A rainy walk along the beach

I needed to clear my head this morning, so even though it was raining I took myself for a cold, blustery walk along the beach.

It always helps to get some fresh air and exercise.

A visit to Grenen, near Skagen, where two oceans meet

On our recent northern European cruise we stopped for the day in Skagen in Denmark. I must admit that I had never heard of Skagen before our visit! But I'm really glad that we had the opportunity to visit. Skagen is the northernmost town in Denmark, and the northernmost point of land is at Grenen. The reason that most people visit Grenen is because on this sandy peninsula two seas meet - the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. 

Grenen is about three kilometres from Skagen and then it's about a half hour walk across the sand to get to the northernmost point. Your cruise company will probably offer some different options for tours in Skagen, but we've always found it much cheaper to explore cruise stops on our own!

We took a complimentary shuttle bus from the cruise port into the town centre and then headed out in the direction of Grenen. We didn't intend to walk all the way there, but we were doing so well that we just kept going! Many people had hired bicycles and this would be a really good option as the cycle path is flat, straight and easy to follow, but there were also lots of other people walking. The walk takes you out of the town past some attractive buildings, and then along the cycle path which is slightly inland but still a really pleasant walk. There were plenty of signs with maps so you could see where you were and identify the landmarks like the lighthouses. 

At Grenen there is a large car park, toilets, a gift shop and cafe. From Grenen you can walk out to the sandy peninsula yourself, and plenty of people were doing it, but it would be hard work across the sand. We opted to pay a little to take the Sandormen tractor pulled coach. You can use a credit card to easily buy tickets from a small vending machine in the car park, or you can pay cash on board. An adult round trip cost 35, 00 DKK and a child 15,00 DKK (you can find all the details here - Sandormen). It's quite a short journey out across the sand.

The Sandormen drops you right at the Skagen peninsula, where the two seas meet. Having seen enhanced pictures on social media I was a little bit sceptical about what we would actually be able to see, but when you are there you can really see how the two seas are washing together! It was very busy (get there early if you want the Instagram shots without other tourists in the background!), because lots of people wanted to take their photo with a foot in each ocean. It was really beautiful and although it was crowded it also felt peaceful.  

We didn't stop for too long here, and then took the Sandormen back to Grenen. We spent a little while there having a look around the gift shop and using the facilities. There are some lovely views and you can climb up on the dunes to have a look around.

Then for a change, we walked back to the town along the beach. Again it was easy to find the way, and it was a really interesting walk. The beach is both sandy and rocky and all along the coastline there are large concrete bunkers, some of which you can go inside. Then we walked back through the houses to the town centre. When we arrived at the town we used Google maps to find the way, but to be honest you can't really get lost because the town is so small.

I'm really glad that we made the effort to walk out to Grenen, it was a lovely walk in both directions which we found easily manageable and it was definitely somewhere that it was worth making the effort to get to.

Felt anchor keyrings with an ocean theme

I've been a bit quiet with the crafty posts recently, but I've still been crafting away busily in the background! I am making a determined effort this year to work through some of my fabric and felt stash, and as we have a Disney cruise coming up I've been thinking of ways that I can use my stash to create some Disney cruise themed crafts. 

I decided to make a dent in my felt stash and make some simple anchor themed felt keyrings. I already had the keyring rings and some sea themed charms leftover from previous projects, and I picked up the gorgeous marine themed ribbon on my holiday craft shopping spree last year. It works perfectly for this project because the designs are vertical!

The keyrings were very simple to make. I created an anchor paper pattern using Google image search for a simple anchor design and modifying it to fit what I wanted. I made sure that the top of the anchor was wide enough to fit the ribbon, then I cut out two anchor shapes for each keyring. I chose pastel shades because I have plenty in my stash and they co-ordinated well with the ribbon.

I sewed the two halves together, adding stuffing into the bottom as I went along as it was quite fiddly to do it afterwards. The ribbon is sewed in firmly along the top, with the keyring and charm already in place. As a final touch I added a contrasting button to the front.

I'm planning on using these along with some drawstring bags to present the gifts for my Fish Extender exchange.

Some of my favourite Instagram accounts for beachcombers

I've been trying to stay away from social media a little bit lately, but I love a quick Instagram binge every few days. I've had a good sort through the accounts that I follow and I'm very happy with my current Instagram feed. I follow lots of crafters, and people that post pretty things like fabric creations, nice views and lovely cakes. 

Recently on my own Instagram account I've been posting lots of pictures of the things that I've found while beachcombing, and when choosing some hashtags I came across some accounts which were posting pictures that I loved, so I thought I'd share a few accounts I've been following recently in case you are also a beach and sea enthusiast!

