Flower Gathering Along The Sea Cliffs

I've just come back from a blissful two weeks away in the West Country. Days spent hiking along the coast in most weathers is pretty much my idea of heaven but the long walks were made all the more easier as the sun was out pretty much every day. Great gulps of sea air, the wind in my hair, my husband and I started out early each morning, walking the stretch of the West Coast Path from Port Isaac to the rocky outpost called The Rumps.

The path is an undulating, unbroken line that takes you past sandy coves and sea cliffs and the views out to sea are breathtaking. Taking sketch pads, cameras and binoculas, we sat scanning the horizon for minke whales that are sometimes spotted near here and although we weren't rewarded with any sightings this time, we were treated to a mesmerising display as flocks of gannets divebombed into the sea just ahead of us.

The coastal path is bordered by swathes of wild flower meadows that stretch as far as the eye can see. Now mostly dried by strong winds and the late summer, exquisite skeletons of sea pinks, cow parsley and grasses lined our walk, their colours now faded and gone to seed but were no less beautiful for it. I couldn't resist gathering a few. They will look so beautiful arranged together in a vase back home...

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