Season: summer
As the tide fell away at West Bay, the harbour and the boats seemed closer to the terrace of houses, which is located at the back of the beach. The beach itself was full of relaxing visitors, enjoying the blue sky, warm weather and all that North Berwick in the summer season has to offer. Like Cromer in Norfolk, the town and the beach are in close harmony here. Festival bunting lined the streets, an accordion was being played outside and seasonal shops had sprung open again since my previous visit during the winter. There is a rich cultural identity here, an example being the popular East Lothian Yacht Club.
How the beach informs Jane’s rhythm of life, living next to this beach. Here’s a link to the not-for-profit lobster hatchery that she is helping to develop.
Summer in North Berwick.
Season: winter
This is the main town beach for North Berwick, sitting near to the railway station. A wide arc of sand lines North Berwick’s bays and this beach is popular with families, dog walkers and swimmers alike. All amenities are to hand and you can visit the lifeboat house and the Sea Bird Centre easily from here. This beach is clean, expansive and attractive, set conveniently in front of the town itself.
Islands and the mainland – what the beach means to Iain.
The fine arc of West Bay in North Berwick.
To live beside a beach is to feel connected to nature. Its ever-shifting textures and shapes change with the moods of the sea and the phases of the moon. Sometimes the sand is left smooth and flat as the gently lapping tide ebbs and flows. Within days – or even hours – the beach can be left in sharp ridges and hollows as the sea, lashed by the wind into towering waves, spits spray and foam high into the air, throwing seaweed and pebbles onto the foreshore. On a summer’s evening, there is calmness of spirit like no other simply to dawdle in bare feet through the icy shallows at the edge of the sand and watch the sun set in a crimson sky.
When I’m at the beach it’s the timelessness of the sea that fascinates me. I love to stand and look out at the ocean, especially at night, when there is a full moon and a bright clear sky. I watch and listen to the movement of the waves and I look to the moon and the stars and I imagine. I imagine the generations of people before me who have stood and watched and listened. I imagine back to the very first humans and I think about how I am looking at the same ocean and same moon and the same stars and I wonder at this totally awesome connection.