The sea has never seemed bluer than this month as the heat wave changed our lives to a Mediterranean rhythm, as day after day of endless sunshine spread before us. We abandoned work in the afternoons to settle at the seas edge below the red baked clay cliffs of one the little coves that flank the sand of around Perranuthnoe Beach. The tranquil rhythm of the waves slipping idly on to the beach and slight breeze from the sea has been blissful this month in Cornwall with the delicious promise of a swim in the evenings in the mirror calm waters.
The countryside in the heat wave
The country lanes are marked by the imprint of passing horses hooves now and the pungent odour of the melting tarmac rises to meet me as I try to choose routes that make the most of the shady avenues and cart tracks to escape the heat o the day.
The Cornish lanes are dressed with tumbling honeysuckle along the banks that flank fields of prematurely ripening corn and I often listen to the skylarks sing, high overhead and watch the swallow swoop across the corn as I exercise Danni each day while dreaming of a cooling swim in the evening!
Evening swims and afternoon picnics
I didn’t feel too guilty after months of frantic gardening as we settled our towels beside the tide line to swim in the silky soft seas – so clear and yet so warm with the sun bouncing off of the pebbly bottom.
On other days the tide had retreated leaving natures underwater garden exposed with soft undulating mounds of sea weeds threading through the rock pools.
Whatever the tide, the casual joy of languidly swimming in the salty sea, before returning to the beach for a picnic and watching the sea birds skimming over the water, must be a perfect way to spend a hot summer day.
Cornish Yarg and a glass of Spanish Rioja feels just right as the sea laps gently beside your feet in a heat wave!
Find a secluded cove to cool down in the heat wave?
To find one of my favorite secluded coves try my blog Twelve secret beaches and secluded coves
