Here it comes...

Okay, so we might have gone storm chasing today.
Well, pre-storm chasing at least.

It was Sunday, we had an extra hour in the morning, the dog needed walking anyway and who doesn't love a bit of moody sea.

Stage 1 was Braunton Burrows to Crow Point. This involved sitting in the car and waiting for a rainstorm to abate then dashing down the board walk in the strong wind, walking backwards in an attempt to avoid a sandstorm in the face, taking a few photos and then running all the way back to the car as we were chased (and caught up) by black clouds.
The black clouds dumped on us.

Stage 2 was coming home through Croyde to see what the sea looked like there. It was messy and windy but nothing out of the ordinary. Wind really is nothing new round here. We were all a bit knackered and wet still after our run in the rain and the sand storm so we went home. Tess had got lots of sand in her eyes and was struggling with the eyeball scratching.

Stage 3 was Ilfracombe after lunch. This involved checking on the Verity statue in the harbour (- a nice bit of verdigris has developed on her buttocks since I last saw her), buying fudge and chips, watching the lifeboat men faffing about, getting rained on again, having a nose in the Damien Hirst gallery (not impressed to be honest: think narcissistic minimalism), checking out the crashing waves in the little bay next to the Landmark theatre, then driving home through Morthoe and Woolacombe to sea sea sea to see what we could see see see. Then home for a cup of tea and off out again

Stage 4 was taking Gemma to Barnstaple and then coming home through Saunton and stopping in a lay-by to look at the sea there. Then up to Baggy Point in Croyde because we had 20 mins to kill while we waited for Joel to finish work so we could pick him up and take him home with us. the sea certainly looked more whipped up 6 hours later.

I may not get to take any photos of the sea tomorrow. It would be nice but Richard's off to work first thing and won't be back with the car until it's dark.

Poor Tess has struggled with a red, sore, sand-scratched eye all day, and Optrex spray only made it worse. Spaghetti bolognese, a hot bath and Calpol, followed by a bit of quiet drawing and an audiobook seem to have helped.


I have mixed feelings about this weather. Not really looking forward to tonight. I hope everyone stays safe.


Hooray for GMT though. Can we do this extra hour thing every Sunday?!