Painting “The beach path to the castle”
Plein‑Air Painting – Acrylic on Paper
Bamburgh Castle, Bamburgh, Northumberland, England, UK
In this Bamburgh Castle painting, you see the path that meanders along the edge of where land meets beach. One of the best walks in the country in my view.
I have walked this path so many times. It follows the edge of the beach from Black Point over the rocks to the expansive sands of Bamburgh beach in the distance.
I've only walked it when the tide has been out. I'm not sure you could use it when the tide's fully in. The trail crosses rocks and sand, as well grassy mounds like the one you see here.
I might investigate what walking this way with the tide in is like. What would it be like with the sea so near, lapping at the very edge of the land I wonder.
I've visited Bamburgh Castle several times, painting around the dunes, and on the beach. It's a location I doubt I could ever tire of.
Every few feet there is a view to paint. It's an ever changing landscape too, with the tides, shifting dunes, and weather blowing in from, or out to, the sea. The light hitting the castle changes from moment to moment at times.
It's an expansive place, on a large scale – the dunes are immense, stretching all the way to Seahouses three and half miles down the coast. The beach itself is one of those shelving beaches, gently sloping into the sea.
It means low tide goes out a long way, revealing a huge expanse of soft sand. I'm prone to using the word 'epic' repeatedly, to describe this Northumbrian paradise.