Sea, sand and pebbles – first published 30 October 2012

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At the end of October 2012 I had much better weather for my walk along the shore. In fact it was prefect walking weather, cold and bright without too much wind. Back then work had not long begun on painting the tall flats and the whole of the Itchen Bridge could be seen across a sea of rubble on the old Vosper Thorneycroft site. So much has changed in just over two years but so much remains the same.

30 October 2012

Having a cold and a stomach bug made me less than my normal cheerful self over the last week or so. On Sunday I started to worry that the dark depression clouds were gathering again and I knew I had to get a grip on it so I’ve been counting my reasons to be cheerful. There are quite a few, other than the obvious ones of my lovely family, my health (if you don’t count colds and tummy bugs) and not being almost fourteen stone again.

For a start I have the day off today because I worked yesterday. This meant I could get some walking in which always makes me smile. So, that’s something to be cheerful about as I missed out last week with feeling unwell. Plus the little robin was back in the garden this morning.  As the sun was shining I decided I would take a walk down to The Shore. It was pretty chilly but I wrapped up well with my parka, a scarf, my hat and my Sketchers boots and I tried out my new Camelbak Podium Bottle. Even with all the layers I managed to get the bum bag part around my parka. I have to say it was brilliant, no more worries about holding a cold bottle of water, both hands free plus it sat just in view all the time reminding me to keep sipping. The locking lid is a wonderful idea, you just twist it when you want to drink then twist it back again to lock it. I can see it getting a lot of use.

So I struggled up the Little Hill. It’s been a while since I went that way and having a cold certainly didn’t help. Still,  it’s a great workout for my legs. The walk down Peartree Avenue didn’t take quite as long as I’d expected and soon I was in Woolston. Years ago I used to live there and it always makes me smile to go back, lots of memories of pushing the boys around in pushchairs, play school and first school runs. Of course things have changed considerably since those days. The Vosper Thornycroft ship yard is long gone and with it many of the shops that thrived on the lunch time traffic of hungry ship builders. Today it seems to be mostly hairdressers and charity shops, although the fabric shop where I bought knitting wool and material to make clothes for the boys is still open.

Further down, where the ship yard used to be, there are now luxury flats along the water’s edge. They’re still building more and it surprised me just how big Vosper Thorneycroft was. The road layout has changed too and I took a walk along the edge of the shore behind the new flats in what was once the ship yard. I imagine Commando would find it odd walking along there as he used to work at Vospers once upon a time. They’re rather swish flats and I have to say the people buying them are going to have a wonderful view over Southampton water, you can even see the New Bridge in all its glory from there. It’s probably one of the few places you can see the entire span. Hopefully, when it’s all finished the development will attract new business to regenerate the area.

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Eventually I reached the path leading down to the shore and I could walk with an unimpeded view of the sea. They’ve built some funky seats along this path, they look like waves or sand dunes and they each have different things written on them, memories from the residents of Woolston and Weston about living there. I found it quite touching. I have my own memories of the shore, as a child going down to collect shells on the pebbly beach, taking my sister’s boys down there to play when they were little and then, when we lived in Woolston, taking my own boys down there. I used to collect bags of seaweed for my compost heap and the boys would play in the playground, collect stones and shells or build sandcastles in the little patches of sand dotted here and there.

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The tide was in today so there was no chance of walking along the beach all the way down to Victoria Country Park. We have four tides here, it’s an odd anomaly but it is pretty useful for a port. I believe we are one of the only places in the world this happens but I could be wrong. Pretty soon I was walking along the promenade with the little 1930’s Art Deco beach shelters scattered along the top of the beach. A low curve topped wall runs along dividing pebbles and scrubby grass from paving, the boys used to like to walk along the top of it, come to think of it I remember doing the same myself as a child.

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Granted the shore is not one of the world’s great beaches, for a start there’s very little in the way of sand, just endless pebbles and shells, the view across Southampton water is mainly of the Fawley Oil Refinery and docks and then there are the tower blocks. When you sail up Southampton Water they greet you like six stone giants guarding the city. Today I noticed they’re refurbishing them, each is shrouded in blue scaffolding and the sea facing sides appear to be being painted a lovely sky blue. I’m not sure if this is to make them blend into the sky (given its grey most of the time that’s not going to work all that well) or just to make the shore line look more attractive to passing cruise ships but I, for one, think its a massive improvement. I wonder if they’re going to do the same for the tallest block at the far end of the shore? If not it will end up looking like a poor relation.

International Way flats shrouded in blue
International Way flats shrouded in blue

Just before the promenade ends, there’s a play area. As I approached I saw a family of seven swans huddled together on the grass, five almost adult cygnets and their parents. I’m not sure what they were doing there other than taking advantage of some autumn sun but it does feel like I can’t get away from swans. I passed by with caution, swans are very protective of their young and I didn’t fancy being chased along the shore by an irate parent. When I reached the end of the promenade I stopped for a while and sat on a convenient bench to have a drink and take in the view and the smell of fresh sea air.

Seven swans sunbathing
Seven swans sunbathing
Fawley across the water
Fawley across the water

Walking back I decided to give my legs a bit of an extra workout by crunching along the little bit of shore that wasn’t covered by the sea. Walking on a pebble beach is tough, it slows you down but it also ramps up the intensity several notches. I made it about two thirds of the way before I gave up and made my way back to the promenade, my poor old legs were pretty thankful I can tell you. Then it was back the way I came and all uphill at that. Through Woolston and the strange feather sculpture, back up the steady gradient of Peartree Avenue and home. Two hours ten minutes and just over seven miles, not bad for a morning’s work and a nice load of calories banked, although I did pop into the Co-op in Woolston on the way back to buy lunch supplies and came out with a little bag of Maltesers that I ate on the way home. Oh well, no one’s perfect.

Crunching on shingle
Crunching on shingle
Woolston feather sculptures
Woolston feather sculptures

4 thoughts on “Sea, sand and pebbles – first published 30 October 2012”

    1. I’m glad you liked it. The photo was taken back in 2012 but it does look very different depending on the light and the position of the sun.

    1. These days I live a little to far from it to carry much home but there is usually a pocket full of shells to show I’ve been there. The seaweed made very good compost.

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