The weather forecast for today had changed constantly over the last couple of days, starting with foreboding promises of heavy rain and thunderstorms. Fortunately, that tempered as the days passed and, on the day, it was slightly overcast but with those lovely, silvery, layered clouds that occasionally break to reveal narrow bands of blue heaven. The rain held off for most of the day, only coming at the end as we reached Southport.
The beaches when we moved to them did not disappoint. Someone wrote to me recently describing them as 'immense' and they are that and more. As we walked, the cloudy skies cleared to be replaced by a blue spaciousness that, with the immensity of sand and sea, highlighted your irrelevance to the beauty of the place. Despite the sky clearing, it remained a cold day and for most of it we walked with hats, gloves and coats on.
Later, as we walked the second half of the adventure, we spied a few hardy souls cooried together in the sand dunes, trying to enjoy the summer day but still find respite from the cold wind. You could almost hear Billy Connolly shout at them 'appreciate, appreciate, appreciate '.
It had been our intention to continue round to the village of Banks and, had we been able to secure another cup of coffee without queuing, we might have made it. As we searched for the coffee the wind picked up, the skies darkened and the rain fell. We decided an early day was a good idea.
Despite it being a busy day with the travelling to and fro, it was still a good day with lots of interest and highlights. Although the walk was only ten miles, most of it was completed on sand and that is sometimes no easy task and, to be honest, we were tired and more than happy to stop.