L E O N I E . W I S E

dear friends,

last weekend saw me returning once more to the coast.

it’s my retreat. my place to re-charge. a place where i can be quiet and still, re-connect with the earth and myself.

i took a mermaid rock away with me which simply says LET GO. it’s only a small rock, yet it’s big message kept whispering itself to me as i was away. in the quiet moments i would think of all the things i hold on to that i don’t need. these things will be thanked for their service, then gently removed from my life over the coming months.

i stayed in this pretty little shepherd’s hut, close to polzeath surf beach

with these beauties as my neighbours.
(there’s nothing quite like having a hand licked by the rough warm tongue of a cow. it’s exquisite)

on friday, i went for a good long walk (6.4 miles /10.3 kilometres) along the coastal path from lundy bay

to the rumps

An odd name for a headland, but one pertaining to the twin knolls that overlook the many earthworks that are a feature of this grassy, cliff-bound, peninsula.
- Martin Hesp

around pentire point

to polzeath beach (over in the distance)

then back up the road to the car and home with some fish & chips and a bottle of locally produced cider.

saturday, before picking up my beloved from the train station, i took another walk along the coastline between rock and daymer bay

i swear that this place reminds me so much of some places in new zealand that i felt a longing for my homeland, whilst also feeling completely at home

sunday, nic and i took the black tor ferry over to padstow

and had a delicious lunch at rick stein’s seafood restaurant (we think he might own half the town), pairing our lunch with a delicious bottle of local bubbly, made just down the road at camel bay winery

before catching the ferry back to rock and spending the afternoon lying on the beach in the glorious sunshine

monday, after a quick drive to padstow to pick up something for lunch,

we returned to london where i feel both completely relaxed after my time away and totally overwhelmed by the noise, the crowds, life. i feel somehow part of everything yet also removed from it.

with love to you wherever you adventures are taking you,
-leonie

p.s. more photos up on flickr and polaroids to come…

dear friends

not so long ago, (7 years to be exact) i married a man, on a beach, in the sunshine.

the beach is very dear to me. i grew up so close to the beach that it was the sound of the ocean that sung me to sleep. i miss it now we are living in london.

so, nic and i have promised each other that, for as many of our anniversaries we can, no matter where we are in the world, we’ll spend our anniversary weekend by the sea.

this year it was st ives, in cornwall. about 6.5 hours from london by train.

we stayed in a gorgeous b&b on the top of a hill, with a stunning view over the bay and down into st. ives

as soon as we’d dropped off our bags, we headed straight for the beach to greet the ocean

we walked here

and there

visited the museum and sculpture gardens of barbara hepworth

and had cream teas in the top of the tate, stopping a while to take in the magical view

a perfect way to celebrate my life with a wonderful guy

happy anniversary nic.
i love you more and more