9th June from the West Cliff Green, Bournemouth

Veils of warmth as you pass along the West Cliff Green paths. Not curtains, still less blankets of heat but pleasantly warm. The sky is washed with thin white clouds. The sea is grumbling from a fresh breeze. Gulls raft out on the bay; no doubt they have found a shoal of fish to follow. Little boats, sails set, scud across the waters. Only occasionally do individuals break away to fly up on the cliffs mewing for others to join them. Fox gloves stand out bright pink against the dark blue of the builders’ hoardings. Elsewhere the long grass is turning white in the sun.

From 9th June 2022

A grey lumpy sky all day. A buffeting breeze and a choppy, green sea. The flat sands are virtually deserted save where someone is feeding the gulls which form an excited mob. There is an odd quiet about the West Cliff, except when you tune your ears to it there is an underlying murmur made up of sea and wind, pigeons, crows, small birds and jays. A distant gull gives a mournful cry out in the bay. squirrels scamper along the branches of the pine trees, their claws making a scratch, scratch sound. Teasel plants are now growing tall through the blackberry tangle and the yarrow forms drifts of white like foam on the long grass. #westcliffgreen #bournemouth #summer #June

From 9th June 2017

Something unexpected: Stepping outside for my evening constitutional on the West Cliff. The sound of the surf on the sands below. They cry of the gulls wheeling overhead and a thick sweet childhood scent of new mown grass. Thank you Bournemouth Council for that unexpected delight.