I have been working hard this week, plenty of orders and commissions to get made and mailed, new designs to work on, accounts that need doing. But every now and then I find myself shutting my eyes for a moment and thinking of the two days we had on the north norfolk coast during the Easter holidays. It's the place of my childhood summers, and still, every time I go, I love it just a tiny bit more. It also affords an accessible slice of wilderness, the marshes in particular are empty of much human activity, the horizons seem endless and the cries of the birds overhead are searing. Sometimes I need a bit of wilderness to feast my eyes on and explore - I find it clears my mind a bit, changes my perspective, it is immensely calming, (I want to say centering, but can't quite bring myself to!). You know that feeling of to-do lists and deadlines floating away for a while, and the imagination able to wander and wonder again? Of feeling more right in yourself and less pushed about by the little stresses of life, of feeling like you can really breathe and see things a bit straighter? Well, wilderness does that for me, in spades!
The sun didn't stop shining for the two days, local schools had gone back so the beaches were quiet and oh, so beautiful. (All the photos are completely unedited, the sky really was that blue!)
We had leisurely picnics in the dunes, paddled in the sea, walked for miles along the coast, collected shells and pebbles and had the odd glass of something nice in the local pubs. Bliss really.
On the beach there are so many gorgeous little shells, pebbles and scraps of driftwood - a few find their way into our pockets and baskets - as well as the most stunning marks in the sand left by retreating tides. Lots of inspiration for my jewellery making, and a few coastal treasures for the special 'inspiration' box I keep at home - I will have to show that to you one day! :)
So, as much as I love being home, a few snatched minutes remembering Norfolk are very happy ones.
The sun didn't stop shining for the two days, local schools had gone back so the beaches were quiet and oh, so beautiful. (All the photos are completely unedited, the sky really was that blue!)
We had leisurely picnics in the dunes, paddled in the sea, walked for miles along the coast, collected shells and pebbles and had the odd glass of something nice in the local pubs. Bliss really.
On the beach there are so many gorgeous little shells, pebbles and scraps of driftwood - a few find their way into our pockets and baskets - as well as the most stunning marks in the sand left by retreating tides. Lots of inspiration for my jewellery making, and a few coastal treasures for the special 'inspiration' box I keep at home - I will have to show that to you one day! :)
So, as much as I love being home, a few snatched minutes remembering Norfolk are very happy ones.
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Lovely photos Belinda, makes me want to go to Norfolk - I look forward to seeing sand pattern jewellery at some point. I have a Cornish beach that I go to in my mind when things get hectic, what is it with beaches?
ReplyDeletetruly beautiful, no wonder you love it there x
ReplyDeleteI love picking up rocks here and there.
ReplyDeleteYour wonderful photos of Norfolk always make me both happy and sad. It is some of the most gorgeous beach that I have ever seen ... but, it reminds me of how much we have destroyed "our" Norfolk. Well, that happened many years before my birth, but my parents both grew up at Virginia Beach - a few miles east of our Norfolk, and right on the beach - like your Norfolk. When i was a child it was still "wild" for about half of the beach, but hotels and money-making things were popping up everywhere. Today, there is none left. Still some beach, but we have allowed houses to be built right over the dune line, and have then needed to build bulkheads and all sorts of other things to keep Mother Nature from ripping off the remaining beach every year. So sad that we cannot seem to see the value in our natural resources until they are destroyed.
ReplyDeleteIf i ever get to England ... Norfolk is definitely on my list. Thanks for sharring.