Sculpted

Another day of two halves. The morning continued in the same generally cool vein, with frequent hail showers just to liven things up. J and P took us to a couple of beaches at Dawlish and Shaldon. The red sandstone cliffs at Dawlish have been spectacularly wind sculpted, while at Shaldon there were a whole series of seepages and mini-waterfalls on the cliffs, dripping with mosses - these kept Pete and I entertained for some time until a particularly sharp hail shower sent us scurrying back to the Smuggler's tunnel.

After a delicious and sustainable lunch at Cafe Ode, now located in the Shaldon car-park, we tried to go for a walk in Halsdon Forest, but many of the trails were shut for maintenance, and in the end the weather got the better of us and we returned home for tea and cake. However, on our brief amble we spotted a huge gathering of siskins on their feeders, and some interesting mosses and liverworts - a place to return to.

In the late afternoon the skies finally cleared and it turned into a lovely evening. Pete and I headed out again to the Exminster Marshes - a series of grass fields with scrapes which supported a good range of birds including curlews and black-tailed godwits. Sand martins and house martins were flying along the Exeter Canal - a sign of the summer to come, though the wind still felt decidedly wintry. We walked as far as Topsham Lock where we had an excellent view over the River Exe towards the extensive reed beds under the M5 bridge. I'm sure most of the travellers have no idea of the natural wonders beyond their field of view.