It was a long-anticipated day. I was finally getting to meet one half of the "Scottish Swimming Lassies" (as I call them), whose blog is listed at the bottom of this page. They are called Charlotte and Iona, and Charlotte is a very old friend of my friend Anna. Anyway, she was down for a visit, and so we decided to take her on a magical mystery tour of.....Torquay. Well you can't get more of a contrast to the wild
and woolly Argyll coast, looking out across the Sound of Jura, which is where she swims. The great thing about Torquay though is that just at the point when you are losing the will to live, having driven through endless suburbs, you reach the sea. Its coastline is hidden and magical, full of little coves and beaches with fantastical rock formations. We took Charlotte to Anstey's Cove, and her squeals of delight when she entered the water were a joy to hear. (no doubt it felt tropical in comparison to the water she's used to). Anyway, off we set towards the fairytale pinnacles of Long Quarry Point, and went to explore a cave I've been to before. I climbed through a gap in the rocks and couldn't believe my eyes - a perfect, hidden, secret swimming pool, complete with a skylight in the roof, through which the sun was beaming. It wasn't there on my last visit - it just shows how the tide transforms a place. I think the Scottish lassie brought us luck, let's hope she comes again!
It was a long-anticipated day. I was finally getting to meet one half of the "Scottish Swimming Lassies" (as I call them), whose blog is listed at the bottom of this page. They are called Charlotte and Iona, and Charlotte is a very old friend of my friend Anna. Anyway, she was down for a visit, and so we decided to take her on a magical mystery tour of.....Torquay. Well you can't get more of a contrast to the wild 
and woolly Argyll coast, looking out across the Sound of Jura, which is where she swims. The great thing about Torquay though is that just at the point when you are losing the will to live, having driven through endless suburbs, you reach the sea. Its coastline is hidden and magical, full of little coves and beaches with fantastical rock formations. We took Charlotte to Anstey's Cove, and her squeals of delight when she entered the water were a joy to hear. (no doubt it felt tropical in comparison to the water she's used to). Anyway, off we set towards the fairytale pinnacles of Long Quarry Point, and went to explore a cave I've been to before. I climbed through a gap in the rocks and couldn't believe my eyes - a perfect, hidden, secret swimming pool, complete with a skylight in the roof, through which the sun was beaming. It wasn't there on my last visit - it just shows how the tide transforms a place. I think the Scottish lassie brought us luck, let's hope she comes again!
2 comments:
A really lovely swim - thank you Sophie. Can't believe I was swimming the English Riveria! And longing to read about your new discovery. Come to the West Coast!
Charlotte
Oh that blue water looks so beautiful! I shall book a ticket to Devon on the very next train... Iona xx
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