January 2020 on Crosby Beach

The first sunset of 2020 down on Crosby beach with IronMenCrosby. Still air and a slight haziness bring a feeling of quiet calm to the scene.

The first day of January was fine and clear. Down on the beach during the afternoon there are more people than on a summer day, all taking advantage of the fine weather to take some fresh air and exercise on this New Year's Day. 

Late afternoon and the tide is on its way out and has left large pools of standing water on the beach which make good reflections for the pictures.

The sun sinks down through a hazy sky, with solid cloud on the horizon. The Welsh hills are invisible in the haze. A golden disc of the sun slowly disappears into the haze leaving a deep orange glow in the sky. The sea is quite calm again, the surface rippled with a light wind and seagulls are paddling in the pools stamping their legs in the hope of bringing worms to the surface.

Mid month and another evening at Crosby beach, totally different weather to that on New Year's Day It is windier than I thought it would be and the sea is quite rough. It was high tide around 14.30 so the sea is just on its way out, the waves still around the base of the nearest iron men, the noise and roar of the waves is quite loud. At the water’s edge gulls are lined up again doing their little dance with their feet in the hope of attracting worms. 

The air is very cold and the bluish light reflected off standing water on the beach makes it look colder still. There is some colour in the sun before it sinks into a cloud bank over the Welsh hills, the light of the sun glitters off the crests of the waves as they break near the beach and I manage a few good images before the light fades with little colour, the air being quite clear tonight.

As the sun sinks behind a cloud bank over the Welsh hills, the air filled with the roar and glitter of waves on the wind tossed sea. Gulls dance at the water’s edge, the air is chilled and the water a cold blue in the evening light.

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The morning of the 23rd January dawned grey and cloudy but by ten the clouds had started to break and the anticyclonic gloom and mist of the last few days rolled away leaving a clear blue sky with just a mist on the distant horizon and sharp bright winter sunshine, a perfect day for some morning images down on Crosby beach.

The calm outgoing sea is a wash of pale flat blue under the dome of a cerulean sky. Sunlight dances and shimmers off the sea and is reflected off the standing water in the tide ripples on the wet sand, wavelets lap at the shoreline and the iron men cast long shadows across the sand.

 Out at sea the mist lingers around the base of the wind farm columns and obscures the distant Welsh hills. Along the tide line a scattering of mermaid’s purses amongst all the razor clam shells.

Monday 27^th January

The afternoon has turned dark and threatening as clouds sweep in from the west. A slight gap in the clouds reflects the light of the setting sun and catches the waves at the water’s edge, adding a touch of sparkle to the otherwise grey scene at Crosby beach.

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Next day the weather is very wintery, with sudden squally showers of hail and rain whipping through, driven by a strong, cold north westerly wind. Mid afternoon the clouds break allowing some sunshine and I head down to the beach just after four pm. It is noticeable how much later the sunset is than at the start of January, almost an hour of extra daylight at the end of the day already.

Down on the beach the NW wind is very cold, the tide is just on its way out and the beach is very wet with standing water formed by both rain and the outgoing tide, ruffled with fast moving catspaws across the surface. The sun is just about to descend behind a band of solid cloud over Wales, but I manage to capture some pictures before it disappears, rays of light beaming out across the sky and clouds and sparkling off the wet beach. A bank of cloud moves swiftly overhead its bottom edge highlighted in pinks and oranges by the setting sun. The air is full of the sound of the sea, the roar of the waves at the water’s edge and the calls of gulls as they glide by, riding the wind. A group of Knots rise and fall along the tide line.

Looking back as I leave the beach shortly after sunset I capture this line of gulls gliding in the wind as it rises over the dunes, effortless flight in the evening light.

January Skies Part Three

Mid January and the light had changed again. There was not much wind but the incoming sea was still quite rough, the light a cool blue with patches of warm orange light seeping through. Walking along the tideline, the sand is littered with starfish, lots of tiny razor clam shells, only about an inch long, small crabs and many multi coloured clam shells.

The white foam from the breaking waves glowed with an eerie luminescence whilst patches of warm light pierced the overall blueness on this cold evening at Crosby beach.

The following day was very stormy and wet but around 3.45 pm I thought the sky looked interesting and went down to the beach to be presented with these dramatic storm torn skies.
Despite the rain there was a burst of yellow light as the sun pierced the clouds over Wales whilst grey swathes of rain swept across the sea. At one point a mass of either knot or dunlins swept across the scene in a shallow "S" curve.

A large rain cloud moved slowly inland, the falling rain just catching the light and glowing a pale yellow against the darker clouds. A half moon appeared through a gap in the clouds whilst the beach, wet from all of the day's rain, reflected the silhouettes of the iron men and the variations in light caused by the rapidly moving clouds.

The storm moved slowly inland and what appeared to be a funnel of rain, a lighter patch against the dark grey, descended from the clouds behind the flying saucer shape of the Leisure Centre.

The last shot of the day as another storm cloud sweeps in from the west, blotting out the hills of North Wales.

Winter Calm

Two days after New Year I was back down on the beach, the day had been unusually clear and calm, with some light cloud in the sky, perfect conditions for a possible good sunset.

A bank of cloud out to the west obscured the sun before actual sunset and the air was very still, not a breath of wind, every sound carrying a long distance in the tranquil air. The pools of water remaining on the beach were perfect mirrors, reflecting the silhouettes of the iron men and the colours of the sky.

Channels of water left from the last high tide offer perfect mirror reflections and the cries of distant seabirds echo in the completely still air as dusk falls on Crosby beach.

As I moved away I noticed groups of birds out over the sea, flying in formation low over the water, like murmurations of starlings but I suspect that they were Knots, the black formations looked almost like waves forms travelling across the surface of the sea at times.

Formations of Knots low over the flat surface of the sea appeared to be ripples on the surface at times as they flew low over the surface.

Last Light of 2018

The last day of 2018 and the last light of a darkish winter day of anticyclonic gloom, a slight gap in the clouds over Wales allows a few rays of sunlight to filter through, lightening the mood at the end of the day.

31st December 2018 and I walk down to the beach to hopefully capture the last of the daylight for 2018. It had been a dark grey day of anticyclonic gloom, with few breaks in the clouds evident but I walked down in the hope that there might be a glimmer of magic before sunset. That hope was rewarded as a gap in the clouds over Wales allowed the last rays of sunlight to filter through, casting a warm orange glow on the waters of the River Dee and the Welsh hills above Holywell.

Down on the beach there is a cool north westerly breeze whilst, out on the horizon, a grey curtain of rain is evident, masking off the line between sea and sky. the tide is incoming.
Over Wales there is a glimmer of light, a gap in the clouds, probably caused by the mountains of Snowdonia, is letting a patch of golden orange sunlight filter through, and it falls in bright rays of light falling across the hills and shining off the sea on the coast near Holywell.