Changing Light

A silver sheet of light covers the line where the sky meets the sea. Under a dull grey sky, it lasts just a few moments, and is quickly swallowed up by a misty rain creeping in over the bay. Minutes later, the sun forces a yellow glow through the low clouds, and this too is gone in flash. Blue sky appears between more threatening clouds, but this doesn’t last long either. Days like this of alternating sunshine and showers are common in early winter, when the weather can’t decide what to do, but the reward is mood and magical light.

A few brave souls stride out along the beach at Port Eynon, whilst others prefer to sit inside cars by the shore. Over recent years, there’s been heated debate about the loss of sand on Gower’s beaches as a result of dredging offshore, and although Port Eynon has suffered, there’s still a good covering today. As the tide recedes, the ever-changing light glitters on the watery surface left in the sand. Sharp showers come and go, but don’t affect the wagtails and pipits scurrying amongst the flotsam searching for flies and sand hoppers.

Apart from a few gulls offshore, I find little else of real interest, and my walk runs out beyond the few houses by the beach at Horton. The morning is charged with an intense energy, fuelled by the changing light, which again suddenly transforms the hills behind the old houses overlooking the beach.