The Brrrritish Coast

We are predominately off-season winter travelers, so weather has a huge influence on our perception of place. Usually the effect is positive, like when we strolled through an empty, beautiful and warm (inside) Uffizi Gallery in Florence in mid January or not needing reservations to go to the Acropolis, again in January (plus all Greek archeological sites are 1/2 off in winter). Croatia for us was a moody, snowy Zagreb cemetery, warm Raki in an old stone apartment in Split rather than a beer on the beach. The primary negative effect is bad weather! We need to be outside, we like to be outside, we bus, train or walk everywhere and dogs (and Nick) need to be walked, so we are outside. Being Californians we only have bad winter clothes. Yes, we could buy warmer clothes, but generally we don’t. Patricia’s solution is to get hand-me-downs from daughters and sisters who live/have lived in cold weather. Nick’s solution is to basically empty his backpack and wear all his old bad winter clothes all at once, 6-7 layers (“it works because the holes don’t overlap”). A walking closet as opposed to a walk in closet.

Another solution is to seek out more temperate locations. As we were headed to Liverpool to spend Christmas with our daughters, we saw there was a dog sit on the southwest Somerset coast for a week before Christmas. We thought it might be warmer than Liverpool in Northern England. So, why not? Plus the description was so lovely; a seaside Victorian house right across the street from the beach with two smallish dogs. Did we say ignorantly thought? So from Paris, we rode the Eurostar train under the English Channel and headed to Burnam-on-Sea.

Burnam-on-Sea was the epitome of decay, English style. A classic seaside resort gone to seed. Faded in every way. It contained every British trope but not necessarily in a good way.

Burnam-on-Sea is just below the larger Weston-super-Mare, bizarre name apparently derived from its ancient Roman name (Super Mario?). Burnam-on-Sea sits at the mouth of the River Parrett which flows into the Bristol Channel before it reaches the Irish Sea. It boasts the second highest tidal change (49 feet) in the world, with the first being the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. Apparently we are tidal junkies, always searching for the highs and lows, as we actually went to the Bay of Fundy just because it had the highest tidal change in the world (52 foot change)! https://chosenfugue.xyz/2023/03/12/lohw-canada/ We also went to Gloucester, England to see the Severn River Tidal bore https://chosenfugue.xyz/2018/10/12/wonders-man-made-and-natural/. Maybe we are not the best people to ask for destination advice? And our stay here might confirm that.

When the tide is low you can see the river still flowing. When the tide is high, the river runs under the water and contributes to the dangerous undertow.

These extreme tides (the bay tide can recede over 1.5 miles) are not without risk. The gigantic tidal changes coupled with a severe undertow results in extremely dangerous conditions, especially for a seaside resort. If the out going tide doesn’t pull you away, there is even greater danger if you walk out as the tide goes out and then get stuck in the mudflats, literally quicksand. People get trapped and slowly sink or get caught and even drown as the returning tide comes rushing in. Lifeguards on special hovercrafts and rescue helicopter are always on watch and ready to rush in.

On our introductory walk through town, our lovely pet owner told us to always keep the dogs on the leash when near the water and an eye on the tide and then proceeded to point out gravestones of Victorian children lost at sea as we walked through an old cemetery at the slightly creepy church.

She also pointed out the arcade on the pier. Reportedly the UK’s shortest pier, although the country’s piers peers dispute this claim acknowledging it as a pavilion, not a pier. Burnham-on-Sea is also famous for its low lighthouse built in 1832. It stands 36 feet high. It may have been higher in 1832, but maybe slowly sinking into the quicksand? (pic from Wikipedia)

After the warning walk, we went with our sit host for dinner at the local Chinese restaurant, where she called ahead to secure a table for our party of 3. We were the only people in the restaurant for the entire time. On our way there, we passed the touristy center of town, which was 2-3 blocks of the main street. A row of charity shops, a Costa coffee, a souvenir shop with beach supplies, an Army surplus store, a B&M discount store and of course, a chippy (we are in the UK). Welcome to Burnam-on-Sea.

The dogs were cute while we were at home, but turned into raging wolves whenever we passed another dog on the street. That was not the only issue with going out. It was unclear what was worse: the Hounds of the Baskervilles flying like kites in the gale-force , the risk of being blown into the sea and quicksand, even from blocks away or a wind induced mid air dogfight. In addition to the hurricanesque winds, torrential downpours added another dimension, with all 6-7 layers of clothes getting soaked through waterproof gear. The weather may have explained the need for an Army Surplus store.

Burnam-on-Sea helped us to acclimate to the UK before meeting up in London with the US contingency coming to Liverpool for Christmas. We successfully met up and were on our way to spend Christmas with the Liverpool based contingency.