It’s 6 years since we moved to our coastal home and in that time I’ve really got to know and discover the beach, sea and coastline.
The tides which come high and low each day; we can only swim when its high tide as there are too many rock pools to clamber over when the tide is out. There’s also a walk we love to do along the bottom of the cliffs which we can only safely do at low tide. So having a tide timetable has become an essential thing to have in our home.
The impact of the weather on the sea and knowing not to even try and go down to the beach when its stormy; I never underestimate the power of the sea and have a healthy fear and respect for those waves and tidal currents. The chalk cliffs too can be a hazard- we’ve seen some enormous cliff falls since moving here.
The various things that get washed up on our shores; from sea glass (which I knew very little about before)…
…to mermaids purses (which are the egg cases of sharks and some other fish types).
Habits set in and when I pop down to the beach I usually walk to my favourite one… but last weekend we walked along a little way to another beach on our stretch of coastline. It’s only a stones throw eastwards from our usual haunt. And how wonderful it was! I rediscovered some amazing things on our coast and it was a true pleasure…
These are spectacular ammonite fossils which can be seen on the beach. They are enormous and are obviously millions of years old! We knew about them and discovered them soon after we moved to the area but hadn’t gone to see them in ages…
We found this sea urchin shell…
…and a place in the rock pools where copious amounts of shells seem to collect.
The rock pools were beautiful…
…and the views were all a little different to what we see everyday.
So it goes to show that making a detour just 10 minutes away from a usual route can open your eyes to a whole new world! I fell in love with our coast all over again and felt inspired by all I had seen..
First off, I decided to crochet some ammonites!
I had fun making these!
So try wandering off your usual route- take a left turn instead of a right and it may lead to some inspiration or new discoveries. In my case it lead to a rediscovery of a place I already knew but certainly needed to visit again….
Thanks for reading and Happy Crocheting… 🙂 🙂
lovely!
Thank you so much! I felt so refreshed to have a bit of rediscovery… 🙂 🙂
Wow, I love collecting ammonite fossils, now I’m inspired to try to crochet some!!! Incredible 👏
Thanks so much for the appreciation! Have fun crocheting some ammonites… 🙂 🙂
Perfect – crochet ammonites in their natural habitat. Love them!
Thank you so much… that’s really kind of you. I enjoyed making them. So quick and simple… 🙂 🙂
Gorgeous post. Your local beach is so much more dramatic than ours! Love your little crochet fossils! 🙂
Thanks so much- yes we do have a dramatic stretch of coast and it’s different everyday. But we do love a sandy beach when we come across one! 🙂 🙂
Lovely photo’s and crochet too! Just Wonderful!
Thank you so much! That’s really kind of you to say… 🙂 🙂
Love the picks of all the rock. I do find rocks fascinating – must have been a geologist in a past life 😉
Thanks Bekki…they are amazing aren’t they! There’s always just so much waiting to be discovered on the beach… 🙂 🙂
Rock pools are my absolute favourite! My friends and I did marine biology at uni and we love to go out together to the beach and spend hours and hours looking for all the critters in rock pools 🙂
Great isn’t Emma! So much just waiting to be discovered and everyday it’s different- that’s what I love about it! 🙂 🙂
Here I was, thinking how different it was from my bit of coastline in the South West and you’ve said that even ten minutes away from you and it’s completely different!
Amazing isn’t it! 🙂 One of the reasons I so love living by the coast. By the way, I just read your feature in Inside Crochet magazine!! How cool is that! Well done you… 🙂 🙂
Argh! Thank you! I still don’t have my hands on a copy!! We’ve been in quarantine for the last couple of days (I really don’t want what my eldest had). Must get to the shops this morning!
I’m very lucky that the coast is so close to wear I live. I can drive to several different beaches, some are only 15 minutes away (by car) and we also live by a beautiful river, which is just a few minutes walk from here. 🙂
Sounds lovely Rosina. The feature in Inside Crochet is really great- you should be really proud! 🙂 🙂
Thank you. X
I love the fossils, my friend has just bough a seaside house and we have been looking at things to make to make her house her own. I’d seen lots of shells etc but do like your ammonites. I’ve added this to the list of makes
Thanks so much Amanda… it’s always lovely to make coastal inspired things for a seaside home! I’ll be publishing the very simple pattern for these ammonites on my blog soon… 🙂 🙂
Your fabulous photos of your coastline make me look forward even more to our Easter break in Devon and our regular trip to Widemouth Bay in October. Like you we never tire of exploring the beaches and responding to the inspiration which they provide for us. All I need is a few more hours in each day! 🌸 xx
Oh Jenny, a few more hours in a day would be wonderful! I continuously have that struggle but going down to the beach is always worth making time for. It’s a pleasure every time! 🙂 🙂
That blue sky! And what lovely finds. That one was the egg case of a ray I think, maybe a spotted ray?
A friend of mine told me about your web site. I’ve been looking through all the lovely things you have made and I just have to tell you that you are very creative. I wish I lived by the coast, the pictures are beautiful!
Hi Kathy… lovely to hear from you! Thank you so much for your kind words! Happy to provide a little inspiration and yes it is nice to live by the sea! 😊💙🌊🌊