"Oh I do love to be beside the seaside....."

After breakfast and a chat over a coffee, I left Janet and drove to Saltburn. I lived here when I was a GP in Skelton in Cleveland, many moons ago.

(I drove through part of Skelton, but hardly recognised it!)

I decided to park by the beach because I would not be there for long. The parking machine was a nightmare, but I eventually paid for one hour. 

The wind was whipping around and it was cold and drizzly. I donned my boots and as many layers as possible and started to tentatively explore. Almost the first people I found were this group, sitting huddled behind a windbreak. They were such fun and happy to be photographed.

They epitomise the English on holiday an at the English seaside, making the most of very indifferent weather. "It was much colder yesterday" I was told.

From then on, I got into the groove and I did not want to leave. I had to move my car after the hour and managed to find on street parking at the top of the cliff. I descended in the Cliff Lift (powered by water) and enjoyed wandering about and observing.

There were the children who braved the sea despite the cold.

The child whose mother built him a sandcastle only to see him flatten it to the ground with his spade, in anger!

The children who jumped over the waves as they came in and squealed with delight.

The small boy who built 20 sand castles and was very proud of them.

The occasional dog owner who broke the No Dogs on the Beach rules and pretended they did not know.

The people in the beach huts. One family was having a 7th birthday party.

The lifeguards who tried to persuade people to swim in one small stretch of sea.

I walked along the pier as the tide came in. A fisherman was waiting for high tide and the mackerel that might come in 2 hours time.

Finally, the paragliders came flying over.

I had an absolute ball. This is the sort of photography I like most of all.

I will post more photos on Facebook in due course, but I am very tired tonight. Neither cat has come home to see me yet, which is a bit disturbing.