A very wild and windy day on the cliffs and the beach. The signature white cliffs can be seen today and the white waves breaking on the stony beach. The stones give way to smooth white ridges in the rocks that run horizontally out into the sea. The waves run into the shallow water, without violence and the wind was not cold. The water temperature was about 18°C but felt warmer than that.

Walking through the ridges was tricky, as some of the darker flinty rocks were sharp. The cliff face is made up of chalk layers interspersed with grey flint. The beach is a combination of these rock types. The cliffs are constantly changing and coastal erosion is energetic on this part of the coast. Green hairy seaweed made the smooth rocks quite slippery, and it was a relief to reach the water.

I didn’t go out far, as I couldn’t tell how far out the rocks stretched, so the swimming was shallow with plenty of loose seaweed getting caught under my chin. The water was milky with the churning of the waves, driven by the prevailing wind from the sea.

Sea water is definitely not cold water. Very pleasant for swimming and the waves provided a bit of variety, as they broke over me a few times. The water is always refreshing and worth the effect of navigating rocks and plants to get a bit of a swim…