Having fun regardless

Today’s guest picture comes from Venetia who was happy to be able to take a picture of her visiting badgers without using a flash.

After a quiet morning, we packed into our cars and set off to visit a beach with the intention of taking part in that most British of all holiday activities, a picnic.  This was Tyninghame Beach, the place that Mrs Tootlepedal and I had visited last night.

The walk though the woods when we had parked the cars was a treat in itself.  The area is a country park run by the local authority and a great deal of care has been taken in providing excellent paths for visitors.  As a result we were able to look around at the well kept woodland with its varied selection of trees as we went to the beach.

The weather forecast had been rather unclear as to what weather we might expect but it stayed dry for our outing.  A very brisk wind kept us well wrapped up as we enjoyed our  picnic in a thoroughly traditional way….

..but the sun soon came out and justified the wearing of cool dark glasses to go with the woolly hat and coat.

The tide was out and layers of flat rocks were exposed. The underlying stone was very pink in places.

While Matilda, her father and Mrs Tootlepedal investigated the many rock pools on the shore, Clare and I went for a walk round a rocky headland.  The path was lined with interest…

There was sea thrift in unexpected corners…

…and below us, eider ducks were sunning themselves on rocky ledges among the waves.

And of course, we couldn’t avoid noticing the Bass Rock.

When we got to the end of the point, we found a curious contrast to the flat layers of rock we had left behind us on the beach.  Here the strata were standing bolt upright…

…and there were a couple of striking breaks in the rocks.   This one is known as St Baldred’s Cradle….

…though this one looked more comfortable…

…but as St Baldred was an eighth century divine and hermit who spent some time living on the Bass Rock, perhaps he didn’t care for comfort.

Clare and I returned to the beach and Alistair and Mrs Tootlepedal followed in the footsteps of St Baldred while Matilda and I walked to the water’s edge to watch the tide coming in very gently indeed.

The wanderers returned and we packed our bags and made our way back through the woods to the cars…

…though I paused for a moment when I saw an orange tip butterfly flitting about.

We got back to North Berwick tired but happy but it was such a sunny day that after a cup of tea, Mrs Tootlepedal and I walked along the beach and found a comfortable bench to sit on.  We enjoyed the view.

We returned to the cottage and while Alistair was cooking the evening meal, I wandered out along the harbour wall watching eider ducks heading for a place to rest below…

…and gulls resting on the stiff breeze above.

As it was still a beautiful evening, Mrs Tootlepdal and i took another stroll along the harbour wall after the evening meal.

I looked across the Forth towards our other son Tony’s home on the Fife shore…

…while Mrs Tootlepedal got out her binoculars and scanned the sea and sky for gannets.

There were a lot about.

The flying bird of the day is another gull gliding into the wind above the harbour wall.