What is it about the seaside that people find so attractive?
On this sunny Bank Holiday Monday – well, at least here in the Witterings – many people have flocked to the seaside. I wondered what motivates them.
Is it the sight of all that sparkling water in front of you, the horizon out there with its possibilities? Above you, the sky filled with an endless mobile of terns, kites and clouds. Is it the openness and light after cramped urban life? The seaside certainly is a place that lets your imagination expand, I find.
Could it be the sounds? Here it’s all gulls and waves on shingle, children squealing with delight – and no cars. Sounds alert us to other people having fun in and on the water and we want to join in. The lapping of sea upon shore is often restful, it can actively smooth out tension. (I have a CD of gentle sea-sounds I use when working.)It can be quite dramatic too. There’s great excitement when we get the rescue helicopters and in winter, the surge can be awe-inspiring with its noise. Like a never-express train going through Leeds Central to my ears.
What about smells and tastes? When we’re at the coast we often give ourselves permission to savour scents and flavours. The pungency of sun-dried kelp, and vinegar on fish-and-chips. The sweetness of vanilla ice-cream, coconut sun-lotion, and scones.
99 in the sun
And let’s not forget what we feel. Here we have salty breezes, the ( relatively) warm waters of the Solent, sand-between-the toes and the smoothness of shells. Perhaps the pebbles aren’t the best thing to walk barefoot upon, but the couple of strides of shingle at the top of the beach yield flints, driftwood and seaglass , each with their own texture. If you’re really lucky you might find a fossilised shark’s tooth – still pointed after millions of years.
Partly I think it is association. How all those things we recall talk to the child we once were. I still keep a look out when nearing the coast to spot even the faintest sliver of blue- and get great joy if I call out ‘I can see the sea!’ first.
I am particularly interested in what gives people pleasure at the seaside. As you may already know, I run a small bed and breakfast. We have just bought another house, even closer to the shore – two minutes’ amble as opposed to five. Our intention is to offer retreats for writers -and others who need a refreshing boost close to the sea. So I am really committed to finding out what makes a restorative stay by the sea – and most of all, what I can do to increase that sense of well-being.
If you have any thoughts, please let me know. I promise to keep you posted on further developments.
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