I can see for miles and miles...

...Blooming heather, mile upon mile of it in all directions, up on the moors near Ros Hill. Fabulous, even on a grey, gloomy afternoon.

We were on our way to the coast for an al fresco tea, and a beach walk. In High Newton we discovered that the small car park by the beach where MrM had intended to park, and where we have parked several times before, is no longer in existence. And the much larger new car park, near the village (and the pub), was still crowded. So we drove on, in the hope of finding somewhere quieter.

The car parks in Bamburgh were still busy too - lots of surfers enjoying the waves - but we found a pleasant parking bay by the sea, and as we ate MrM was pleased to see fish jumping! Time only for a short walk - it seemed to get dark very early, due partly to a dense cloud layer. It was cold too, with a distinct chill in the air - more like November than August - and I was quite pleased to get back in to the car to warm up! But, as always, it was good to get out for a while!

And a rant...
Horrified by the amount of litter we saw today. In the 10 years that we've been living in and exploring this area, it has been quite unspoilt. This year, suddenly, it's noticeably different, and we spotted several carrier bags full of rubbish, presumably chucked out of cars, along roadside verges. Before we ate, MrM filled a carrier bag full of rubbish that had been left in the parking bays - food wrappers, tissues, dog poo bags (yes, used...) - and we took it home (securely double-wrapped I hasten to add) and binned it. (We acquired a rubbish picker for this purpose a couple of weeks ago.) Who comes in to a beautiful area to spoil it with their rubbish???