Sunday 19 April 2009

Things Happen (even in the middle of nowhere)

I am soooo tired today. Yesterday was pretty full on and active and I really needed to slump today and become like a vegetable. F however, had other ideas. Nothing to ambitious, but ideas all the same.

Today we had S over which isn't a requirement as S is more than happy to sit behind a computer.... F however decided a bbq was in order and that we should have said bbq in our favourite bbq spot. Bassett Cove is situated on the North Cliffs and is reached by a very potholed track. From the parking area you can zig zag down the cliff a little way to a broad ledge. This spot is perfect for bbq's as it is sheltered while still having a fantastic view.

I have never been down further than this ledge. From here there is a bit of a scramble that has never appealed. I have never seen anyone else try it either, or ever before seen footprints in the sand, except for those belonging to seals. Today I thought I saw footprints as we walked down, but even more surprised to see a head followed by a body pop up over the ledge as we arrived. What was even more surprising was that the man was holding a toddler. Following him came a lady and a dog. It had obviously been a harrowing climb as the very fit couple were looking like they had exerted themselves. The toddler needed a wee and had obviously been a little nervous. The lady immediately cuddled the dog on gaining the ledge. The overall feeling seemed to be that they were pretty glad to have gained the top safely again....

I would love to go there by boat sometime, maybe kayak or dinghy. It is a beautiful cove. Fine powdery sand with rock pools to the sides. It is very wide and open and would be very popular if it was accessible. It got it's name because it was the favourite bathing spot of the Bassett family, who were local nobility. I wonder if the path was better in their day...

Having freed S from the magic screens, he couldn't sit still and danced and climbed and hummed. If ever there was a boy who needs a more active life, it is him. He is so near to being a fully fledged teen. He has some of the attitudes down pat. He is aware of girls and is embarassed by the use of certain words now. He has a girlfriend, I think, but they haven't kissed, I think.

I had noticed a man come to the egde of the cliff above and spot us below. What none of us realised is that he wanted our nice ledge, he had plans for it. When we returned to the car we realised that while we had got all our trash, we had forgotten to pick up the bbq and cans left by some others. We sent S running back to get them. It quickly became obvious that this was an annoyance to the four people waiting above.

There was a photographer, a lady in a bathrobe and high heels and another couple. They had obviously wanted to use the ledge but given the changing light the photographer grumpily set up there and instructed his model to start posing to test the light. And then he instructed her to take off the robe, just as S got back. And there was a beautiful lady, thin and tanned lady wearing a skimpy bikini striking poses on the cliff in the sun.

I could tell that S desperately wanted to look......

I am sure I wasn't the only one in the car wondering if the bikini would stay on after we had gone...

2 comments:

  1. OMG, that's SO funny!! I dare say the bikini may have 'blown off' after your departure...:)

    Your description of the folk emerging from the climb sounds a lot like what I imagined we looked like when we walked the perilous trails of Mount Nemo....ACK!!

    I meant to comment on one of your other posts - the one with the chapel on the edge of the cliffs - but that was when my laptop wasn't typing - it, too, brought back all those terrifying memories...I'm not even sure i would have got as far as you lot did....!!

    Such beautiful places, but WHY do they have to be on the edge of cliffs like that?!? *grin*

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  2. I think hill tops and cliffs were always sacred but I also think their limited value to today's culture helps them survive their... Don't tend to find to many housing estates sat on isolated headlands...

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