Saturday 23 July. New Grimsby. Bryher.

You go to bed with a calm sea and a sunset, and wake to a howling wind. However, the wind was forecast so we were expecting it overnight. Excited about a day walking on Bryher. We set off in the dinghy and parked her on the beach . we then walked south on grassy sandy rocky tracks. It was windy and overcast but beautiful. The well worn tracks always gave you the impression you were on a path to somewhere. We stepped inside the lovely little church …..All Saints Church… Bryher. They had some wonderful ( obviously contemporary )stained glass windows depicting swallows and cormorants, and other sea creatures. A couple of people came in and sat down to pray. We made our way first to the south of the little island. It’s a blustery day and a SW wind so of course the wind is most fierce in the western side. Walking the coastal footpath we came upon a lovely hut housing the works of artist Richard Pierce. What a back drop to making a living. Details in WILT. We had our picnic by choosing a rock in a sheltered bay. We walked round the north bit of the island, observing the waves of the Atlantic crashing into the rocks. In one particular bay, people had obviously made a children’s play area out of fisherman’s buoys, nets and various floats and pallets. In amongst trees. Fun. I was excited to see heather again and picked a bunch to replace the last bunch I picked in Kinlochbervie. …. which is now just a twig….. Eventually we came down to Fraggle rock bar and sat with a beer, looking out and wondering just how it could look so different…. 24 hrs on. Raining, we had to wipe the chairs, but still sat outside under umbrellas. We returned to the boat, and had a normal evening. I don’t remember it being that windy and we ate a delicious Greek salad in the cockpit, watching the sun go down.

What I learned today….. Beautiful paintings…… check out the website http://www.rpearce.net