PHOTO STORY: COBWEB CLEARING WINTER BEACH WALK

SEROTONIN STRIDES FOR DARK DAYS

It’s a tough month January; long, dark and cold. Rapidly followed by February; short, dark and cold. But if you keep moving it seems to go faster. Perhaps it’s the physical equivalent of an optical illusion…? I don’t know, but it works for me.

We walked along the beach at Camber Sands, East Sussex, with our dog. People lurked from the mist like Lowry characters, nodding greetings but not stopping. We bent into the wind, hunched our shoulders and lost words muffled by our scarves. But we also ran, dodged the incoming tide, skimmed stones (badly), picked up shells and revelled in the space. It was wonderful.

Huge skies, low sea mist, people like illustrations and seaweed tonally matching the sky and sand.

Mad dog: not an essential component for a winter stomp but an entertaining one.

When we were thoroughly cold we drove to Rye and rewarded ourselves with the best Hot Chocolate from KNOOPS. They describe themselves as ‘expertly crafted chocolate drinks’. They definitely are. This isn’t an advert, just a top tip!

Murmuration: starlings (just visible as a shadow) stretching their wings over the Camber Sands marshes.