I discovered smartie_lids_on_the_beach when I was sharing some beach plastic that I had found, and it inspired me to make my own beach plastic collage. Michelle is an artist from Cornwall and she makes beautiful art using the discarded beach worn plastic that she finds on local beaches. I love looking at the pictures of her colourful collages.

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A post shared by Michelle Costello (@smartie_lids_on_the_beach)

tidelinetrashandtreasures is another account sharing colourful beach plastic art, and this one is particularly relevant to me because Carmen is local and visits the same area of beach that I do. I also just saw that they sell their gorgeous work at the farmer's market that I visit from time to time, so I will look out for them the next time I am there!

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A post shared by Carmen Haselup (@tidelinetrashandtreasures)

lorileethomasart also shares beach art, but also using natural objects and lots and lots of sea glass. I always hunt for sea glass and I have a modest collection but nothing like this! I would also love to find some sea pottery one day.

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A post shared by Lori-Lee Thomas (@lorileethomasart)

Finally I wanted to share lightkeepersdaughter709. This account also shares some gorgeous sea glass and sea pottery.

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A post shared by lightkeepersdaughter (@lightkeepersdaughter709)

I love seeing wonderful beachcombing pictures popping up in my Instagram feed. It makes me want to get back down the beach and start hunting!

A summer morning walk along the beach

This morning I had to make an annoyingly unscheduled trip into town to return a speedily broken piece of plastic tat to Claire's Accessories. I dropped the children to school at 8.15am, and with the shop not opening until 9am I decided to spend my wait having a wander along the beach. Worthing is handily arranged with one of the main shopping streets parallel to the seafront, so it's easy to pop over to the sea. Even though it was early it was already really warm.

The tide was a long way out but coming in. At low tide in Worthing the sea is so far away that you can't even walk to it, due to the slippery green rocks and large pools of water. In fact you can barely even see it in the distance. The incoming tide creeps in quietly but quickly. You can head out across the rocks to a nice sandy patch, and turn round a few minutes later to find your route back underwater. It's not too dangerous as it's so shallow, but you might end up with wet feet!

The town centre was so noisy this morning with building works and cars, but as soon as you get down on the beach it all fades away into the background.

I can spend ages wandering along the beach. I love looking down for interesting shells and pebbles and any other things I might find. I'm always really excited to find rare sea glass, and I try to collect any rubbish that I find, although luckily I don't usually spot any. The only thing I picked up this morning was a large metal fishing fly, the metal part is about 7cm long. I found it a bit icky to pick up as I don't like fishing and I don't want to think about the fish it might have hurt, hopefully I've prevented it from causing harm to other marine life.

While I'm walking along I get completely lost in my thoughts. I think sometimes I even enter the flow state that I'm always reading about in my wellbeing book collection. Time just flies by, and I have to make sure that I look up every now and then, as I'm so busy staring down and not noticing how far I've travelled!

So the time passed very quickly and I was able to return my item without any trouble. I even had time for a quick visit to the charity shop next door for some bargain paperbacks!

Beachcombing

I'm very lucky in that as well as living close to the sea I've also had the opportunity to visit and spend time on beaches across the world. I love how each beach is different, and as soon as you step onto the sand or the pebbles you are face to face with the unique features of that part of the coast. For example, on my local beaches near Worthing you can hardly move for mermaid's purses (egg cases for sharks and skates) and cuttlefish, but it's unusual to find an intact shell more interesting than the slipper limpet. In contrast, on our recent holiday to Hunstanton the beaches were thick with razor shells, which I've never seen down here. 

I particularly love to find sea glass, but I've found that beaches either have it or they don't - Barcelona beach was a particular hot spot, perhaps because it's in the middle of the city, as well as beaches on the Isle of Wight. I'm also desperate to find some sea pottery, but I've had no luck yet!

 

Despite spending a lot of time hunting for treasures I feel that I'm not very good at it, perhaps I'm still developing my eye. I'd love to find a fossil, or even some interesting things like on the Lego beaches in Cornwall. Luckily I don't tend to see much rubbish washed up by the sea. 

I'm a bit squeamish when it comes to finding parts of dead crab, although I was relieved to read recently (see my book recommendation below) that they are more likely to be crab moults rather than actual dead crabs. We did pick up this interesting 'skull' which was later identified by my wildlife expert friend as a herring gull pelvis. 

I think that most people, even those that don't live by the sea, have some kind of receptacle in their home where they keep shells and stones that they've collected. I have several vases and bowls scattered throughout the house with no kind of order to them. One day I'll get around to doing something crafty with everything! Here is just a small selection of my Hunstanton bits and pieces, I found such a lovely variety.

When we got back from holiday I bought this brilliant book - Beachcombing and the Strandline (affiliate link) - which is an excellent read if you are interested in the things that wash up on beaches. It doesn't just cover the things that should be there like shells and seaweed, it also helps you to identify pieces of beach rubbish like security seals and tags from the fishing industry and pieces of lobster and crab traps. Although it's focussed on British beaches there's also a section on the more exotic finds from around the world that occasionally wash up, and it also has information on common marine wildlife. 

