I love the wildness of Bedruthan Steps – the waves crashing with relentless energy against rocks that resist the battering the sea throws at them. The last few times I have been there the tide has been in and there is no escaping the sea. The beach is completely submerged for four hours on each flow of the tide.

Today we were lucky enough to be able to walk on the beach, though we probably wouldn’t have considered that luck if asked after making the ascent from the beach via the steepest stone steps you could imagine!!!!

Despite a late start and weather threatening to rain, we braved the elements on Crantock beach and Bedruthan to show Mark what I consider to be the county’s finest attributes. Wild and rugged coastline and big, big sea. Mark observed that the sea was cleaner than he expected. Indeed it was the most stunning azure and as clear as crystal. We were only let down by the lowest swell I’ve ever seen on this coastline – waves that looked as though you could have made them in the bath.

Crantock was perfect. (As usual.) In fact, the lifeguards had nothing to do as there were only a dozen or so people on the whole beach at any point while we were there. Have any of the Brits reading these pages noticed how we seem to have an entire Lifeguard service made up of Aussies and South Africans these days? DM says that they’ve become more ‘Baywatch’ by having American style 4x4s instead of woebegone old Landrovers but at least we don’t insist on silicone implants for ours!!!

On a nicer subject, the wild flowers are prolific at the moment and that’s what inspired this shot. I photographed this scene last year, for my friend whose husband loved the ocean. This time it could not have been more different. A benign sea with all this natural beauty surrounding it.

Strangely, after all this beauty, we got back into the car to rain, wind and fog so we now have our fire burning in the stove and the door shut for the first time this week. Ah well, that’s life!

Two years ago we were leaving Cheswardine and wanting it to be our home and last year DM was getting the pip with me over bedding!