Once more on the way...

Well, the weather just gets better and better on St Oswald's Way, and beautiful blue sky followed us up the coast from Alnmouth to Boulmer. The path along the dunes between Alnmouth beach and golf course was lined with rose bay willow herb, in its prime in early september. No signs of trees turning colour yet, but their presence reminds us, just like the last night of the Proms, that summer is at an end.

Rose bay willow herb on the coast path

We pass the Old Battery. This grey squat stone building was used by the Percy Volunteers of Alnmouth village. Originally it had cannons facing out to sea, and the soldiers used it to practice firing them on targets in the sea. No sign of the cannons now, but it is well-preserved, with the plaque still visible: "(...) erected by Algernon, Duke of Northumberland KG (...)". I ponder the randomness of fashion in Christian names. When I read HG Wells and Oscar Wilde as a child there was inevitably a character called Algie. Now the name has disappeared, along with spats and bustles.

The path detours inland round Foxton Hall, a golf clubhouse, the beach just beyond here ending at the rocks of Seaton Point. The tide is going out, and near the caravan park at the point we see hirundines (house martins and swallows) massed on telegraph wires, a sign of their imminent migration, although on days like this they must think it's not really time to go!

House martins and swallows massed on the wires

Rounding the point, we walk by the side of Boulmer beach, and the tide reveals an enticing rocky shore which attracts many waders. We see (and hear) lots of oystercatchers, which are less black and white this time of year, some of them being juveniles and others moulting. At the pub in Boulmer we drink beer on a terrace overlooking the beach in the sunshine. How could life be better? Very close to us solitary redshanks, on disproportionately long legs, pick at marine life. It is time to return, and we walk all the way back on the beach, easily negotiable at low tide. A small flock of greenshanks, their beaks slightly upturned, feed on the tideline. I am excited by these birds of passage. They are stockier and larger than redshanks, and also rarer.

Greenshanks on Boulmer beach

Boulmer 'harbour' affords minimal protection for the small boats moored there as it is not hemmed in by land but by rocks, rather like a South Sea atoll. The rock-free entrance is so small it must be difficult to negotiate in stormy weather. There are two navigation posts on the shore just before the village. If a boat lines them up she will come through the gap in the rocks unscathed. I hope the volunteer lifeboat in Boulmer village is not used too much. Amongst these boats are two Northumbrian cobles, small inshore fishing boats with canvas covers, one brick red, the other white, at the bow.

Cobles in the bay at Boulmer

Back on Alnmouth north beach, Peter dons a pair of swimming trunks and takes his first (and probably last) swim in the North Sea this year. He emerges with a bleeding leg, a hidden underwater rock having gashed his shin. He declares the water is warm, but I

am not tempted, preferring to watch the terns doing their straight dive into the water out to sea.