Category Archives: Sophie loves Devon

S is for sea

There is something about swimming in the sea that just cannot be surpassed.

The sense of freedom that comes from knowing that, if you wanted to, you could just keep going. The relaxing buoyancy of the salty water, supporting you as you recline and look up at the sky. The little rushes of excitement that come from the ebb and flow of the waves, reminding you that you are at the mercy of nature’s power.

There’s the refreshing coldness too. It might take your breath away at first, but once the tingling in your limbs have stopped and your body has become acclimatised to its new environment you cannot help but submerge your head beneath the waves to be enveloped by that invigorating chill once again.

I think that last part might be a side effect of living by the sea. I’ve never been super keen on British waters, preferring the more gentle touch of the water in warmer climes. This summer though, when we were in Barcelona, I found that there was something missing when I clambered down the beach and dived in. It was just not cold enough to give me what I was looking for.

It was the prospect of seeing the sea every day, of being able to go for a dip whenever the mood took me, that was one of the biggest lures for life in Brixham. When I lived in London I found myself craving it – an ache in my heart that could not be satisfied by even the most impressive lido. I want to be one of those people who dives beneath the waves every day, whatever the weather.

I’m not there quite yet, but it gives me a deep satisfaction to know that the sea is part of my daily life. I’m watching it out of the window now: a turquoise blue rising up to meet the sky at the horizon, white horses breaking gently as the breeze ruffles its surface. It looks so inviting I don’t think I’m going to be able to resist for much longer. In fact when Arthur wakes up from his nap we might just have to go for a swim.

S is for sea.

Joining in with The Alphabet Photography Project over at PODcast Dove.

Our Shoalstone summer

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Yesterday marked the end of the season at Shoalstone Pool. It seems to have come round far too quickly, especially with this gloriously warm September. But it has been a fabulous few months, and I think we can safely say we made the most of the incredible facility we have on our doorstep.

It feels like a very long time ago that we were doubting whether the pool would even open this year at all: when there were still wranglings with Torbay council over funding and the fallout from their ill-omened deal with a local dive company.

Luckily Brixham town council came to its rescue and it opened for the season at the end of May: we took our first dip of the summer a couple of weeks later.

Since then we’ve been there as often as we can. Arthur’s swimming has come on in leaps and bounds: back in June he was still holding on to us as we took those first dips in the then icy water.

But then came his float suit, and with it a whole new lease of life. He loves the independence it has given him, and confidently navigates himself around the pool as we hover nearby.

It’s been fantastic to see the pool so busy over the summer holidays – kids learning to swim or splashing about under the watchful eyes of the lifeguards, adults doing lengths with a look of bliss on their faces, locals and tourists alike enjoying the safety of the enclosed pool whilst still getting the invigorating benefits of the seawater.

I reckon we’ve toughened up quite a lot over the summer. The water has actually been pretty warm at points – well, for the UK anyway – but even recently, when our miserable August weather cooled it back down, it’s actually started to feel quite amazing. I certainly don’t flinch so much when I’m walking in with Arthur…

And of course the location is all but impossible to beat. When he’s not in the pool itself Arthur has loved gazing over the wall to the sea, watching boats or fishermen and even catching the odd glimpse of our local friendly seal.

With a summer like this, it was apt that our final swim of the year should be particularly special. We were determined to get down there yesterday but as so often the day ran away with us and it was almost five o’clock by the time we were walking out of the door. As we approached the pool it became clear that it was an especially high tide: the sea was lapping over the wall by the deep end, and even the shallow end was not particularly shallow.

Although it was a gorgeous afternoon the water was rougher than usual, and we did wonder the wisdom for a moment of taking a toddler in for a dip. We needn’t have worried though: Arthur of course took it in his stride, loving the novelty and the sense of occasion and happily swimming along beside his daddy.

He ventured out on to the ‘poolside’ too, splashing through the water to take a peek over the sea wall.

As the sun began to set and the tide continued to rise, it was almost as if the sea was reclaiming the pool for another year. As the summer fades and autumn turns into winter those sea walls will be battered by storms, and we will marvel that we ever swam in sunshine there. Shoalstone Pool is such a very precious place, and I cannot wait for it to be reborn again next year.

To find out more about the pool and how you can help support it go to www.shoalstoneseawaterpool.co.uk.

Grampa’s tractor

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Arthur’s first ride on a tractor was actually in London, a wooden tractor he fell in love with in Hyde Park when we visited back in March.

This summer though he has become completely obsessed with another tractor: the one my dad uses to work the land at my parents’ home in Devon.

It’s one of the first things he says as we wind our way down the lane towards their house and he realises where we are: ‘Grampa’s tractor! Grampa’s tractor!’. If it’s parked in the drive it’s all we can do to hold him back as he fights his way out of his car seat and scrambles towards it.

