The weather here in England is still cloudy, cool, and wet, but that does not mean one can’t enjoy the beach. This past weekend I enjoyed a nice afternoon at the beach in the nearby town of Budleigh Salterton, and much of my experience that day was quintessentially British. Southwest England has many fantastic beaches intermixed with dramatic seaside cliffs. The cliffs here are distinctive of the Jurassic Coast, which is the southern coast of England. The cliffs of this 95 mile-long coastline reveal the geological history of Britain, with the oldest rocks in the west and the youngest in the east. They vary in color: red, yellow, white, and gray. While they are more enjoyable during the summer, visiting one of these beaches is a nice way to take in to local landscape and escape from essay-writing. I had fun visiting Budleigh Salterton and the seaside was quite relaxing.
Budleigh Salterton beach is a pebble beach, not a sandy beach. The entire stretch seems to be made up of round, baseball-sized rocks, which are not easy to walk on. We strolled along and picked up some interesting rocks and shells to look at. Then, we spent at least twenty minutes building a small dam using the rocks in the adjacent River Otter outlet. Simple, but entertaining. It was windy out there on the coastline, but we were not the only ones to brave the chilliness. Many people were out walking along the beach. One family was even having a cookout.
After our time at the beach, we walked along the towns High Street for a drink and a late lunch at a pub. Unfortunately, it was almost 3:30 PM so the kitchen was closed. I have found that it is not uncommon for pubs to stop serving food between around 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM on weekends. It can be quite disappointing when you realize you can’t order food and you are very hungry, so do keep this in mind when planning your travels. So, we grabbed a drink, and then after having a meander down High Street, we decided to get ice cream cones. Seaside towns like Budleigh Salterton have some excellent ice cream shops. I had a tasty salted caramel ice cream. Some common flavors, which might seem strange to Americans, are clotted cream and honeycomb.
Walking back along the beach with the ice cream cone, I was dive-bombed by a seagull. I ducked and swerved, so it did not reach me nor my precious ice cream. It did give me a bit of a fright though. The seagulls in the South West are notoriously vicious. As we were walking along, with ice cream, passing by a stereotypical red English telephone booth, English flags flying in the distance, along a beach, with cliffs in the distance, with gray skies, and everyone dressed in jackets, after a visit to a pub, I couldn’t help but think how quintessentially British this was. The drive back was a scenic drive along winding, sometimes narrow, roads through small towns and countryside. I think I am assimilating to British culture just fine.
