Calshot, 28 July 2024 11:20
Calshot Beach
What a glorious day at Calshot. The air was hot and still, the sun blazed overhead, and the coast had that distinctly continental feel. It's hard to believe this is the same beach my parents brought me to over 50 years ago. Back then, Calshot wasn't known for its pristine beauty. The "sand" was a stinky, anoxic, greeny-black sediment that you daren't dig into for fear of unleashing a vile, sulphurous stink bomb. The stony beach was riddled with lumps of tar, clinging to your towel and smearing across your skin like unwelcome doggy souvenirs. Why and how my parents endured those beach days is a mystery.
Thankfully, times have changed. Today, improved water quality has brought golden sand and swaying seagrass to the intertidal zone with crystal-clear water revealing sea lemons when you know where to look. It was these curious little creatures that lured me back to the beach today. Finding them here, these unexpected jewels of the sea, clinging to the old concrete outfall - the only remaining relic of the past - was a delightful reminder of how much this coastline has healed yet, ominously also hints to evidence of global warming and ocean acidification.
Photo details - iPhone 11 Pro 13mm (equiv) f2.4 1/400sec. Processed in Lightroom (iOS)
Thankfully, times have changed. Today, improved water quality has brought golden sand and swaying seagrass to the intertidal zone with crystal-clear water revealing sea lemons when you know where to look. It was these curious little creatures that lured me back to the beach today. Finding them here, these unexpected jewels of the sea, clinging to the old concrete outfall - the only remaining relic of the past - was a delightful reminder of how much this coastline has healed yet, ominously also hints to evidence of global warming and ocean acidification.
Photo details - iPhone 11 Pro 13mm (equiv) f2.4 1/400sec. Processed in Lightroom (iOS)