20 Minutes on Littlehampton Beach

Decades ago, my late father used to complain that, as my brother and I got older, he just became finance and transport. Today, as I drove my youngest to a Brownies event, it occurred to me that I was reaching the same stage. Admittedly, my wife was the finance in this case; she paid for the outing.

Once my daughter had met with her friend and headed off on a Brownies adventure, I decided to treat myself to a visit to a beach-side coffee shop I’ve been meaning to visit for some time: Edge by the Sea. And, once there, I enjoyed a (vegan) sausage bap and a black Americano:

When I was done, and had enjoyed a while reading my current book, I still had just over 20 minutes left on my parking. I’d had the foresight to bring my camera with me — my mirrorless Canon R-series camera, not my phone — and so I indulged myself with a little photographic time on the beach itself.

First up, the beach huts, which were — unusually — in blocks of fairly identical colours, which made for some striking images:

Next up was what looked, from a distance, like a sculpture turned out to be another café. One for the next visit, perhaps?

Time was ticking, so I tackled the shoreline itself, trying to find ways of differentiating the images from the ones I often take on Shoreham Beach. The people shots are the ones I’m least satisfied with. They could have been taken on any beach along this stretch of the coast.

The other shots I like more — they’re distinctly of this part of Littlehampton. But, pixel peeping at some of the images, I realised there was a missed opportunity, with a bunch of children rushing into the see under a sign that says “Danger, strong currents. No bathing or swimming in this area."

Never mind.

And, finally, just before my parking expired, a couple of nice detail shots of the beach.

20 minutes well spent, I think.