Pendine in the sunshine for Mother's Day

I had a really lovely Mother's Day yesterday.  I had phone calls from Gabby and Danny, and Tam and Zane were staying, and we went out for the day down to the beach at Pendine, which has long been a favourite of ours.  When the children are young this had exactly the right combination of interests - shallow sea, big sandy beach, caves to explore, rockpools ditto, and several bucket and spade and icecream shops.

The furthest-most shop to the left is where we had ice cream after our walk (mine was lemon meringue and tasty) and you can just see the (very steep!) stretch of coast path leading up the hill behind the shops.  We didn't walk that this time but it's where Keith and I stretched our legs last year.

A distant view past the point to the tall pastel houses of Tenby on the far shore.

Tam and Zane looking around the rocks and rock pools.  Despite multi layers of clothing, it was actually REALLY warm at the beach and we were soon shedding layers.  Other folk were in t-shirts!

Stacks of shells had been deposited by the sea inbetween rocks, jammed in tightly.

A grazing beasty (presumably inside a shell) had eaten a ribbon of patterns across boulders . . .

The cliff ledges were beginning to be checked out by various seabirds and rock pigeons in their natural habitat.

Washed up on the shore was a bit of an old boat - though don't ask me which bit!

We took the steep path over the headland, and here the gorse was in full bloom, with its heady coconut scent.

One last look up the beach where the land speed records used to be set, back in the 1920s.  Malcolm Campbell established a record of 146 mph in 1924.  Later he broke the 150 mph barrier and achieved 174 mph.  The Welshman J G Parry-Jones was not to be outdone though, and on 3rd March 1927, set out to beat the record of Campbell and his car Bluebird.  Sadly, whilst achieving the required speed,  Parry-Thomas was killed in his car "Babs" when it went out of control on the beach.  "Babs" was buried in the sand dunes, but in 1969 Owen Wyn Owen, an engineering lecturer at Bangor Technical College was given permission to dig the car out and restore her and she can now be seen in the Museum of Speed at Pendine beach.  Believe me, that car has QUITE a presence . . .

These historic sands were also where Amy Johnson and her husband Jim Mollison took off in 1933 in their de Haviland Dragon Rapide, "Seafarer", in their attempt to fly non-stop to New York.  This attempt was also fated, as they ran out of fuel and crash-landed in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and both were badly injured.

(Many thanks to the Wikipedia Entry for Pendine Sands.