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| Beach Buoy woke at 4-01 am He needed to get up with his achey leg. It took him 19 minutes to get up from bed and arrive down stairs. No he didn't live in a very tall lighthouse. He didn't live in a house with an escalator that was stuck in the UP mode. He didn't live in a block of flats with an out of service lift. It was just sore, particularly first thing in the morning... or middle of the flipping night! 4-25am it was still dark but Beach Buoy could hear the seabirds calling, perhaps they were restless, hungry and wanting to be THE early bird that went on to catch the worm? By 5 am he had made a coffee and waited for it be light enough to head out. He ended up sitting and staring a little longer than planned. Beach Buoy and Stubborn Dog arrived on the fresh beach at 6-40 am There were only two cars in the car park when they arrived, they were parked as far away from each other as the boundaries of car park would allow. |
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| They headed to the water's edge as they so often do. It was a lovely crisp and glowing morning. The sea was breaking as one, along the length of the bay with a loud thump as it hit the unsuspecting sand. There wasn't a breath of wind but the air was chilly. Beach Buoy made fists and put his hands into his coat pockets. |
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| Cloud headed for the sun. It was 6-59am. Beach Buoy glanced North, a minute early.. it was the 7am club off in the distance heading south. |
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| The sea would run on every now and then and try to catch out the unwary walker. Once again bliss ...a no footprint beach. |
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| The sun still glowed over Saltburn and Redcar as the bay clouded over a little. |
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| The glow of the sun spread north after a short while. Beach Buoy stopped at the grey rocks the tide was still high enough to block a beach walk to the Pier. Beach Buoy back tracked a short distance to access the dunes. The 7 am club had caught up and Mari the Large friendly Poodle got the neck scratch the she had trotted over for. |
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| A lovely sky full of clouds hung over the dunes as did a skylark. It hovered and sang and sang. Beach Buoy managed to pick it out in the air. It just seemed to be floating with its wings stretched out , gradually getting lower and lower in the air. |
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| The shipwreck from yesterday had gone. It had set sail on another trip to the port of who knows where? A Cormorant travelled the nearby sea, both above and below it as if looking for the wreck. There were a number of plastic bottles on the Dune / Beach boundary, these became the basis of today's beach clean. |
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| The view back towards Hartlepool Headland. |
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| Unusual clouds filled part of the bay. |
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| Lines of anti tank blocks run on into the dunes protected by the shifting sand. |
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| The same shifting sands exposed old fencing buried in the dunes, possibly dating back to when Marram grass was planted to try and stabilise the dune environment? |
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| They stayed with the dunes until they cleared the grey rock area. |
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| It was an odd walk back. 8 am; beach deserted. No joggers, no dogs and no owners. Even Beach Buoy's southbound footprints had gone, washed smooth by the sea, even though the tide was going out. |
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| The solitude lasted until just before the dunes turned into car park. The conveyor belt had begun. |
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| Beach Buoy binned his beach clean. He had parked at the very end of the promenade. Some runners were approaching, touching the end wall then heading back North along the long promenade, passing as they did, some slower runners still to reach their turning point. words of encouragement were shouted out. "Well done Gemma!" "C'mon Stewy." "Nice one Matty." Beach Buoy sat in the van a while. The toy solar powered monkey danced on the dashboard, the ticking sound remind Beach Buoy of his Grandmother's large wooden clock with an arched top that had sat proudly on her mantlepiece. BEACH BUOY. |
