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A life less complicated

Featured / freedombird / 13 Comments

Having completed a large chunk of the British coastline and visited 1467 beaches on the way, ventured into the unknown, crossing the English Channel for the first time and seeing what the coastline of France has to offer and adding a further 459 beaches to our tally, we are off again. This time, as a complete change we are on the pursuit of stunning scenery and again crossing the channel and meandering down the core of Western Europe to see what we can see…

If you would like to see our earlier journeys around the UK, they have loosely been grouped together by location and you can find the links below.

NB some of the links below are not yet working properly as it is a work in progress….

Beach Guides:

To catch up with our earlier adventures in:

  1. North coast of Cornwall from 5th October 2017 to 11th February 2018 –   Freedombird in Cornwall
  2. Back in Cornwall at various times to complete the coastline – Freedombird back in Cornwall
  3. North coast of Devon from 11th February to 19th March 2018 – Freedombird in North Devon
  4. Somerset from 19th March to 29th April 2018 – Freedombird in Somerset
  5. South Wales coast from 29th April to 14th August 2018 – Freedombird in South Wales
  6. West and North Wales coast from 14th August to 21st October 2018 – Freedombird in West and North Wales
  7. North West England from 21st October to 26th November 2018 and 27th January to 4th February 2019 – Freedombird in North West England
  8. Cumbria from 27th January to 5th April 2019 – Freedombird in Cumbria
  9. South Coast of Scotland from 5th April to 25th May 2019 – Freedombird on the South Coast of Scotland
  10. West Coast of Southern Scotland from 26th May to 17th July 2019 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Southern Scotland
  11. Edinburgh and surrounding area from 18th July to 30th July 2019 – Freedombird in Edinburgh and surrounding beaches
  12. East Coast of Southern Scotland from 28th July to 15th September 2019 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Southern Scotland
  13. North East England from 12th September to 20th November 2019 – Freedombird in the North East of England
  14. Yorkshire from 14th January to 22nd February 2020 – Fredombird in Yorkshire
  15. Lincolnshire from 23rd February to 13th March 2020 – Freedombird in Lincolnshire
  16. Norfolk and Suffolk from 15th to 24th March 2020 and 28th June to 18th July 2025 – Freedombird in Norfolk and Suffolk
  17. Inland England on various dates travelling through – Freedombird in inland England
  18. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 11th September to 14th October 2024 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  19. North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys from 15th to 27th October 2024 – Freedombird on the North Coast of Scotland and the Orkneys
  20. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1 from 28th October to 15th November 2024 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 1
  21. In the Highlands of Scotland from 15th to 26th November 2024 and 10th to 21st June 2025 – Freedombird in the Highlands
  22. West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 8th to 17th April and 31st May to 5th June 2025 – Freedombird on the West Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  23. Outer Hebrides Part 1 from 22nd April to 12th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 1
  24. Outer Hebrides Part 2 from 10th May to 30th May 2025 – Freedombird in the Outer Hebrides Part 2
  25. East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2 from 15th to 18th June 2025 – Freedombird on the East Coast of Northern Scotland Part 2
  26. North and West Coast of France from 11th September to 7th December 2025 – Freedombird on the North and West Coast of France

Tuesday 23rd June 2026 – a walk along the beach to the edge of Eastbourne….

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After being awoken by a rather dramatic thunderstorm at 5am, it was a releif to see that by morning (a sensible hour of 7.30am) the rain had passed through leaving a rather cloudy morning sky and I did consider changing our planned site day (based on the forecast for a hot one) to head into Brighton after all, however by the time we were ready to go, the sky had cleared and hot it was becoming.

Back to plan A and instead we made the most of the low tide and sea breeze to take a nice walk along the shore passing Pevensey Beach….

And on to the start of Sovereign Harbour Beach….

With Eastbourne on the skyline we decided to sit and chill for a while…

Before heading back the way we came and spending the afternoon enjoying a bit of shade and the lovely sea breeze.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 2
  • O/N – £11.10

Monday 22nd June 2026 – back to Jurys Gap and Camber, then Winchelsea and Hastings….

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Another stunning day but with a little more breeze around so we decided to make an early dart and return to Jurys Gap and what a difference the tide makes….

An absolute gem of a beach at low tide – stretching all the way to Dungeness in one direction and Rye Harbour and Rye Nature Reserve Beach on the other side, in the other….

With the beautiful partly dune backed Camber Sands in the middle….

We really enjoyed our walk along the sea edge catching the refreshing breeze and slight cooling factor of the shallows (though they are indeed almost warm!) and it was a shame to move on but as it is getting very warm as we get into the early afternoon we need to press on albeit we are homeward bound from here. Our next and brief stop was to Winchelsea Beach and already here the sand is beginning to be lost to the now rising tide…

By the time we make it to our last stop in Hastings the sand has gone….

