Author Archives: manonabeach

About manonabeach

On a beach…welcome to manonabeach.com, where I’ll regularly add video of my beach visits, so you can enjoy a flavour of the beach, even when you’re not there.

Port Gaverne beach

Season: winter

Winter storms had cast their spell over Port Gaverne. Extensive damage to the sheds behind the beach was being surveyed and repaired. As the clean-up work continued, harbour master Richard Cook shared his passion for Port Gaverne and the beach’s role in his life.

What the beach and Port Gaverne mean to Richard.

The calm after the storm.

Season: autumn

Black and grey clouds blended into the horizon at Port Gaverne for this autumn visit. As the tide raced in across the narrow inlet, stark rocks on each side were thrown into relief. Looking back from the rocks at sea level as the tide passes inwards, you feel an intimacy with the interaction of the elements, the air, land and sea in unison.

The permanence of the coast and the beach in Judith’s mind’s eye.

Looking down the beach as the tide rushes in.

Looking back at the incoming tide from the rocks at sea level.

Season: summer

On a tide starting to fall away, the inlet at Port Gaverne was largely under water, the difference between this visit and my last one bearing witness to the twenty feet plus range of tides in Cornwall. A warm evening sun lit the sea and the beach. This village is just next to Port Isaac, but it has few visitors and little commercial activity. For resonance, it sits somewhere between the busy Port Isaac and the tranquility of Port Quin, a happy mixture.

With Ken on the beach, back from fishing in the early evening and remembering times long gone, as well as good times nowadays with his friends, including Richard, below:

…as straightforward as that.

The evening sun over a calm sea at Port Gaverne.

Season: winter

The third part of the manonabeach “Port…” trilogy, this visit to Port Gaverne allowed me to get down to the caves, nooks and crannies of the cove at low tide. There’s a great pub in the village, which itself sits just down the hill from popular Port Isaac. There was a wistful air to Mark, remembering happy childhood times on the beach. Nicola Williams sent an interesting comment, relating to this beach:

It was chiseled out, this is Teigue’s pit,(SP?, pronounced Tag) one man’s life, taking slate from the cliff face for use as local building material. Now a bathing & jumping spot for the more adventurous. As you can see, below is just sand, it’s long been a spot that the brave jump from at high tide from the grassy headland above!

with reference to the “chiseled out” part of the cliff that I mention in my blustery scene-setting film at the bottom of the page.

Memories of times gone by…

The beach and the sea, alive at Port Gaverne in January.

Claigan Coral beach

Season: spring

The walk out to Coral Beach from the car park north of Dunvegan is a pleasure in itself, hugging the coastline and undulating gently. However, the prize at the end of the ramble is magnificent, a beach of calcified seaweed strand set in an azure blue sea. The scenery in every direction is breathtaking, stretching as far west as the hills of Harris. It’s well worth climbing the hill next to the beach to further enhance the panorama.

The beach as part of the community.

A breathtaking panorama, as seen from above Coral Beach.

Season: summer

In any weather, Claigan Coral Beach makes a case for inclusion in the “best beaches…” listings. On this occasion, it was at the middle of a breathtaking vista under blue skies in the early morning, the maerl beach and turquioise sea enticing me in for a swim or a paddle. I like to climb the hill behind the beach and look out towards South Harris in the Western Isles, wondering who has passed this way through millennia.

What the beach means to Chris and Stef.

With another Chris and Steph, plus Rebecca.

The exquisite setting for Claigan Coral Beach on Skye.

Season: summer

You follow the road north from Dunvegan to find this beach. Parking at Claigan, there’s a lane that leads to the beach. Comprising dried, calcified maerl, a local seaweed, Coral Beach sits next to Loch Dunvegan. Access is via a short walk past the sandy beach at Camas Ban, passing through a gap in the wall. It sounds inaccessible, but is actually straightforward and well signposted. The water is translucent and there’s a Caribbean feel to the shoreline, topped off by the outstanding views across the loch, taking in the islands of Lampay and Isay.

What the beach means to Stuart and Jennifer.

The magnificent coral beach beyond Dunvegan.

Walberswick beach

Season: autumn

Walberswick sits on the south bank of the River Blyth, across from Southwold. Its location is idyllic and attracts visitors throughout the year. There’s a sandy beach and plenty of crabbing for children. All in all, Walberswick is a great destination, either for a family day out at the seaside or for moorland walks nearby.

John’s testimony to the benefits of the beach and the sea.

Dawn at the beach in Walberswick.

Season: summer

A stiff, mild breeze was the order of the day for this seasonal visit to Walberswick. Clouds scudded across the wide open sky as the relentless sea rattled the shingle on the beach. The resulting atmosphere was vibrant and invigorating, a natural cauldron of sights and sounds, with gulls pitching on the breeze and the grass of the dunes bent with the wind. To step out from the shelter of one of the many beach huts was to enter a sensory maelstrom, wonderful in its detachment from everyday concerns.

What the beach means to Chrissie.

Season: summer

Here was a chance to enjoy Walberswick in the early evening light and the beach didn’t disappoint. Looking along to the Blyth from the sand dunes above the beach, long shadows cast a languid perspective on the shingle and sandy beach just before high tide. One generally approaches the beach via a small wooden bridge, which lends a sense of theatre to any arrival, guiding the visitor over a hill made by the dunes and down to the sea, looking due east, gazing out of the shadows at this time of day. This is a fine setting.

What the beach means to Mel.

Season: winter

A misty scene greeted me at Walberswick for this winter visit, the scene setting film taken on a late afternoon, followed by an interview at dawn the following day with a regular Walberswick swimmer. The slight crescent shape of the beach makes it a fine place for a walk, offering a consistent beach and sea vista as you walk by the shore.

The settling and the inspiring power of the beach for Jeremy.

A winter afternoon on the beach.