Brean

On Monday morning one of the men at work asked me what we did in the weekend - and we got talking about my love of beaches - in all seasons - but probably more when it is a bit colder and there is a gentle wind and smell of sea air. It is even better when I can climb to the top of a hill overlooking the shore and watch the waves crashing on the rocks and sand below. He hates sand and feels melancholy on the top of a hill and said he would be happy 'if he never went near another beach'. I found that so hard to believe - I love the feel of sand, the sea crashing in. Standing on top of a hill gives me a sense of achievement, firstly that I managed to climb it and secondly because I get a bird's eye view of the scenery. Aren't we all so different? It was a quiet weekend, well quieter than is normal for us. So a long sleep like only teenagers normally do, a leisurely brunch (or lunch as Harry pointed out) meant we set off late for our visit to one of the closest beaches to Bristol - where there is some sand rather than all mud - Brean. It is a fascinating place, one of those little townships that increases its population by a few hundred percent in the summer. We drove along a coastal road parallel to the beach and passed numerous static caravan sites. On and on they went. Like beach huts and striped beach chairs they are to me part of the English seaside - the alternative to the kiwi beach cottage. In some ways it must be great to own one - families coming together over the summer months - well all the seasons except for winter - they can enjoy each others company over a wine or some food and the children can all play together - a bit like a community away from home. I sometimes feel quite envious at the thought of these sorts of holidays. But in my heart of hearts, I know I want to see different things every time because there is so much out there that I haven't seen. Anyway, there is a number of static caravans for sale or rent at the moment and this ad on the web somehow tickled my fancy...
".. The lounge door space opens up to 1.15 mts. All internal door widths are 74cms and are sliding...The entry level to the shower is 7.5 cms. There is a non slip mat and seat, but no handrails. The toilet height is 46 cms and there are handrails. The wash basin height is 82cms and there is a handrail. The Master Bed height is 48cms. The bed to wall measurement is 1.42mts. There is an adjustable grab handle over the bed attached to the ceiling. The kitchen sink height is 71 cms and there is a knee hole. The lounge seating height is 43 cms. The dining area seating height is 41 cms with a free standing table. The Bedrooms are carpeted and the lounge, kitchen, bathroom and passage are laid with vinyl. Other caravans on average are accessed by either 2, 3 or 4 steps with a height of 20cms from the top step to the threshold and an average rise of 18cms and are 71cms wide. All caravans have handrails fitted to steps. Internal doors being an average of 51 cms and will not service a wheelchair..."

So, we negotiated around the last caravan site and parked on the beach. First thing - sand - the tide was very low and the sign said we could park on the beach until 6.00 pm (just like at Titahi Bay), but not one hour either side of a high spring tide and not to swim at low tide because of mud. It is autumn and only 4.00 pm and we had bought our warm coats rather than our togs so we were o.k. We looked out to sea and all we could see was sand so off we marched to find the water (it has the second largest tide in the world for a beach so it was quite a trek). We soon found where the mud began and with a couple of steps in the outward direction stopped and turned around. I read later that some people were not quite as wise as us. There is the story of a fisherman who only a couple of months ago drove his £25,000 Honda 4x4 across mudflats and then spent the next few hours watching it slowly sink as the tide came in. He was looking for the "perfect afternoon fishing spot" - he probably didn't mean from the top of his vehicle and said he "wasn't looking forward to telling his wife what had happened". When the tide went out it cost over £3,000 to pull his vehicle out. Probably cost a bit to repair and with all the signs posted around the beach I wonder if he would be covered by his insurance but I'll let him deal with that one. (Couldn't resist putting a photo on the blog of the Honda I found on the web). Another, not so local man also lost his car and described is as "just one of those things... I just parked it up and it went down in the mud", he said. And another story of the Brean mud - a buried car rose out of the mud 36 years after it had sunk. It was a Vauxhall Victor 101 lost in the mudflats in 1973 when the owners also went fishing. They didn't notice the tide turning and tried to reverse the car out but the clutch went and there they were saying goodbye to their car. I guess it might be a challenge for the panel beater to remove the rust after all those years!! Anyway, Brean is also on the international scene because there are UFOs flying around the sky. Rather like a large tube UFO enthusiasts have dismissed the sceptics suggesting it was a weather balloon, kite or some other common object - it definitely isn't a hoax or a natural phenomenon. With all this excitement happening perhaps we should stay closer to Bristol more often so we don't miss out on it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1204742/That-sinking-feeling-Tourist-caught-beach-4x4-sinks-mud.html
Thankfully, as we walked out towards the sea, we worked out when the sand stopped and the mud began.

So after that adventure we wandered up the hill. We would have loved a longer walk around the hills if we had time, but it was getting on and I was keen to get back by gate closing time, I think you can understand why. We stood at the top and looked towards Weston-Supermare - Harry trying out his new camera lens while I joined some cows to enjoy the wind and sea air (but not the grass) about 100 metres above the beach below. Sunday, another sleep in, trip to the library and making dinner for Rob and Jo in the evening (pumpkin soup, curry and pavlova).