The Sands of Time

Whilst I was over east some weeks back, and having had one trip back in time meeting up with old climbing friends, I decided to take the dogs off to my old stomping ground.  For a number of years I lived in a tiny farm cottage just a few hundred yards from the sea.  It was idyllic and I have fond memories of that time.  For that reason, I didn't go near the house as I didn't want to corrupt the memories that are imprinted on my brain.  Instead, I drove to the next village and walked back along the shore to the mouth of the burn (stream) by which my cottage sat.

My Old House - the tiny one in the middle.

It was a gorgeous day with blue skies, fluffy white clouds, and some warmth to the air as well as in the sun.  The village gardens were full of the spring yellows and purples that my own garden used to have. 

Down at the beach, the sand was as clean and golden as I remember it, and the sea was crystal clear - with the smell of the North Sea which is so different to the Atlantic on the other side of the country - somehow it is fresher, saltier, and crisper. 

Sand and water - a paradise for dogs.

Even Tussock had a swim.
 

There is a new coastal walking path there now, but I stuck to the shore line to avoid any walkers, and also to allow the dogs to swim - and swim they did.  For about a mile, River and Talulah never came out of the water for more than a few seconds at a time.  Even Tussock went in for a swim.  I threw the ball a few times on setting off, but then lost it when I let go of the rope at the wrong moment and it ditched in the sea - and didn't float.  Ah well.

Queen of the ball - Tussock

Queen of the Seas - Talulah

As we got closer to my old home, the beach became more and more familiar - rocks we would sit on in the sunshine, our place of entry into the water for a swim - and we swam most days from March through to November!  There were the huge slabs of rock covered in fossilised tracks of creatures who lived hundreds of millions of years ago, and the rocks jutting out into the water which were safe to dive from.  On one memorable midnight swim, I dove in from these rocks to find the water full of phosphorescence - magical luminous yellow particles glowing as I disturbed the water in which they live.  As I swam creating disturbance and bubbles, I left a trail of bright yellow in the water behind me.  Magical.

Getting close - you can just see the salmon bothy in the distance.

My old beach.

My old beach - the diving rocks are on the left.

One sad sight was the old salmon bothy - in my time living here, the bothy was actually habitable, still with its wood panelling, stairs and attic.  One evening, my boyfriend and I had gone up into the old attic and found several hundred rounds of live ammunition which must have been stashed up there during the second world war.  We collected it up and took it to the police station in town - I will never forget the alarm of the lady officer on desk duty!!!  I am glad we removed it from site, as over the years the house has been emptied of everything burnable - I dread to think of what dreadful accident may have happened if some drunken fool had chucked these bullets on a camp fire.  Anyway, the bothy now has just two gable ends, a back wall, and a pile of rubble - with a sign saying "Dangerous - Keep Out".  The decay brought about by time and accelerated by vandalism.

A sad demise

Someone's pride and joy once upon a time.

I cried upon seeing this

Looking back to the bothy.

I can't believe in all the years I lived here, that this is the only picture I could find of the salmon bothy.

We walked as far as the burn mouth and I smiled as I remembered a funny moment.  From my house I could walk down our own side of the burn to what we called the "wee beach", or we could cross the burn and walk through the woods to the "big beach".  One evening, my neighbour and I walked to the wee beach, and in the guddle of getting changed to swim I didn't realise that Leroy had wandered off.  When I noticed his absence I started to call him - no response.  Eventually I realised I would have to go find him before he wandered too far.  I put my clothes back on and ran along the track towards the burn, calling all the way.  No response.  Finally I got to the burn, and saw him over the water, chatting up another dog who was with a group of people.  I stood there and called across the burn - he looked at me as if to say "You can't catch me!"  In frustration I eventually shouted "If you don't f****** come here I will f****** come and get you".  No response.  I stripped off to my underwear, waded into the water, swam across, trotted out up the bank, caught Leroy, pushed him into the water and swam back over pushing him all the way.  At the other side, I gathered up my clothes and trotted back into the bushes.  On the way back to the "wee beach" I mused on the fact that the people with the other dog were American, and grinned as I imagined their conversation on my departure: "Gee, they still have savages here"!!!

The burn mouth, and time to turn around.

Still smiling at this memory, I turned back the way I had come.  I was almost tempted to go for a swim, but had no towel or swimwear with me, and it was rather busy with people to be running around in my underwear.  We kept on walking other than stopping for our picnic where Talulah decided to dig a hole to rest in.  Only trouble was, by the time she was happy with the hole, it was time to move on.

When we reached the point where we lost the ball, the dogs rushed forward, obviously remembering it.  The tide was going out, and suddenly I spied the ball in the shallows.  I kept pointing it at it, saying "there it is" and one by one the dogs walked over it, past it, and even stood on it, but they didn't see it to bring it out.  Bit by bit my feet got wetter until finally Talulah spied it and picked it up triumphantly.

By now, the clouds were gathering a bit and there were a few spats of rain.  No matter - we had had a lovely walk.