We had hoped to take a decent walk in Hastings as there are several beaches but suitable parking was in short supply and it really is too hot to be walking along the promenade – so I guess we shall have to come back at some point.

It was very hot by the time we got back to sight and we needed to open all the windows and doors to allow a through breeze – even the window I don’t usually open as the blind is broken and so it is a faff and guess where the coolest spot is this evening?….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 74
  • Miles walked – 4
  • Beaches – 5
  • O/N – £11.10

Sunday 21st June 2026 – a weather enforced day off…

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A stunning day, warm from the outset and as I had noticed that several of the neighbouring towns had events on today, I decided that we would stay put and not attempt to get around Eastbourne or Hastings and risk getting caught up in traffic in the heat.

Instead we contented our selves with several walks along the beach, making the most of the low tide sand and coastal breeze to keep cool….

I also took the opportunity to de-sand the van, having no immediate neighbours I was able to take all the carpets and mats out for a good shake, wash the windows, hoover and wash the floors and experiment with putting the awning out for the first time.

Looking at the forecast for the next couple of days we might be in for more of the same but actually a break from sightseeing is quite welcome at times though I might try an early dart to Camber? Decisions…

I do miss the turquoise seas….

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 3
  • O/N – £11.10

Saturday 20th June 2026 – back to Kent for the day….

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A lovely day with a bit of cloud and breeze around to keep the temperatures comfortable and so getting a fairly early start we headed for Dymchurch and after a little bit of searching found somewhere to safely park the van as we went for a walk along the sea wall (at high tide there is no beach along this bit of coast) to enjoy the miles of uninterrupted and glorious sand….

We walked beyond the busy resort of Dymchurch to the next village beyond – St Marys Bay and it’s glorious beach stretching to the horizon and the silouette of Dungeness Power Station….

We then headed back to the van and drove down the coast towards Dungeness, stopping briefly at the pebbly beaches of Littlestone-on-Sea and Greatstone-on-Sea…

Parking up again at Dungeness we had a good wander around this beautiful yet barren landscape enjoying the New Lighthouse, Old Lighthouse and the quirky almost shanty type houses with no apparent structure to their location….

Even though you are very aware of the presence of the huge Nuclear Power Station the area has the feel of untamed wilderness – I found it quite magical, though I imagine on a bleak grey winters day it would be quite desolate….

The vast pebble beach was littered with sea anglers fishing and barbequeing and though remote there are several cafes and a pub all doing a grand trade on this fine Saturday afternoon….

The road ends here (which seems very appropriate) and so it was a bit of a detour around to rejoin the coast at Jury’s Gap just beyond a Military Base of some sort and by the time we arrived the beach had gone!!!….

A little further down the coast we had hoped to visit Camber Sands where some beach remains below the dunes but every available parking space was either gone or had a height restriction so we shall either have to try and get back here early next week or save Camber sands to another time. As we started to head back to site we spotted this pretty scene with the dunes of Camber and a golf course on one side of the road and a picture perfect farm scene on the other….

A lovely day out and some lovely walks.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles driven – 100
  • Miles walked – 5
  • Groceries – £30
  • O/N – £11.10

Friday 19th June 2026 – a walk along the beach to Bexhill-on-Sea….

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A beautiful clear sunny day but with a nice bit of coastal breeze preventing it from feeling too hot, however we change our plans from heading out in the van and opt instead for an early walk, taking advantage of the low tides to walk along the firm, wet sand heading eastwards.

A glance back from the beach to show the proximity of our campsite – Normans Bay CCC….

And a quick survey of the beach infront of the site – Normans Bay Campsite Beach…

As we make our way down onto the sand which is much easier to walk on than the pebble bank and has the added benefit of keeping us cool. The sea is flat calm so Tilly is quite happy to trot along the shoreline.

Normans Bay is just a hand full of houses, some lucky enough to be perched on the pebble bank along with a few small fishing boats and what might be a Martello Tower….

Further along the beach we reach the larger village of Cooden and it’s beach….

We continue a little further to the outskirts of Bexhill-on-Sea where a sea mist is starting to roll in….

We plan to visit Bexhill another day, so at this point we head back to Cooden where the sea mist can’t reach us and sit on the pebble bank for a while just enjoying the sun and tranquility – there is something quite soothing to the soul on these long stretches of seemingly almost untouched beaches.

We don’t linger too long as it is getting rather warm and the tide is coming in and we manage to make it most of the way back to site along the sand until the tide pushes us back onto the pebble bank for the last few hundred yards.

Having had a decent walk we spend a delicious afternoon back on site, me reading in the sun and Tilly snoozing in the shade underneath the van – delightful.

Today’s stats:

  • Miles walked – 6
  • Beaches – 4
  • O/N – £11.10