5 Beaches from my Childhood.

 Hello me dears. with London going through it's third heatwave of the year my thoughts have have taken me back to the lovely seaside trips I used to have with my family over 50 years ago. 

My home town calls itself Britain's Ocean City. it does have a rich maritime history, a stunning waterfront, and the UK's first National Marine Park. It also has it's own beaches but nothing to compare with these nearby beaches which we visited often.

 

 

The twin villages of Kingsand and Cawsand on the Rame Peninsula In Cornwall. When I was young my family used to catch a ferry to this beach which always made it special. Famous for it's Smugglers and the fact that until 1844, Cawsand was in Cornwall, while Kingsand was in Devon. 

Bigbury-on-Sea and Burgh Island, Devon. Burgh Island is a tidal island At low tide, you can walk across. When the tide is in it submerges the sand, the only way to cross is by riding the famous high-wheeled Sea Tractor. The island is also famous for its Art Deco hotel with connections to Agatha Christie. The beach itself is the most wonderful golden sand and is probably my favourite.

Whitsand Bay, Cornwall. Features dramatic cliffs and a three miles long sandy beach popular with surfers. Accessible mainly via steep cliff paths

 Talking of Surfing next is Fistral Beach Newquay Cornwall the home of British Surfing. In case you were wondering, it was a 'New' Quay in the year 1439 when Edmund Lacy Bishop of Exeter built a new quay to help land pilchards. Cornwall was under the dioceses of Exeter until 1876 when the Diocese of Truro was created.

Slapton Sands is a narrow strip of land and shingle beach which separates the freshwater lake of Slapton Ley from Start Bay in Devon. Idyllic in the summer and a very scary place to be in the Winter Storms. a crucial World War II training ground. In 1943, 3,000 residents were evacuated so Allied forces could use the shingle beach to rehearse for the D-Day landings. On April 28, 1944, German E-boats attacked the fleet during 'Exercise Tiger', killing 749 US servicemen in a tragedy kept secret for decades. 

Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane.

Toodle Loo

and 

Pip Pip.