Vitamin Sea

With temperatures set to soar to around 32° in our neck of the woods we head for the beach in hope of a cooling sea breeze.

30 minutes later, with the aircon accompanying The Kinks, we are pulling into a remarkably quiet car park on the seafront. Maybe everyone is staying home in the shade.

Eastoke Beach, often called Eastoke Corner, is one of the charming beaches of Hayling Island in Hampshire. This beautiful stretch of beach is a pebble beach and is punctuated by wooden groynes protecting against tidal erosion.  Lined with a grassy prom, cafés, pubs, a couple of shops and a children’s playground. Perfect for a seaside stroll. 

Our favourite seaside chippy sits right opposite the car park so that’s where we are headed first, the smell of chips entices us across the road.

The lady in front of me orders chips and gravy twice and then comments, when I order curry sauce, that because I’m Northern I should be having gravy too. We strike up a conversation and she seems surprised that we now live down here and says that she is surprised that after living down south for so long that I’ve kept my accent, apparently she loves accents.

Back to the car with a bag of steaming hot chips for the chairs, picnic blanket and all our other paraphernalia.

Our first step on the beach and the Red Arrows do a fly past to welcome us to Hayling Island. We weren’t expecting them so unfortunately I didn’t get a photo.

We find a spot, set ourselves up, remark about how quiet it is today and eat our chips. Seagulls, where are all the seagulls? Normally when we come down here and have chips on the beach, they are squawking around your head hoping you’ll throw them a chip, today, not a bird in sight. Maybe it’s too hot for them too today.

A microlight flies above the sea, followed about 15 minutes later by a chinook, we seem to be getting our own air show today.

It’s so peaceful, not many people not even a seagull spoiling the peace. Then behind us I’m aware of voices. Glancing round, 3 young women, early 20s are stripping off to their bikinis and setting up camp. The only thing that can spoil this now, despite the close proximity and a whole beach for them to have chosen to sit on is music… at that point the base hits our eardrums and The Boss is stood up, gathering our things in search of a quieter spot.

As we go in search of peace and quiet we notice other people around us moving on. Maybe that’s the way you get an entire section of the beach to yourselves, turn up the volume on some really crappy music, I think I may be getting old.

Moving might have been a good thing, trudging along the water’s edge like a pack horse I spot two cuttlefish. That’s going to be one happy tortoise when I get back.

Sitting in our new spot, eyes closed and facing the sun, I could well be anywhere in the world right now. I decide to go for a quick paddle, even the sea feels warmer than normal. I really wish I’d thought about things a bit more I’d have brought my swimming cossie.

I may well have been viewed as slightly mad by anyone people watching. I mean, who on earth apart from me would be crocheting a blanket in 29° heat on a beach.

Two young lads in canoes pull into the shore in front of us. One heads straight into the sea, the other heads up the beach towards the public loos. I’d like to bet a pound to a penny that the one in the sea needed a wee too.

I’ve read that as you get older you appreciate things more. Whilst we haven’t done very much today, just sitting, watching and listening to the waves, you do find an inner calm settling over you, the sea is an amazing entity. Hayling Island might not be the Canary Islands but sat here, I honestly don’t care.