Dawlish Warren.

Yesterday, we decided to go to Dawlish Warren, as we havent been for a while, its beside the sea, and theres a nature reserve.

Beside the car park is heathland, and I was amazed to see Evening Primroses in flower..

they emit a lovely perfume in the evening which attracts moths.

The beach is really nice here, very flat, so ideal for bathing with children, the tide was out, and the waves lazily lapped at the groynes..

there was a nice row of beach huts too...

We walked along the boardwalk, back to the reserve..

it was quite a sandy little path that wound through the reserve, which was open, with woodland, and bramble patches. The grass was filled with flowers, lovely yellow rattle..

and the little pink stars of Common Centaury, I`ve never seen this before..

and lots of butterflies flitting from place to place, this Small Skipper stayed long enough to have its photo taken..

a real treat to see, were the beautiful orchids amongst the grasses

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there were lovely little waterways, fringed with reeds and willows

and a nice little family of Canada geese having their breakfast

it was so nice to see so many different flowers..the lovely little purple Self Heal.

Meadow Sweet, which certainly lives up to its name, as it has a lovely perfume..it was strewn on floors in days gone by, to sweeten the atmosphere!

Purple Loosestrife.

and Ladys Bedstraw, this was used as bedding in the middle ages..

Evenually we came to the end of the reserve, and climbed the dunes down to the beach.

there were the most amazing old posts sticking out of the sand, like ribs of a skeleton

they were beautifully worn and smooth...

some nearer the tide-line were draped in green sea-weed, and covered in mussels and barnacles, there was an old lobster pot caught up against it...it was like a sea side sculpture.

it was lovely on the beach, hot, although there was cloud about, the sea was still going out, so there was a huge expanse of red sand...

it had a very pretty pattern...

we walked to the end of the point, where the river Exe glides into the sea, seperating Dawlish from Exmouth across the water. It looked very pretty with its georgian houses in pretty pastel pinks, blues and creams...

I did a bit of beach combing, and found some pretty stones, shells and a nice hag stone...also not so much drift wood as a drift log!....well a small post really..it was so lovely I had to have it, so I put it in my `collecting` bag and heaved it back along the two miles of beach to the car park lol

We had a `tourist` lunch of chips, sitting looking over the sea, with the beady eyed gulls watching every mouthful, it made a pleasant change, then walked down to this rather wonderful rock formation known as the Langstone..

its red sandstone, and quite amazing with arches and twisty bits..

it would be inaccesible when the tide was in, the sea would swirl and fill all the little caves..

on the inside walls of the rock, were some wonderful Beadlet Anemones, they had their front doors firmly shut, but would wave their tentacles when the tide returned..

I was fascinated by this wonderful rock pool, I dont know if it was especially built for the purpose, or was used as something else and has reverted into one, but when the tide comes in, it obviously fills it, then recedes and leaves all the residents stranded till next time...

we decided to walk back, as the tide was beginning to come in, and would soon cut us off, but all in all, it was an interesting day.