Timeless sea breezes,
that for aeons have
blown ancient rocks,
you are purest space
coming from afar…
extract from SONG OF THE SEA BY RAINER MARIA RILKE
Whenever I feel like “running away”, I need space to think, a place (aside from my bed) to meditate or really need to clear my head, there are two places I turn to: one is the moors, the other the sea. The sea has always been a place where I feel at home, at peace, like I belong. Even when I lived miles away from a beach, I always felt the pull. This is not to say that I’m a “beach person”. I can’t actually think of a holiday I’m less suited to than a typical beach holiday!
I do, however, have a real soft spot for British seaside towns and villages, especially here in the North East. Small places like Staithes, Robin Hood’s Bay and Runswick Bay might be fairly touristy (especially in summer), but they still for me retain that quintessential, rustic charm. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that they are (apart from Runswick Bay) still working fishing villages and the locals are very down-to-earth and just going about their daily business.
I will often just wander the streets for a little while, maybe have a bite to eat and then sit somewhere on the edge of the beach and look out to the North Sea. I listen to the waves. Autumn and Winter are better for this than Summer, but it’s obviously easier and somewhat more comfortable to sit by the water when the temperatures don’t require multiple layers with waterproofs on top of them.
Anyway, this weekend I went back to Staithes. Camera in hand, just in case, but not looking for anything in particular. Interesting faces, however, always. Locals. I like to document the “coastal locals” with my camera. Maybe visitors, though that’s less likely. I had forgotten that there was something of a festival happening, hence the musicians. The fisherman getting his boat ready for when the tide is coming back in. The ice cream seller with the friendliest smile. I like the interaction with strangers when I ask to take their picture. Most react amused and are happy to oblige.
I ended up spending the afternoon, until the rain set in. One moment it was sunny (though with a sky already indicating what was to come), the next the rain came pouring down. One moment there was music and people sitting outside the pub, the next we all huddled up together for shelter under the awning of next door’s gallery. I hadn’t anticipated that ending to the day, but there was something wonderfully connecting about it.
