There are times to look closely, and there are other times when a person must look ‘big’. A visit to this beach, one of my very favorite anywhere, is of the latter.
A visit here recalls the small voices of my children as they scamper down through the dunes in the freezing cold. Soup in a thermos in a car being buffeted by winds. Looking for the perfect rainbow stones, and filling every pocket with them. Gazing across at Bamburgh Castle and Lindesfarne Castle in the distance, wondering about the incredibly strong people who built these places in such a forbidding place.
Mostly though, a visit here makes my heart dance as I think of my family that lives not far from here. Not family by blood, by family by heart for over 30 years. Every time I come I think, “Will this be my last visit?” Today, after wandering way down to the low tide line I came back up the beach and sat on a rock at the base of the dune. I listened to the echoes of those children’s voices. I found the perfect pebble. I looked down the coast at ancient castles.
And I knew I would be back.