Fairwell Spit

A dry start but with heavy rain clouds in the distance we set off with waterproofs packed to walk along the southern side of this huge, long and wide spit before crossing over to the northern side. Black swans were enjoying the mud flats while the tide was out but sinking sand stopped us venturing out to where they were. We also saw a big contraption that they use to move stranded whales. This was put it to use last weekend sadly as more than 400 had beached themselves on the spit. Big rescue efforts over a couple of days and they managed to re-float a few of them. The beach was clear of them today as those that didn't make it have been moved further up the spit to be buried.
There were heavy rain showers throughout the day which just made the cliffs and rugged landscape seem even more wild. Several seals hauled themselves up onto the beach to escape the waves and find a bit of calm - they weren't bothered we were there. Later a seal in the water followed us along the beach, surfing and diving through the waves as if to keep us amused. Thankfully the bay was deserted so others couldn't see us applauding and encouraging it!! A beautiful calm evening with views over the hills and sea finished the day.Read more