Sunday 18 November 2012

Swimming at Starehole

There are some awfully funny place names in Devon, and Starehole Bay - or Starhole as it's sometimes known - is one of them. Maybe because when you first clap eyes on it you stop and stare. It is stunning, with a wonderfully dramatic approach: you walk along the western side of the Salcombe estuary, around some rocky turrets - Sharp Tor - at which point you get your first glimpse of the beach. Today the setting sun cast a massive spotlight down on the water which made it all the more enticing. Once in the sea we swam along the shore, marvelling at the rocks towering precipitously above us. As we looked up we saw distinct bands of colour, starting with the petrol blue sea at the bottom, then the hard grey of the rocks, the mustard yellow lichen above it, and then the green grass of the cliffs. The water was clear and delicious.

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