, and then onto the National Trust Car Park above Ringstead.Glorious!

We walked along the top, enjoying the views out to sea and far inland,  

and then turning downhill towards one of my favourite destinations, St. Catherine’s Chapel, a little wooden gem, which has featured in a couple of previous blog posts. Here, and here.

There is a fine view of the sea from the windows, and always pretty garden flowers to decorate the chapel.

Outside, in the graveyard, there are plenty of benches on which one can sit and enjoy the view

even when the sun goes behind the clouds.

Watercraft was buzzing about while we sat chatting about blogging and crochet, listening to the rhythm of the waves below.

 

 

Neither of us are particularly keen on having our photograph taken but we thought we would have a go at a selfie as part of the record of the day before heading back to the car for a 20 minute drive to Moreton Tea Rooms for lunch.

We sat in the gardens

both choosing the same dish from the menu – very British fare – Ham, Egg and Cheese on muffins

And can you see the beautiful gift RJ gave me! one of her fabulous Celtic pot stands. WOW!!!!! How lucky I am – it is GORGEOUS!!!!

After lunch we explored all that Moreton has to offer.

First a visit to Moreton Church, famous for its wonderful engraved windows by Laurence Whistler.

This church holds a special place in my heart as my son and daughter-in-law were married here, their two boys were christened here and one Christmas with her Dad playing the organ, my lovely daughter-in-law, 6 months pregnant with her first baby, in a pale blue robe, led the choir into the church singing a solo of the first verse of Once in Royal David’s City. It gives me happy goose bumps when I remember that magical occasion.

The floor is beautiful too

I see doodles, mandalas and crochet patterns

We went on for a short walk to the river, where there is a ford, a popular place for paddling on hot summer days. We visited the grave of T.E.Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia as he was called, then into

Moreton Walled Garden (photo taken earlier this summer) for a wander and a cup of tea before returning to the railway station, about a mile and a half away.

It was lovely to spend time with a fellow blogger and get to talk about our many mutual interests. I felt very lucky to be able to show Jane around my patch and on such a lovely day – not too hot and no rain – perfect! I hope you enjoyed coming along with us.

Bluebell time

Last Sunday I met a couple of friends for a bluebell extravaganza of a walk!

The path took us through deep dark woods

Joining Cee’s Which Way Challenge

and lighter glades where the light was stunningly, beautifully, softly, frothily romantic

I took so many photographs, it has taken me all week to choose which ones to share( they certainly won’t all fit in one post).

We stopped at Down House Farm

and sat out in the garden

for a delicious lunch of Bubble and Squeak, eggs and bacon, all local produce and drank apple and ginger fruit punch

after that we headed out to the cliffs and wide open views towards Portland

 

Oh what a joyful day, the sun shone, the air was sweet, the sky was blue, our batteries were well and truly recharged …..

to be continued …………

 

Coastal Cosy: WiP Wednesday

This is so relaxing to make and I’m enjoying making up the colour order as I go.

I started from the top of the picture with sky:

Cloud Blue, Sherbert, Cream, Soft Peach, Sherbert, Cream, Buttermilk, Soft Peach, Silver, Cloud Blue.

Then the sea:

Denim, Petrol, Storm, Denim, Aster, Cloud Blue, Petrol, Aster, Cloud Blue, Sherbert.

Breaking waves in Cream, Sherbert, Cream

onto a sandy beach: Buttermilk, Camel, Buttermilk

and one row of pebbles in Silver.

All in Stylecraft Special DK (acrylic) and a 4.5mm hook.

Pattern: Cosy Stripe by Lucy at Attic24.

I have made this pattern before when I joined in with Lucy’s Crochet Along (Cal) and I’m loving making another.

Graphite rocks will come next and then some grassy cliffs, followed by more sky …………

and so to choose more pink for the sunrise/sunset

Soft Peach is in the first bit of sky. Do I keep it calm and soft and gentle by just adding Pale Rose

Or liven it up with the corals of Pomegranate and Blush

Or go wild and vibrant by adding Fushcia Purple and Pomegranate

Which I think would require a more colourful sea beneath it, so I would add Empire into the blues. That Empire blue is much more vibrant in reality – you can see all the colours on the Wool Warehouse website here. But even there it is difficult to see the true colour. Blush is much more peachy pink than it looks on the website.

Which pinks would you choose? I’d love to know!

As Miss E would say when she was about 2 “cany’elp me?”

Joining today’s Daily Post: Lines

 

Silent Sunday

Joining the Daily Post: Silence

Welsh Wednesday Walk-Along

The drive from St.David’s to Aberaeron is spectacular! On my way I took a little detour to find Mwnt. (this was a few weeks ago) My cousin had recommended this beach (thank you H!) otherwise I would never have ventured the 3 miles off the main road. It was well worth it.

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it does take a bit of finding down narrow high-banked roads

I did not see any dolphins but did see a Red Kite being chased by what looked to me like crows. Blissful to be able to sit, looking out to sea, and crochet, whilst sipping a hot cuppa from the excellent little kiosk, and munching on homemade Welsh cakes. 

The sand is just asking to be drawn on ….

…. a cool waterfall for washing the sand from between your toes as you leave the beach

And thank you so much to Linda for letting me know about this spectacular Sand Artist – watch this!

Where have you been walking? I’d love to see your part of the world, please leave a link to one of your favourite walks so that we can walk along with you.

Dungeness on Tuesday

I’ve wanted to see Derek Jarman’s Garden for at least 15 years and on Tuesday, after a long drive across the bleak, flat marshes we found it more easily than I thought we might.

Although it is not as he made it (he died in 1994), it still has an aura, an atmosphere about it and the current owners have kept much of the basic structure of the garden.

It is not so isolated as I had imagined, and quite a walk from the sea……