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Writer's pictureClara Raven

Beside the Seaside...


My family and I finally came out of our cocoon and drove to Dorset last week for a few days by the coast. We had all been craving a swim in the sea and a change of scenery. My older daughter had asked us all what was on our summer bucket lists and the only thing I could think of was being submerged in water (easily pleased). "Have a bath," suggested my younger daughter helpfully but I'm afraid that wouldn't cut it. I needed to float in the ocean, feel the sand in my toes and be at one with nature.


We headed straight to the beach as soon as we arrived at our friend's holiday flat at 2am and waded in - well, winced in on tiptoes. It was so refreshing after a long drive and the beach was completely deserted. It felt like being on the set of the Truman Show, as the water was so calm and a full moon shone down. We happily slopped back to the apartment and to our beds for the next couple of nights, after rinsing our feet with the tap outside - always a good idea.


The daytime experience was so different. It was swelteringly hot, ram packed with people, squawking children and lots of very cute dogs. We managed to keep a metre apart from strangers - in fact, most people seemed to be keeping to the rules and in their own camps made up of beach towels and windbreaks. We still went swimming but had to dart around others to avoid collisions and spreading the dreaded coronavirus.


My daughters went for a sunrise swim the next morning and avoided the crowds. My husband and I blissfully slept in and looked at their beautiful and funny photos on their return. We were all a bit sleepy that day but that didn't stop the girls paddle boarding and all of us mooching down country lanes to the pub later.


On the way home, we were horrified that nobody at the service station was wearing a face mask, even though a sign clearly asked people to and it is probably a petri-dish of germs being in such a place; similar to airports. We wore them anyway, even though we were gawped at, instead of the other way round.


Now we are all home, safe and sound. As my Dad likes to say; "It's nice to go away, but it's nice to come home." Yesterday, we extended our holiday for another day, as it was roasting hot and my husband had the day off work. We read in the garden on deckchairs, dunked in our hot tub, unheated to act as an ice cold plunge pool and then ended up screaming with delight when the thunderstorms struck lightning with crazy rain and hail pouring down.


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