A Secluded Cove

I had to go to a town on the coast some distance away, so I got up early and got my business done quickly. By mid-morning I was on the beach and heading away from the town under the cliffs. I'd timed this visit so I'd be doing this a couple of hours after high tide. The waves come right up to the cliffs in places so I could only do it when the tide was going out. It was slow going over the rocky shore but soon I saw what I was looking for. A stream was running out of an inlet in the rocks. This leads back to a narrow valley running up a cleavage in the cliffs.

A little way in it broadens out and the steep slopes on the sides are covered in trees and the floor at the moment is a thick bed of snowdrops. It's only possible to get here from the beach, and then only when the tide is out, so I couldn't stay long. But I felt privileged to be there and gave my thanks to the spirits of the place and the nymph of the stream. Further up the valley narrows even more and no human can easily get there. In the distance, up there somewhere, I could hear a woodpecker hammering away. I listened for a bit, then walked back down to the beach.The waves were crashing in onto the rocks but still far enough away for me to get safely back.

I still had time to take a closer look at the rocks which must be compressed mud because you can see the fossilised impressions of pre-historic worm shapes twisted into the surface of them. This is all I need for a history and a geography lesson. All the knowledge that matters.

A good day out.