This is my first weekend on my own for some time so as I have been rather neglectful of my photography and I thought I would return to a beach on the North Cornish Coast that I particularly love and see if I could recapture some of my creative spirit.
The beach is called The Strangles and is found below Cornwall's highest cliffs though they are a strange tumbled down sort of cliff made from loose rock, great slabs of which fracture and slide into the sea. Within the rocks hardy plants like heathers and brambles grow unaware that at any moment they could be pitched downhill as the earth that they are rooted in subsides.
At low tide there is a large expanse of sand but it is not a beach to swim at as the currents are dangerous and the waves often huge, but it is a special place and because of the long walk in it is one that you can often have to yourself.
But yesterday, I was somewhat shocked that there were five people also there and three of them were naked!
At first I could not get my eye in for photography, I always say to myself that today 'I cannot see' but I've been doing this long enough to just be patient and wait for the picture to just tap me on my shoulder and say 'look I'm here' so instead I sat on a large slab of slate and read a book about Annie Darwin while intermittanly checking the vast waves that were crashing closer and closer to where I sat. Eventually, the tide forced me to retreat and then in the corner of my eye I caught two figures tentatively picking their way along the rocks on the far beach already almost cut off by the surging waves. Now I swim like a brick and the nearest life belt is 200 feet up the cliff (with a nice little sign that tells you that in an emergency the nearest phone is a mile and a half away!) but even so I began to get anxious for them and set off towards them picking my way across the rocks with a real sense of urgency.
When I got to the far end of the beach I noticed that they were two older men, one about ten years older than me and the other in his, I guess late seventies. I asked if they were ok and they told me they were fine so I walked back with them to the steps up the cliff making polite conversation as you do at which point the younger of the two set off up the cliff leaving his older companion behind who continued to engage me in conversation. After a few minutes I start to feel that the conversation is taking a rather strange turn which is not helped by him producing a plastic bag containing photographs of him with not a stitch of clothing taken, apparently, by a member of the House of Lords!
And I wonder how it is always me that gets into these sort of situations when I have just tried to be helpful? Fortunately, I have a great conversation stopper as I have photography of my own to do and I head back onto the far shore of the beach with the thundering sound of the waves echoing of the cliffs to accompany me.

And now, I get my eye in and picture begin to reveal themselves as the sun falls and becomes golden revealing the texture and form of the rocks and the sea that is crashing against them. I am alone now on the beach and this is how I work best, I cannot 'see' when I have the distractions of company but need to lose myself in where I am and return to the child who would have been terrified and awe struck to be here.

But actually, I am not alone as just beyond the breakers I have been joined by two large grey seals and you know what I am always thrilled by the sight of large, wild creatures. The sun now is almost setting and reaches a bank of clouds on the horizon, the warm glow of its light is replaced by a cold blue light that suits the dark, wet slate of the shingle. One more picture as the waves crash in and recede leaving trails of foam and then its time to pack up and begin the steep climb back up the cliff.

PS The photographs described may in fact be pants as they were taken on slide film and will have to go away for processing. If they are any good they will be uploaded here.