Sunrise on the Shore

"Look out for the windmills," said my actor friend David Ansdell, when he found out I was working in Lytham St Anne's, near Blackpool.

Sadly I thought I wouldn't have time to explore at all. I couldn't leave Leeds until about 5pm yesterday, so of course I had to drive to Blackpool in the dark.

Because I knew about this work a couple of months ago, I was able to book a very cheap room at a Travelodge. Special Offer - South Promenade Travelodge - dinner, bed and breakfast for a total of £27! Bargain! It's easy to knock these corporate-type hotels but this was fine - clean, warm, the food was much better than I had any right to expect for what I paid, and the staff were particularly friendly and helpful.

It's right next to the Pleasure Beach so I'd guess it's a bit on the noisy side in summer - but in January, all was quiet and still and I must say I liked it that way.

It was still dark as I set off to nearby Lytham St Anne's for my work with some young doctors.

The best way was along the seafront - hurrah! - and although there are dunes for some of the way I caught occasional glimpses of the beach.

As the sun rose there were lovely silhouettes of churches and other buildings against the sky and I wished I could stop to take photos, but there was nowhere I could stop.

I'd half-forgotten about the windmills - - and then I rounded a bend and there it was, the Lytham Windmill. There was no way I was passing it by! Luckily there were plenty of parking spaces just there.

It had lost a couple of its arms and wasn't quite as grand as the one we went inside in Bruges last summer - - but hey, it was a windmill and I loved it anyway.

The sun was rising over the sea:

Oh well, over the grassy foreshore anyway: there's definitely more beach than sea! It has a strange, bleak beauty and a slightly end-of-the-world feel which I love about all such places.

There was mist and there was nobody about.

It was time for me to go: I'd spent just ten minutes there, and it was heaven. The sun was rising more every moment.

The Health Centre where I was working was less than half a mile from this place and fifteen minutes later I was in the world of doctors, Simulated Patients and Communication Skills.

Then, in the afternoon, into Blackpool for some more of the same kind of work - I think it went well - interesting work, lovely people.

Back home in the dark again but with a huge full moon in a clear sky in front of me, with little wisps of cloud across it: the moonlight was slightly spooky in the darker parts of my route, but spooky in a good way.

It's been a long day, and I'm tired - but I have loved every moment. And I want to return to Leafy Lytham - as one doctor told me they call it locally, in contrast to Brash Blackpool, I suspect! - and explore some more.