I love living near the sea, I feel like I'm on holiday every day. It's also very inspirational when writing my seaside stories, it gives me a lot of ideas and help with describing settings and locations. Here are my top ten things about the seaside.
Holly Martin
Fish and Chips
There is something wonderful about eating fish and chips at the seaside. Not only does the fish taste better because its fresher but sitting on a bench overlooking the sea, with that tang of saltwater in the air just makes the experience so much more enjoyable.
Fudge
(I promise not all of my top ten will revolve around food) There are at least three fudge shops in my local town, a shop solely dedicated to fudge! They all sell fudge in bizarre and wonderful flavours and I love walking past them and seeing them making the fudge fresh, enjoying the sweet, warm smells that drift out the shop and pull you in and then going in and tasting the new flavours and walking out with a bag filled with every flavour. I had some fantastic rhubarb and custard fudge the other day, it was bright pink and yellow, probably filled with a ton of rubbish but it tasted amazing.
Seaside paraphernalia
I love seaside themed trinkets. A plaque saying 'gone to the beach', a painted starfish, a lighthouse that actually lights up, a bauble with sand and shells inside, a crazy, jaunty mug with a big grinning crab. I want to decorate my whole house with this kind of stuff and despite that I've lived here for nearly 10 months, i still take great pleasure at wandering around the gift shops and buying some of the cooler trinkets.
Sea views
I could look at the sea forever and never get bored. Its calming and tranquil. The sea changes colour every day, sometimes a gorgeous green or a deep beautiful turquoise blue, sometimes inky blue or black, sometimes grey and I love seeing the sea throughout the seasons. Even when its dramatic and tempestuous, crashing onto the rocks its a beautiful sight to see. I have taken hundreds of photos and they really do help when I'm writing my stories.
Coastlines
The coast changes so much, even just a mile down the coast, i love seeing the differences in the beaches and coastal walks. Rugged white cliffs, red rocks and sand, golden sands, shingle beaches, rock formations and caves to explore, each beach, cove, cliff, hill or inlet is different and all have their own awe inspiring beauty.
Sealife
There are so many animals that live around the coast and I love to see them all, from the tiny colourful crabs and starfish that wash up on the shores, the gannets that dive into the sea from twenty metres in the air. We are lucky enough to have seals, dolphins and porpoises that frequent my nearby coasts on a regular basis and they come in very close to the shores. I was also lucky to see a huge humpback whale a few weeks ago jumping out of the water.
People
People seem so much friendlier here. They are happy to talk to strangers, help each other and generally have a lot more time for each other. Of course, living in a small town means that everyone knows everyone else's business but everyone cares about each other.
Ice cream
We have an ice cream shop here too, with probably 50 different flavours which always make it hard to choose, and with toppings, sauces and a choice of cones, its a treat no trip to the seaside should be without
Eccentricities
There are lots of traditions in seaside towns that add to the quirky charm, festivals or special parades or days and if you are near these towns on these wonderful days, they definitely should not be missed. From the worm charming festival in Blackawton or the pirate festival in Brixham, or the day when the residents of Ottery St Mary carry flaming barrels of tar through the streets, its definitely worth a visit.
Laidback lifestyle
Everything is so much more laidback and slower here, it feels a very relaxing, chilled out, happy way of life.
Spring at Blueberry Bay is out today so take a trip to the seaside town of Hope Island and fall in love with the sea too.
