It is still cooler and yet dry.

We decided to explore south today. We only travelled about 30 miles but kept stopping at view points and side roads through the vineyards to the sea. There are acres of vines everywhere. The surrounding grass is bone dry and yellow quite a contrast to the irrigated vineyards.

We travelled roads through a huge vineyard following the Flaxbourne River. I loved the way the vines are in lines all up and down the valley sides. We had to stop to photo the lines!

 

The heavy cloudy skies were clearing all morning from the sea inland. Lovely blue sky then a huge curtain of cloud, certainly a warm front sweeping in.

The salt marsh was interesting, a different environment. We followed the road passing along lake Grassmere to Clifford Bay.

On the flat sands there were shells and masses of pink seaweed and loads of seagulls. You would have laughed at me. Grandad wanted a photo of the gulls flying up in a crowd. I threw 2 pebbles nearby to them, they ignored me. So I threw a bigger rock and shouted at them. This worked and the results were good. Don’t worry the gulls were nowhere near the flying rock.

We walked right along the bay to near the end. There is a lighthouse but we couldn’t see it.

Back on the road we were going to go straight back to Blenheim but saw a sign to Ward bay. It was a lovely road through farmland with cattle and a lime Quarry.

The bay was a graded pebble beach with steep sides a bit like Beer beach. It had rocky outcrops and crashing waves. There was a seal and a white faced or a reef heron ( not sure which) close by. I chatted to a lady while grandad went on a photo shoot!

The lady had just retired from teaching and asked me how I adjusted to being retired from teaching. She had been teaching in China and lived in Brussels for 20 years. We’ve met really interesting people.

We ended the day by another trip to Whites Bay. Some students were doing Outward bound there and camping. There are glow worms to be seen after dark but the road is shut after 9pm for safety as it has steep drops and no way would we travel along it in the dark.