Withdrawal Symptoms

I suppose for an island race (after all the U.K. is really only one big island with lots of smaller islands for company and surround by wild waters) that for those of us who live inland we get a craving for the coast.  I also suppose that as it is winter and for the most part dark grey days it does create a longing for blue skies, sunshine and warm sea breezes.

Stuck indoors today with snow showers and sleet outside and the thoughts of places visited in warmer times came flooding back.  Now don’t get me wrong, it is not the beach and deckchair that attracts but more the wilder aspect of our coast…….so just to brighten my day here are two locations to lift my spirits and I hope yours.

The first is the Northumberland Coast.  Giant sand dunes, rocky outcrops and off shore islands, such as the Farne’s plus small fishing villages and a feast of wildlife make this a magnet for us.  True the North Sea is often rough and the breeze blows from the arctic regions so that even on a hot day you have to keep moving. This just adds to the desire to explore and there is a good deal of history to explore with Bamburgh Castle (above) being just one of  many castles that have helped shape our history.

The second location is to be found on the opposite (west) coast and to the far north of Scotland. This part of the Scottish coast has been declared an international Geopark due to its dramatic very distinctive geology.  I am happy exploring anywhere from Cape Wrath down to Torridon but perhaps this little area south of the fishing village of Scourie is the magnet for me. The coast is at some points high cliffs, others a gently sweeping rocky plateau that is lapped by the North Atlantic, all with a backdrop of mountain ranges which even those seen in the distance add drama to these remote views.

All of these rocks have been carved by the glacial process over the years, plus of course some volcanic activity in the very dim distant past. Giant boulders on rocky outcrops are geological sculptures in a wild seascape as here at Cnoc an Fhir Bhreige near Badcall just to the south of Scourie.  The view to the south, over Eddrachillis Bay, offering a glimpse of the mountains of the Assynt Peninsular.

The weather outside hasn’t improved but my spirits have even if my trip to the seaside has only been both brief and in my minds eye.

20th January

© David Oakes 2013