Stay Safe!

What a great trip out with mates in wonderful winter weather! This afternoon we headed down to Dancing Ledge for a walk and witness the amazing strength of mother nature.

However, what I will say (rather embarrassed saying it...) is that never ever underestimate how easy it is to get into a dangerous situation!!! I have been down to Dancing Ledge countless times and have been brought up living on the coast, but never have I ever been caught out the way I did today (and I have done some silly things...climbing Durdle Door at sunrise being one). We went down to the lower edge when we first arrived, which is perfectly safe at low tide, but today the tide had started to come in and was creating massive spray, which was great to get shots of!

Anyway I heading around the corner to get a better angle for photos and that was when a big wave (the swell was massive) hit. I luckily saw it coming and got as close to the rock face as possible and grab on as much as I could. The wave came up to about knee height with splashing up to waist. This may not seem very high but it was the shear force of the water, which nearly took my legs and scared the hell out of me!

Luckily my friends (who I had bought down) were around the corner and in a much safer position. Unsurprisingly we retreated back up the cliff after that to take photos.

My point is that even though I have been around this coast my whole life and are fully aware of the risks, I can still be caught out! I don't want to sound overly dramatic but I was lucky I was close enough to the rocks to grab on, otherwise it could have gone very differently... So I know there are a lot of keen photographers like myself, who like to push themselves to get those special shots, but please be careful and if you are not familiar with your environment be sure to put your safety first.

Now my pride is bruised...bring on tomorrow and another day Blipping! Blippers do it every day ;)