90 - Part IV

I know a lot of runners who don't like the idea of out and back routes; they think that's boring. However, I often find that things look entirely different when approached from a different angle. Also, in the second part of a run I like knowing exactly how far I have to go to get back.

You remember St. Mary's lighthouse?


The wooden walls along the beach are called groynes; they are to keep sand in place. Hard to imagine what the place would look like without the beach -- a bunch of rocks, I suppose. There is a race that takes place along this beach and I'm told that depending upon the tide, it might or might not include climbing over these things. Sounds pretty daft to me, but we did one called Ducks and Drakes in Linconshire one year that was similar. There was a five-mile stretch where you had to climb over stile at every mile, which involved queuing up. It was a crazy, muddy race and we loved it. Mind, stiles don't have barnacles and slimy seaweed all over them.


In the middle of this picture, in the far distance, the line of trees is broken by a brown stone structure. I stopped and asked a man what it was. He was a bit startled, being in the midst of picking up after his dog; however, he told me it was Delaval Hall. I hadn't realised the Hall was visible from the coast. It gave me the idea to show you that place, which is pretty amazing.

I was noticing that rather than the dropped gloves of winter, this is sock season. For some reason I'm not as compelled to pick those up and craft with them, I guess there are limits to my thrift. I also noticed a lot of rabbit holes around, but the bunnies stayed well tucked into the dunes. There is one here if you look for his big round eye.


These grey skies are what my run started with. There is something dramatic about the placement of houses so near the sea, particularly one that is usually so rough as the North Sea.


The larger building on the right is the King's Arms Pub, built in the mid 1800s; the building on the right is across the sluice on Rocky Island. Seaton Sluice was a welcome sight; almost back to the car!


One of the first places Bill took me years ago was to the Waterford Arms for fish and chips. I was astonished at the size of the fish that hung off both sides of the plate.


There are many pictures on the Internet of this crazy crenellated tower house, but it wasn't until I went looking for information about the King's Arms that I found that it was originally built as the Harbour Office sometime before 1750. It is now a private home.


I just about couldn't stop taking pictures of the water at Collywell Bay....something about the sea being blue and the waves being white. You can tell I grew up in a landlocked state, can't you?


On top of that, the sun was shining and I'd just finished another long run. What contentment!