And so here we are, in January, and a new year lies ahead. I hope your New Year was a mellow one, and I certainly hope it was a healthy one (said as I’m on day 14 of a lurgy that’s only now getting better – and very slowly). We had a few things planned for this break that didn’t happen thanks to LurgyFest, and also thanks to the rain fest that came our way just after Christmas, but by that stage, when I was choked with the cold, I was glad of a few days where I had an excuse not to leave the sofa.
But, as soon as the worst of the rain cleared, we were back out with the lads, including this coastal walk from last week when we really did have all the weather. We started at Gullane in sunshine, but with rain clouds sweeping across the Forth. It was windy and utterly baltic with the wind chill; one of those days when you park and take a moment to observe how frozen everyone looks as they’re heading back to their cars.
We headed east towards Eyebroughy, not quite reaching our destination as the skies changed dramatically and the grey clouds that were offering that wintry palette in the photos below quickly turned to rain. I didn’t take many photos as I was mostly shooting video, but the last photo is a ‘what our winter walks feel like’ moment. It’s all very well to share seascapes and skyscapes, but the last photo shows how cold and damp we were feeling as we turned back, walking along the pathways that edge the dunes, heading into the wind and rain. We paused at this shelter to let a squall pass. I think Richard, Bracken (middle), and Harris’s expressions are more descriptive of the mood than my words could be.
East Lothian, December 2021.
