It was the first day of March and the first sunny day of the year as we headed to Colwyn Bay in search of seaweed.
As we travelled along the coast road, the sea started to appear between the gaps in the dunes and we began to grow giddy. My grandad used to give 10p to the first of us who spotted the sea when travelling this road to our holiday caravan in Prestatyn. I still like to offer the same reward, though these days the winner might have to accept contactless.
Arriving in under ninety minutes from our restaurant in Stockport, it struck me just how close we are to the coast. Along with North Wales we have a vast coastline, from The Wirral to Morecambe Bay, in a similar proximity. We live on a small island and as such the sea is never far away. Coton in the Elms in Derbyshire is the farthest place from any coastline in England, but it’s still only seventy miles away. One could argue that for most of us the sea is on our doorstep, available as a local resource for fun, relaxation and – of course – food.
The team and family members spilled out of two cars in a car park on the perimeter of Conwy Castle and headed to the stretch of coast just beyond it. The day was still and bright, with the small boats floating on the glass-like surface of the green sea. The castle, sunk hard into the rock, felt like it was made for a postcard. Rough jetties protruded from the grounds of old cottages and at the end tugboats had wedged themselves into the silty surface of the estuary. It all made me feel comfortably transported to a place and time that felt just right.
We stuck to the bay that runs seaward along the estuary. To our side the beachhead is stopped abruptly by rocks that clamber up to a small road and beyond that the back gardens of private houses. To the other side of the narrow channel, we could see small sand dunes and grasses. There is a coastal path that cuts through these dunes and takes you further to the final outlet, where the channel suddenly opens up into the Irish Sea. The gulls and the castle, the foamy horizon, the clean salty air – all offered enough reason to be out there. Anything else felt like an added bonus.