It was well worth going to Worthing.

Had a spur-of-the-moment day out today at the seaside as it was such beautiful weather.

We hadn't been to Worthing for years and had forgotten how nice it was. As we walked towards the pier we passed several of these areas where displays of plants had been created in the shingle. It was wonderful to see as, even though this was obviously a carefully planned piece of landscaping, it really gave a feel of how the beach would look if the vegetation was allowed to colonise the area naturally.

We went the long way home and to my surprise the beach at Shoreham seemed to have been left to do just that. It is apparently part of the 'West Sussex Vegetated Shingle Project' which began in June 1999.

I feel somewhat vindicated now as I get a bit fed up being looked at like I'm insane by my family when I get excited about things like this. I may not know much about ecology yet but I just knew it was something special!

And yes, the sea really was that blue!