
It's not starting to get dark till 6 p.m. at the moment ...................... This is a very exciting turn of events for us, as it means we have time to go to the beach after work! And the last couple of times we've been to the beach, the tide has been out, so we've had a huge expanse of sand to walk on.

On the occasion of taking these photographs, it was just me and the dogs, so I didn't get the fantastic and hilarious spectacle of Hugo running with the dogs. Hugo is tall, with long legs, so when he runs with the dogs, I just see legs moving and two mop heads bopping along around him............ Ellie and Douglas do resemble mops. It's a little game the dogs have, running after Hugo, who is running from them.............

It always amazes me how few people we encounter on our beaches around here. At any given time, we could have the beach to ourselves.

The beaches in the North East of England are very beautiful, I always think it's a miracle how unspoilt and unpopulated they are. I'll never forget the time Hugo and I had a huge expanse of beach to ourselves, no one for as far as the eye could see. We were sitting in the dunes, having a picnic, when suddenly a lone figure came into view. This lonely little figure in the distance must of thought, like us, that he had the beach entirely to himself, because as he got closer, we realised he was stark naked, not a stitch on him. We knew when he had spotted us, because he suddenly broke into a panicked run, while at the same time stumbling along, attempting to put some underwear on. The whole spectacle was mesmerising................. and hilarious............ poor man.................

Over the winter, we've had some tremendous storms, which have shifted huge quantities of the sand on this beach, and changed the landscape. The sand is now about twelve feet lower, exposing these wooden posts, and making for quite an eerie look to the beach.

.............

It all makes for new and fascinating investigating opportunities for the doggies. I'd love to know if they can smell the depths of the sea in those newly exposed posts.

Us humans only have the visual clues to go on, and wonder what it was like when these posts were twelve feet deep in the sea. Isn't nature extraordinary?
I do love your doggies! And how I wish I could see the sea more often - so thank you for giving me a fix.
T x
Posted by: Dragonfly | March 09, 2009 at 11:05 AM
Lovely photos of the beach. We went to Northumberland for our hols last year, staying in a cottage near Bamburgh. Its an area I had always wanted to go to because of the beaches, and I was not disappointed. I was captivated, they are beautiful, huge expanses of sand, views for miles, big skies, and hardly any people - wonderful. Thank you.
Posted by: Helen | March 09, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Your beaches are beautiful! What fun to be able to take the dogs there for a daily romp. I hope they are kind and leave the sand at the beach, though. :o)
Posted by: Martha | March 09, 2009 at 01:08 PM
......beautiful pictures...but one thing missing...the candid shot of the streaker!!!! I saw one of your books in the window of a book shop in york on saturday...Polly and I were so excited....have a happy week...H
Posted by: Helen Lambert | March 09, 2009 at 04:39 PM
Lovely pictures. I love the ocean in the spring- when there's no one swimming yet. We drive along the shore going to work in the morning, and it's always very - head clearing to see. A great preparation for the day. I also like your new bangs! I was thinking about doing something similar- but didn't have the guts to go at it myself. Maybe next weekend.
Posted by: Lindseyrose | March 09, 2009 at 07:39 PM
Gorgeous photos! We are so lucky to live near the sea aren't we? It means we can pop to the beach at quiet moments and have it to ourselves.
Your dogs are sooooo cute!
Posted by: donna | March 10, 2009 at 08:33 AM
lovely pictures. Have seen a few beach pictures in blogland recently and am itching to get to the beach myself now. Will keep my fingers crossed for decent weather this weekend.
Posted by: Julie | March 10, 2009 at 02:56 PM