Seacombe Sands in Devonshire
In September 2019 my family and I camped at a yurt in South Devon, which put us a short distance from a secluded beach called Seacombe Sands or Gara Rock Beach. I was blown away by the view of bright blue water and rocky beach when we parked the car and walked to the path beside Gara Rock Hotel. It was completely stunning.
The beach was empty when we arrived except for a couple with a baby enjoying a late afternoon swim. The occasional walker came across the beach and up the stony path to the cliffside. We had a cricket bat and ball with us as well as a small charcoal bucket grill. Games and gazing out to sea from the barnacle and shell-encrusted rock on the beach kept us happily occupied while we waited on the charcoal to heat up and the sausages to cook.
The waves lapped gently between the rocks. I hiked back up the cliff to take pictures from above and spent some time nestled between the high cliffs to read on a big stone. We burnt our tongues in our eager devouring of hot sausages—we’d underestimated how long it would take the charcoal to be ready and were ravenous. A sheep wandered down the path and tripped across the rocks looking out to sea for a few moments before continuing on its way. It was the first time I’d ever seen a sheep looking out to sea.
As the sun set and the moon appeared we buried our hot coals in the sand, gathered up our bags, and walked back up the cliff, stopping every few steps to take pictures (and maybe catch our breath) because the beauty required our attention.
