Hello, just a quick post from the Sussex coast (with some bonus historical content).
On Friday I decided to go for a swim. The sea is warming up nicely now (a balmy 13c!) and after a week of fine weather it seemed like a good opportunity to visit Cuckmere Haven and enjoy the view of the Seven Sisters from the water.
I drove across Sussex in bright sunshine, the world looking particularly vivid and colourful after such a warm start to the year. I parked up at the visitor centre, struck by how warm it was, even in the shade. I began the walk down the meandering curves of the Cuckmere, soaking up the sun and feeling pretty lucky to be outside on such a fine day.
As I got within a few metres of the sea, just about to crest the shingle bank and find a spot to change, a dense cloud of sea fog blew in, swirling across the ground like a budget special effect in a cheap horror movie. The western end of the beach disappeared completely, and the view of the clifftops above me was swallowed in a cloud. The sun greyed out, the temperature dropped, tourists made disappointed sounds and underwhelming selfies.
I still felt it was worth a quick dip, if only to cool off after carrying the camera all the way down the river, but the longer swim out to sea to enjoy the view wasn't going to happen. Instead I stayed close in to shore, and swam along the cliffs a little way, never losing sight of the huge chalk walls in front of me. I had some hope that the fog may lift as quickly as it had arrived, allowing a little soft sunshine to catch the land, but if anything it thickened up and it seemed wise to call it a day. I got changed in a cloud, then walked off the beach into bright, burning sunshine for the stroll back to the car. All in all, a weird afternoon.
Below is a little triptych from what turned out to be a rather eerie swim, accompanied by the distant foghorn at Newhaven and invisible seagulls overhead.
Perhaps the best thing about visiting this particular spot is that I’m treading in the footsteps of a real English hero, who landed here in the late 1100s before making a surprisingly swift ride to the other end of the country in time for dinner. You can learn more about this in the documentary ‘Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves’ (1991). I’ve added a clip below.
Lovely, limpid high-key images. Beautifully seen and rendered.
Beautiful gentle images Finn - I love the effects of sea frets but they do turn up when you don't want them sometimes!