Walcott

I consider myself lucky to live in Norwich: a reasonably-sized, something-for-everyone, arts-focussed city. Even better, the coast is only twenty minutes away. One of our favourite places is Walcott, with it's often deserted beaches, strolling waves, and amazing fish 'n' chip shop. There's nothing in Walcott itself other than the flat landscape of beach and sea but that's enough. It's provided the inspiration for a couple of short stories and is perfect for our three-year-old to make discoveries.

 

One afternoon - childfree - myself and my partner were wandering along the beach. It was an awesome day. The light was perfect and the sky was blue. It struck me at that moment that I would be happy should that day be repeated on a never-ending loop. Nothing else mattered at that juncture, I felt free to shed normal responsibilities and accept it as my personal heaven. Of course, a story came out of this - a love story, at heart, although of course such a heaven must always come at a cost. Whilst the story, "The First You & I", is currently unpublished, here's me reading it at a recent Poetry Collective event.

Inspiration at Walcott was also found for another story of mine, "The Caged Sea", simply from this photograph taken through the top grid of one of the metal steps that lead from the sea defences to the beach when the tide was in. Whilst the story itself bears no relation to Walcott other than the title - it's actually set in Japan, inland - it's another indication of how stories can develop from the simplest things.

Nothing to do with Walcott at all, this song, "Walcott", by Vampire Weekend is a favourite to sing along to whilst we're driving to Walcott.

Finally, here's another shot of one of our favourite places. There are few distractions here, maybe that's why we find it so special; whilst on the face of it nothing is here, in fact everything is here. The flat beach/sea landscape is perfect at every time of year.