Blue Sky Dreaming

‘I must go down to the sea again‘, wrote John Masefield in 1902, ‘To the gull’s way and the whale’s way...’ How many of us have felt that pull? The longing to be where the sky meets the ocean and dreams are possible. That place where the bird calls always sound different; even the plants look slightly alien and, if we are fortunate, we may get a glimpse of the whale’s way.~ HELEN M. STEVENS

The delicate little tern (Sternula albifons) is one of the smallest of its species and can hover with all the skill and grace of a hummingbird.

Sea holly (Eryngium maritimum), as the name suggests, has leaves as prickly as its inland namesake, though much more spectacular flowers.