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I took a stroll along Chesil yesterday. Just a quick tea-time trip down to West Bexington with no intention other than to see who might be loitering.

I had been promising myself that I would visit with a rod in my hand, just as soon as the kids were back at school and the pebbles were less crunched. I have similar intentions toward the end of every summer, and invariably fail to go through with my plan.

The fact is though, with the masses gone, I’m quite happy to simply enjoy the still.

Yesterday, there were good numbers of stonechat flitting and hawking. I probably saw a dozen, and aside from the pied (and white?) wagtails, they were the most conspicuous of the passing passerines

A small flock of linnets were working the pebbles, but I left it too late in the day for a glimpse of an adder.

There was just about enough strength in the sun as I arrived, but by the time I had waded through the shingle to the adder spots, the air had cooled by a couple of degrees and the breeze had a slight bite.

Instead, I watched a kestrel hover, the gulls ride the wind, and found a tardy wheatear alone on the beach.

The cloud held like a freshly laundered sheet, and an hour vanished before I even looked toward the sea.

It was quite, quite lovely.