Big Blue Skies & Autumn Sunshine

A big blue sky after a day of rain made us get up, get out and get walking. We explored the Victorian seafront of the local beach and discovered a local swimming tradition that had the swimmers in their swimmers racing out to a bright yellow bouy. With the sun on the sea and the sky as light and as clear as a Summer morning we decided November might be our favourite month.

21 seconds to go...

6 months have flown by, and it was time to decide whether we went back to the Big Smoke or stayed here for another 6 months...
An Autumnal day on the beach helped with our decision and, we have to stay, still too much to do. 

Tangle, Tackle & Turquoise

A tangle of turquoise fishing netting made the sand and the sky bluer and brighter. The day was spent finding feathers and stones to compliment and enhance our seaside find. But, in the end I prefer it simple.

The Colours of the Coast

A misty grey day by a gritty beach 
jetty. Home to boats of grey blues, green greys and the pale, pale browns of their weather beaten wood.

Summer Roses & Hundred's and Thousand's

A neighbour told me of a little tucked away charity shop that turned out to be a total gem. Not knowing where to look first, a large bowl with four matching little bowls stood out amongst the plastic picnicware. 
Anyone for trifle?

Raining Cats & Dogs

If it rains all day and all week the choices of what to do are a little limited. Although, the chance to use the new vintage umbrella was very welcome. Checking to see whether it was still waterproof in a downpour was fun, but pleased that it worked well, and looked even better.

We'll come back tomorrow.....

In the search for the perfect haberdashers, The House of Fabrics will have to wait for another day. 

Super Simple

Every step you take

A poster that always catches my eye when we walk through the boatyard. It could be all the eyes that are following our journey along the public bridleway, or it could just be the soft and cracked colours that I love so much.

A Hidden Hideaway

A tucked away cottage sits alongside the river bank. A perfect hiding place away from the driving rain that is following us along the coastal path.

Sunshine and Rain

The sun failed to shine today. A trip into the local town and a rummage for some vintage pieces made the lack of sun a little more bearable.

I should be so Lucky

The luckiest shed in the boat yard.

The Sky at Night

In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing when you look at the sky at night. 
The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Lost & Found

A super sunny day = a trip to the beach. Two soft pale weather beaten laces marked the spot where we spent a lazy day, which continued naturally through to the warm evening. 

Small is Beautiful

This isn't a reference to Schumacher, but a reference to my little dinky dainty shells that are a magical find when lazily dragging your fingers through the sand. 
Small really is beautiful.

Plunge Pools & Cosy Coves

After a few grey days the dash to the beach this morning was rewarded with sunny skies, sailing boats and divers learning the ropes. Rock pools and plunge pools filled up with inviting turquoise sea and who could resist but a little swim in the sunshine, seaweed tickling your ankles as you travelled the small distance from rock to rock?

Flotsam & Jetsam

Amongst the seaweed, plastic bottles and old neon floats are little gems of broken pottery, patterns that have been washed to a pale whisper of the true original, seed pods and smooth nuts that have travelled many miles across the Ocean, and the perfect shells that are no longer homes for the sea creatures who once lived within. 

Dappled Sunlight & Deep Sighs

Is there anything more relaxing than dappled sunlight filtering through swaying trees on afternoon without a to do list?

Vintage Finds on a Wet Friday Afternoon

A wet and grey blustery day meant a look around the local vintage shops. Four finds kept the sun in my heart, and pennies still in the bank balance, with an embossed white porcelain plate, two pink french glass side dishes and a tiny milk jug that reminded us of shells collected and forgotten about in our sandy coat pockets.

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do.

Daisies follow our travels around the coast. Oversized and in abundance, by the roadside or grouped together outside coastal cottages. Fine mother of pearl leaves and golden centres straight from Tiffany's greet our every footstep and continue into our dreams.

Slipway to the Sea

Through pale apple green doors, a little boat shoots down the slipway into the estuary, and makes the journey out into the sunny Summer sunshine.

Saturday Girl

A precious miniature instrument of measurement which had stopped on a Saturday. 
If only every day were a Saturday.

The Blue House

A blue house has come to join the yellow hideaway. Hidden by ivy and narrow pathways The Blue House looks out to the blue sea, blue skies, and the blue boats that bob up and down in the blustery blue Atlantic.

She sells Sea Shells on the Sea Shore

She sells sea shells on the sea shore.

The shells that she sells are sea shells I'm sure.

So if she sells sea shells on the sea shore,

I'm sure that the shells are sea shore shells. 

Lemons, Daisies and Turquoise Seas

A daytrip to the sea with the sun following us all the way. A picnic in tow and daisies underfoot we made our way down coastal paths, across streams and into sea caves. An empty white washed house with lemon doors, wild flowers and a view for everyday that would welcome you home.

The Bigger Picture

This blog tracks my adventures of living by the sea for one year, through photographs and all things shabby, cracked, vintage and coastal.


It took an upcoming big birthday to make me think that it was time to do something that I always wanted to do: live by the sea, and it was now or never! 

Follow my photographic blog as I follow my dream.....