Boulmer

Boulmer must be one of the most beautiful places to be in, a small bay on the North East coast of England with a sandy shallow curve and a natural rocky reef, a volcanic intrusion, that allows some relief from the rougher sees beyond.  A couple of posts, one at sea and one on land guide the sailors into the haven, just line them up and they can follow the into safety.  Today the tide is on its way in and the lagoon is filled with water, quite choppy as the wind is blowing from the North but in the background the breakers are throwing themselves against the protective igneous wall.  Half a dozen boats are anchored in the bay, corbels with their tented fronts that remind you of Spanish espadrilles, bobbing up and down, from side to side and from prow to stern.

The sun is out in a cloudy sky and there are a few cars parked along the top of the dunes.  Their occupants have spilled out and are walking along the beach or the coastal path.  Some have dogs as if they need an excuse to spend time in such a place.  To the south is Coquet Island, a sanctuary to a colony of puffins and Roseate Terns and at the north end of the bay the small village of Boulmer nestles into the dunes, its grey pebbled buildings matching the darker clouds on the horizon.

We park the car, have a picnic lunch, put our coats on against the breeze and make our way south along the path that draws out the line between the sand and the earth.  At this time of year the grasslands behind the dunes are a riot of colour filled with flowering pants like an alpine meadow.  Yellow appears to be the dominant colour amongst the green, with buttercups and cowslips.  It is certainly the most obvious colour but in-between there is the white of the daisies and if you look a little closer you can pick out the delicate blue of the speedwells.  Purple is also present, hinted at in the seed heads of the grasses and in full force with the clover and vetches. In a small dip, somewhat shadowed from the wind we find a colony of purple common orchids, some with spikes in full flower and others just about to bloom. They may be common but they are a sight you don’t see very often.

The land behind the dunes is like a paradise, a carpet of flowers in a fabric of grasses and ribwort with nothing more than a foot above the ground, like a model forest with bees flying in and around the blooms doing their thing and the skylarks singing sweetly in the sky above.  It is not just the bay at Boulmer which is to be admired, in the late spring the delicate floral landscape behind the dunes is of equal merit and as I’ve said, Boulmer must be one of the most beautiful places to be in.