Coastlines
A West-Facing Coast and an East-Facing Coast Are Two Different Trips
Which way a shoreline points decides its swell, its afternoon wind and the hour its light is worth walking in.
Travel Near Sea — Coastlines, slowly
Coastlines
Why One Beach Is Sand and the Next Bay Is Shingle
Wave energy sorts material by size, so the stones on a beach are a readout of how hard the sea works there.
Coastlines
Groynes, Drift and the Reason One Side of the Beach Is Higher
Material moves along a coast rather than straight in and out, and the visible step at a wooden barrier proves it.
Coastlines
All coastlines →Coastlines
A West-Facing Coast and an East-Facing Coast Are Two Different Trips
Which way a shoreline points decides its swell, its afternoon wind and the hour its light is worth walking in.
Coastlines
Headlands Make Their Own Wind, and It Is Stronger Than the Forecast
Air behaves like water when it meets an obstacle, which is why the walk around a point is always harder than the walk to it.
Coastlines
Fetch Explains the Waves Better Than the Wind You Can Feel
The distance of open water upwind of a beach does more to decide the surf than the breeze on your face.
Islands
All islands →
Islands
The Last Boat Off Is the Only Fixed Point in an Island Day
Plan an island visit backwards from the departure you cannot miss, and everything else falls into place.
Islands
Reading a Ferry Timetable Before You Trust It
The sailings are the easy part; the footnotes, day codes and seasonal columns are where the actual information lives.
Islands
Out of Season the Timetable Collapses and So Does the Island
Fewer sailings is only the first effect; the shops, the buses and the one place that serves food follow the boat.
Beaches & Swimming
All beaches & swimming →
Beaches & Swimming
Rip Currents: How They Form and What to Do in One
A rip is water finding its way back out to sea, and the response that works is the opposite of the instinctive one.
Beaches & Swimming
Cold Water Shock Happens in the First Minute
The dangerous part of a cold swim is the involuntary gasp at entry, not the temperature you eventually get used to.
Beaches & Swimming
Beach Flags Mean Specific Things and Not the Same Things Everywhere
The colours are a formal signalling system, and a red flag is an instruction rather than a suggestion about the view.
Harbour Towns
All harbour towns →
Harbour Towns
A Fishing Harbour Runs on the Tide, Not on Opening Hours
Boats land when the water and the market allow, which is why a working quay is busy at dawn and empty at lunchtime.
Harbour Towns
Why Harbour Towns Eat Early and Shut in the Afternoon
Kitchens in a working port keep the hours of the people who work there, which are set by boats rather than by holidays.
Harbour Towns
A Harbour Wall Is a Machine and Its Entrance Faces One Way for a Reason
Breakwater arms, entrance angle and inner basins are all answers to a specific swell direction that troubled the port.
Seasons & Weather
All seasons & weather →
Seasons & Weather
Shoulder Season on a Coast Is a Services Question Before a Weather One
The months either side of peak often have better conditions, and the real variable is what is open rather than what the sky does.
Seasons & Weather
The Swell Arrives From a Storm You Never Saw
Waves outlive the wind that made them and travel for days, which is why a blue sky can come with a closed beach.
Seasons & Weather
On a Coast, Wind Direction Matters More Than Wind Speed
The same twenty knots can be a perfect day or an unusable one depending entirely on which way it is coming from.
Practicalities
All practicalities →
Practicalities
Booking a Ferry: What Is Worth Reserving and What Is Not
Vehicle space, cabins and peak sailings genuinely sell out; foot passenger tickets on frequent routes usually do not.
Practicalities
Reading a Tide Table Properly, Including the Bits People Skip
Four numbers a day describe most of what a coast will do, provided you get the port, the time zone and the correction right.
Practicalities
Reaching a Coast Without a Car Is a Last-Mile Problem
Trains and buses get you to the coastal town; getting from the town to the actual bit of coast is the part that needs planning.
From the archive
- Drowned Valleys: Why Some Coasts Have Deep Water Far InlandCoastlines
- Barrier Islands and Lagoons Are Coastlines That Are Meant to MoveCoastlines
- A River Mouth Changes the Sea for Miles in Every DirectionCoastlines
- How to Read a Coastline Off a Map Before You Ever See ItCoastlines
- Estuary Coasts Look Empty at Low Tide and That Is the PointCoastlines
- The Last Boat Off Is the Only Fixed Point in an Island DayIslands
- Reading a Ferry Timetable Before You Trust ItIslands
- Out of Season the Timetable Collapses and So Does the IslandIslands