Now I'm all inspired to jump in the car and head down to the beach again!

#ad Sea glass and glass pebble coaster

This is a collaborative post in association with Bostik

This month I am using Bostik Power Repair Ultimate Strength glue in my crafting. This glue is an ultra strong clear glue which provides a long lasting bond for just about anything, including glass, wood, stone, metal, leather, rubber, plastics, ceramic and more.

I used it to make a sea themed coaster for my desk, using glass pebbles and some scraps of sea glass.

You need:

A blank coaster - this could be an old coaster that you want to upcycle or you can buy a plain coaster to decorate
Acrylic paint
Glass pebbles
Sea glass
Bostik Power Repair Multi-Purpose Ultimate Strength Glue

Instructions:

First prepare your coaster with a coat of paint. I upcycled an old coaster that I had already, so I first painted the coaster with some white paint to cover up the existing image, then finished with a layer of pale blue to add to the seaside theme of my coaster. If your coaster already has a darker image on it then you may need several coats to cover it evenly.

When the glue has dried you can prepare your glass pebbles and sea glass. Try and choose pieces of sea glass that are the same height as the pebbles so that the coaster will have an even surface. If the sea glass pieces are flatter than the pebbles you may need to add some cardboard or similar to the bottom to bring them up to the same height. If you can't find sea glass you could also use flat stones or sea shells. I used a spare coaster to plan out my design so that I would be able to work quicker once the glue was applied.

The Bostik Power Repair Glue has two nozzles, one fine and one wide. For this project I used the wider nozzle which allows you to spread the glue over a larger area. I coated the painted surface of the coaster with a layer of glue, trying to keep the glue application smooth.

Then I pressed the sea glass and pebbles down into the glue. You are able to reposition the items for up to three minutes, and then the glue will be fully set within two hours, so this gives you time to arrange the pebbles and sea glass the way that you want them.

The glue will be fully dried after 24 hours, so it's best to wait until then before you use the coaster for the first time.

You could also use this technique to decorate other items, for example a tin can to make a pencil holder, or a picture or mirror frame.

Now I have a little piece of the seaside to keep me company while I enjoy a cuppa at my desk!

Summer by the sea

I've been living by the sea for about 15 years now, at one point within a ten minute walk and currently about two miles away - close enough that I can walk or run to the coast easily enough. The children go to school in our nearest seaside town and I often park up early so that I can go for a quick walk to the seafront and breathe in the sea air. I also try to fit in a seaside walk most weeks, either alone or with a friend.

Although Worthing isn't perhaps top of the list when it comes to a UK beach holiday destination, there are still plenty of tourists here over the summer. The first summer that I was living here I was temping in the town centre, and I loved taking my sandwiches down to the beach at lunchtime and sitting on the pebbles in the sun with the holidaymakers and locals. It was a bit like being on holiday myself! Worthing can get very busy in the summer, both in the town centre and on the outskirts as you head out towards Goring and Ferring, the cafes are full and although there is plenty of free parking along the front and down surrounding roads they do get very congested.

I love going down to the seafront for a run in the evening when it's still warm and light but a lot quieter. I like to run along the front past the private estates with the big houses that have gardens that stretch down to the beach, imagining what it would be like to live so close to the sea. It's beautiful at sunset, especially when the tide is partly out so you can see the sand underneath the pebbles.

The photo below was taken on one of our first summers in Worthing. We lived in a lovely flat very close to the sea front, and every evening after work we would go for a walk along the front, often all the way into town. We didn't have a garden, and so we used to take a disposable barbecue down to the beach. I loved living so close but when it came to buying a house we just couldn't afford one in that area.

Last summer I felt like I rediscovered the beach again, after a few years with young children that to be honest weren't that thrilled with a trip to a cold and windy local beach that didn't have any sand. I did try to take them there a few times when they were little, but after one screamy trip too many I gave up for a while and we kept the beach for holidays. But last summer we had a few trips both alone and with friends, and a couple of times I even indulged them with an ice cream!

Making the most of the last days of the summer holidays! #epig #magnum #beach #seaside #goringbeach #worthing

A post shared by jenniferjain (@jenniferjain) on Aug 30, 2016 at 4:35am PDT

Now that the children can ride their own bikes, and I have a bike of my own, I'm hoping that we might enjoy a few family cycle rides along the prom, which has a lovely wide cycle path. I'm certainly intending to get down there by myself whenr I can.

Perhaps one day we'll be able to afford a house right on the seafront. I dream of a house with a large window that looks out over the sea so that I can watch the sunrise and sunset and listen to the sound of the waves.