I’m not sure it’s the safest thing in the world for a toddler to be playing with, but he’s not allowed anywhere near it when it’s moving and fortunately hasn’t quite worked out what all the buttons and levers do yet…

He just loves to sit on it though, his little hands on the wheel as he goes ‘vroom vroom’ and his imagination takes over.

Anything with big wheels that isn’t a train or a bus is a tractor at the moment – so range rovers, diggers, trucks. And as soon as he’s labelled it as such Arthur’s mind quickly takes him back to Grampa’s tractor and a smile comes over his face.

It’s funny how fascinated he’s become by everything with wheels – it’s certainly an interest he’s developed on his own rather than being pushed into it by us. I can’t help but wonder whether he’d be quite so obsessed if he were a girl, though he is also pretty mesmerised by Mimi’s chickens.

But that’s a post for another day…

O is for ostrich

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I’ve never especially been one for zoos. Peering in on caged animals has always felt just a little bit distasteful, and the crowds in London were enough to put me off entirely.

Since we’ve moved down here, though, I’ve become quite attached to our little zoo in Paignton. It’s not actually so little – most of the animals seem to have plenty of space, and they’re all pretty chilled. The conservation work the zoo’s involved in is widely advertised, and suddenly that makes a lot more sense of what they’re all about. Watching Arthur meet animals up close that he would otherwise be unlikely to ever see in real life is quite magical too, and I can see that as he grows the zoo is going to be an important part of his education about the wider world.

We’ve become members of Paignton Zoo, and try to visit as often as we can. It’s great getting to know the space and the animals better, not feeling like we have to race round it all but instead being able to focus in on particular zones. There are some areas that I’m becoming especially fond of.

There’s the camels’ enclosure, where as you watch them lolloping around you can gaze out past the neighbouring houses to the sea beyond. I often wonder what it must be like to live in one of those houses which back right up to the zoo. The noises that fill the air after all the visitors have gone home must be quite surreal – more like being on the African Savannah than the English Riviera.

At the other end of the spectrum I love the petting zoo too. We only discovered it on a recent visit, but Arthur loved being able to go right up to the animals, sitting and chatting with a goat as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

My first favourite spot though, and one that still makes me smile, is the one where the ostriches and zebras hang out together. Of course in the wild animals wouldn’t be segregated as they are so often in zoos, split up into their own little areas with information labels to make them easier to identify. I realise there are probably all sorts of complications with integrating different species of animals more fully in captivity, but still it’s lovely to see these two happily sharing their space. I’m not sure you could get two more different creatures side by side either, though they are pretty well colour co-ordinated!

O is for ostrich.

Joining in with The Alphabet Photography Project over at PODcast.

Fireworks on the water

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One of the many awesome things about living by the seaside is that fireworks are not just for November and New Year’s Eve – there seems to be a display every other weekend at the moment, and whilst we’ve been busy enough to miss most of them we finally made it to a pretty special one last week as part of the Salcombe Regatta.

It was particularly special because, being just up the estuary from my folks’ place, we were able to go by boat. I’m not sure Arthur had any idea what we were up to as we bundled him up and set off down the valley at just the point we would normally have been winding him down to go to bed. He predictably got very excited when he saw the water, taking advantage of the heavy cool bag Leigh was carrying to make a beeline for it.

We had time for a bit of all-important stone throwing and high-fiving…

And then it was into the dory to pootle across to Bombay Duck.

I think Arthur was still a little bit sceptical at this point, but he definitely perked up once we made it on board.

After a rainy start to the day it turned into such a beautiful evening. The light is always so stunning at that time of day anyway, and being on the water is especially magical. We found ourselves a buoy with a good vantage point and set up our little picnic. Arthur was a bit too excited to eat much but the rest of us tucked in.

As we ate, more and more boats began to gather in anticipation, and once darkness fell the fireworks began. It wasn’t the first fireworks display Arthur had been to, but it was the first where he didn’t just retreat to the boob as he tried to compute what on earth was going on!

He watched wide-eyed as colour filled the sky, calling out ‘boom! boom!’ in echo of the bangs. He was still a little shell-shocked, but I’m pretty sure he loved it.

I hope so anyway – I turn into a big kid whenever anyone mentions fireworks so we’ll be going to plenty more displays over the coming months and years.

I took lots of pictures, but most of them are blurs (I blame the rocky boat…) This one captures what it was all about for me though – balls of light and colour exploding in the night sky, illuminating the boats below as the reflections shimmer across the water with the lights of Salcombe town twinkling in the distance.

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Sophie is…

on a journey of (re)discovery in a brave new world.