alan frost photography

A walk around Chesil Cove – the joy of seeing

By alan frost on August 20, 2018

Chesil Cove is the most southerly section of Chesil Beach. It lies at the extreme eastern end of the beach by the village of Chiswell on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. Chesil Beach forms part of the Jurassic Coast and is the largest tombolo in the UK. A remarkable natural phenomena being some 18 miles long and estimated to be made up of 180 billion pebbles. The largest pebbles, roughly the size of a fist, are to be found at Chesil Cove. The further west you go the smaller they become until they reach pea-size at Bridport.

I took a walk around Chesil Cove and I was attracted to the beach huts perched on the rising land about the cove itself. Nestled amongst boulders and below now redundant quarries, the huts are rather ramshackle. Undeniably they enjoy a wonderful view looking west along the coast and by virtue of their position are probably quite expensive to buy.

To reach the shore I descended a flight of concrete steps, a type which I find always lend themselves to being photographed.

I then followed the shoreline and noticed some graffiti which had been painted on the sea wall. This country is gripped by ‘Brexit’ at the moment but I wasn’t sure if this inscription of the word ‘EURO’ was a vote in favour of leave or remain. Is the ‘Euro’ invading the UK or to be washed away by the incoming tide? I think it could be interpreted both ways depending upon your point of view.

Further along the coast and at the end of the sea wall, pebbles had been placed in wire cages and made quite an interesting geometric design.

Walking back to the car I couldn’t help but notice a rather tired looking door in a Portland stone wall. Helpfully the owner had painted the word ‘Garage’ at its entrance, I guess to deter others from parking in front of it. This I understand although it always amuses me when people do this, however photographically the inscription made the image.

I could have spent more time wandering around the Cove and Chiswell itself. The pleasure of taking photographs is not necessarily about making stunningly beautiful images all the time. Having a camera and taking pictures encourages your eyes to look around, to notice and perhaps photograph things which the average passer-by may or may not see……and therein lies the joy in photography – the art of seeing.