Sea comment, discussion, information and opinion

Feeling that I needed a change from the gorse and heather, I decided to pay a visit to an old favourite walking place of mine called Blue Anchor in the West Country county of Somerset, UK, which has a long promenade besides a long (slightly muddy) beach and great views over to Wales.

Sometimes, I wonder how much I actually notice the world around me as I sit in my camper van and type my articles and stories into my laptop. But, one thing is sure, it feels completely different to be sitting beside the sea and writing compared with sitting on top of some high moorland hill and seeking the muse.

As I look across the long beach, the seagulls are wheeling above, dogs are splashing in the water and waves are colliding in all their myriad forms onto the shore. When I take a few steps outside my camper van and mobile office, I immediately scent the salt in the air and feel the stiff breeze on my face that always seems to be part of being by the sea. There is the smell of seaweed and sea shells are scattered about and even some sunshine to complete the picture.

Parking is easy here too and it doesn't cost anything. For railway enthusiasts, there is an old steam train line that runs nearby and stops to drop down and pick up passengers at the Blue Anchor railway station. This is a genuine steam train line, with full-size engines and traditional carriages to complete the picture. It runs from Minehead almost as far as Taunton making it a great railway for seeing a lot of the local countryside in West Somerset.

If you are a caravan or motor home buff and are looking for somewhere to spend the night, a caravan park runs alongside most of the promenade. In the evenings, when the tide comes in, the Promenade is populated heavily by people fishing. I don't know what they catch but I do sometimes see them digging for lug worms in the sand. At the other end of the promenade to the railway station, there is a pub which, once a month, there is currently a folk music session. In the middle, behind the promenade, there is a restaurant with a good reputation called the Smugglers.

And, for today, there is a strange looking man sitting in a camper van with his laptop, typing away.

But look ... the man in a camper van is no longer there ... he's gone for a walk by the sea!

Bye for now

Rob

(Rob Hopcott - online author and sea dog)

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