SNIPPET BY THE SEA

Last week we had a reasonably good weather day and decided to head for the beach, something we don’t do as often as we should. Dog friendly beaches are few and far between at this time of year, and we decided on one we had not previously visited: Ness Cove at Shaldon near Teignmouth. The cliffs and therefore the sand are that amazing red sandstone, and when we returned, we all had deep red stained feet.  It was important that Snippet had a good day too as he’s been missing out on our long, post lunch walks during the holidays. We parked in a very reasonably priced car park (a miracle these days), and walked down a long, eerie tunnel cut into the cliff, emerging at the top of a steep flight of steps down to the beach. It was soggy and dark, dripping with red water.

Snip was extremely good. It was his 3^rd birthday on the 21^st and I think he’s beginning to grow up a bit. He used to rush off after every dog he saw and get into scraps a lot. He was attached by a black spaniel that actually got into our car when he was a puppy and he tends to react badly if growled at, so we’ve have to be very careful about letting him off the lead around other dogs, particularly black ones. However, he was very, very calm and stayed close by and was very responsible when other dogs came along. Here is a record of his day…..

We had a very pleasant few hours and even I went in the water, trousers rolled up, looking for sea-life and scouring the cliffs for wildlife and flora. Lots of scary signs with pictures of boulders falling and exclamation marks so I was a bit careful. Not a great deal about but here’s what I did find:

Common or Painted Top Shell

Tiny, tiny shore crabs

Snakelocks Anenome

Sea Campion

Restharrow

Lovely supper in a pub and then home to stain the bath red with our feet and an early bed after all that sea air. We VERY rarely have days out together like that. My partner is a slave to our woodburner and the chopping to keep it fuelled, so there just isn’t usually time. It’s our only source of heat or hot water so it’s rather crucial that it’s organised. We should definitely get out more often as we all had a great day. Until next time, when we’ll resume moorland service, have a lovely time wherever you are.