Oh how I do like to be beside the seaside! I couldn't wait to finally escape to the sea and walk barefoot on a proper sandy beach, It's been far too long. West Wittering is just over an hour from home so it's the perfect place to head to for the day, but we were lucky enough to stay with a friend in her gorgeous quirky house.
It was officially Mia'a first trip to the seaside, or I assume it was after three years living in Bucharest! The photo above was the first chance she got to see the noisy moving monster, and after a lot of sniffing she seemed to decide she quite liked it. One of the big draws of The Witterings are the miles of lovely walks over wetland, beach, sand dunes and country lanes, which is what we headed out to explore. Three hours later we were all rather knackered and dreaming of dry socks, a cup of tea and a sit down, but in a happy contented manner! We stumbled across this tiny beach spot, and would have sat for a picnic if the weather was better! I loved this dramatic tree thats been shaped by the elements, there was also the rope swing of childhood dreams! The water was quite calm so Mia and Holly (the Working Cocker Spaniel) could have a paddle and explore the beach and all the smelly seaweed they wanted!
As always with my trips to the coast, I am on the lookout for wild plants and flowers I don't usually see at home. The land around the pebble beaches has been left natural so it's full of wildlife and would be a great place for bird spotters! Apparently there are usually plenty of Oyster Catchers but I wasn't lucky enough to see them this time, amazing how much bird song you can hear instead of just gulls squawking! I love walking amongst the towering Thistles and variety of grasses, this is the terrain I am happiest in!
Luckily the second day was a scorcher and the raincoats could be left behind! We headed to the dog friendly beach early as we knew it would be getting very busy and Mia still needs reassurance when it's too hectic! But along the walk we found some gorgeous cottages to be added to the "Dream Home" wish list! I loved the patterned thatching on Rose Cottage, and the woven pheasants on the roof are such a great twist! All the houses are so different in the area - chocolate box cottages, 'Grand Designs' type new builds, ex council properties and even beautiful New England style homes with porches, so something for everyone! We headed back to the sand dunes for the dogs to have a run around, Mia was very over excited when she finally stepped paw on the sand!
Here is Mia being barmy on the beach! She was trying to avoid getting wet but she fell into a deep bit after the photo above, hence her running like a bat out of hell afterwards! She was on a training line as her recall is still dodgy and she can suddenly forget her name when something more interesting crops up! Personally I think she suits the 'Salty Seadog' look perfectly!
Happy days indeed! Even happier now we have decided to look for a holiday home in the area, this could be a regular haunt for us - rather exciting!
Hope you've had a good July apart from all this barmy rainy weather! Thanks for reading,
Katie
6 comments :
oh, then I vote for the beautiful thatched roof.
Peacocks?
West Wittering looks lovely, an area I am keen to explore. That will be exciting looking for a holiday home, I have dreams of doing that one day. Bless Mia and her salty paws, bet she wondered what it all was.
I love West Wittering, especially all those gorgeous beach huts! What a lovely trip.
Oh it looks as if Mia was having great fun. We spent a week recently in our camper van parked up close to a beach and the antics of various dogs provided us with much amusement. Oh good luck with finding that holiday home Katie!
Aren't the Witterings lovely? They get very busy on hot days but they're beautiful year round. It looks like you all had a brilliant time.
Just found your blog after reading your comment on Wellywoman's blog. So much to look at and enjoy here. Wild flowers, birds (even if you missed the oystercatchers) dogs, beach, those lovely owl bookends further up, I'll be sure to drop by again.
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