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.
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?….
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…
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 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.
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