Healing Myself at Whitburn Beach

 

In mid-February I had a hospital appointment and leading up to it my anxiety and other mental struggles became completely overwhelming.
I've struggled with mental health for well over 18 years now and live life in varying levels of turmoil but this was a particularly bad time.
There is little that can calm or soothe me at all during these times, but going to the sea helps.

So we went to the sea.

Here are a collection of photos I took on February 14th at Whitburn Beach.
Feeling the water and earth on my feet, exploring rock pools, wildlife hunting and doing a rock maze.

There weren't as many birds on this day as there has been on previous visits here, however, we were lucky to see some awesome rockpool life. The rockpools aren't as full of life or diversity of life as they were when I was a child, and this is the first time I've seen so many Hermit Crabs in one place in at least 20 years. 

It may have not taken all my cares away, but this walk did help. 
Never underestimate Mother Nature.

Exploring Whitburn Coastal Park & Finn's Labyrinth

 

On December 27th we ventured to a new destination for our exploration. Whitburn Beach is somewhere I can't believe we've never been to before considering its only around 2 miles down the coast from somewhere so often visited by me, Marsden Bay.
We parked at the lower car park at Souter Lighthouse and took the short walk along the cliffs towards the beach, known as Jackie's Beach and Finn's Labyrinth. The labyrinth is a circular maze made from stones and rock, that is apparently of medieval design and was created by Sean Hesa in 2015. It's named 'Finn's Labyrinth' in memory of his dog. That is the only information I can find on it, however, it is human-made and unnatural for the area which negatively affects the environment and wildlife.

It was a gloomy day with light rain so not the best for photo taking, but no matter the weather it was a lovely walk.
As you'll see from the photos we spent some time adventuring along the beach, looking in rockpools and photographing lots of beautiful birds. I'll leave this post as primarily photos so I hope you enjoy. 

The birds featured above are Curlew, Oyster Catcher, Cormorant, Redshank, Turnstone, and a Kestrel!
I look forward to visiting this area again, especially as the seasons change, and seeing how that affects what wildlife frequents here. 

Until next time...