Hill Head - a year in the life of a beach

I started taking these pictures on January 1st 2003 whilst walking on the beach at Hill Head - I have added a couple of pictures a week during the year to document how the beach changed. I hope these pictures show the different moods of the beach, from calm to stormy, from busy to deserted. I have really enjoyed this project, even though I have had difficulties from time to time, 2 leg injuries meaning that I couldn't walk any distance for several weeks and my camera being out of action for a while! Ailsa Brims.

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Click to enlarge 1st Jan 2003 - bleak and cold and windy Click to enlarge 1st January 2003 - seagulls and grey seas Click to enlarge 3rd January - 3pm, nearly sunset. Click to enlarge 5th January - frost
Click to enlarge 5th January - early morning sun and frost Click to enlarge 9th January - below freezing but sunny Click to enlarge Patterns in the sand at low tide Click to enlarge 20th Jan - Force 8 winds and a high tide!
Click to enlarge 20th Jan - the surf breaking over the posts during the storm Click to enlarge 22nd January - the detritus washed up by the storm Click to enlarge 30th January - The sun over Ryde, Isle of Wight, with the Greenpeace ship 'Rainbow Warrior' anchored in the Solent and snow clouds gathering above! Click to enlarge 30th January - 5 minutes later, beach and solent totally enclosed in brief blizzard.
Click to enlarge February 9th - early on a Sunday morning - pouring with rain, only a few hardy dog walkers out. Click to enlarge 15th Feb - a bright frosty morning - 10am, 2500 local residents from Lee on Solent, meet to protest about the housing of 400 asylum seekers in HMS Daedalus. Hill Head is the bay behind. Click to enlarge Feb 21st - 5.30pm, sunset. The weather is still cold but clear and calm. Click to enlarge 21 Feb - sunset, gulls resting on the groyne.
Click to enlarge March 2nd - a glorious spring day - brings lots of people to the beach for a walk and a play. Click to enlarge March 2nd - sunshine on the water Click to enlarge March 2nd - Local sailing club, no sailing yet, but they are putting the flags out! Click to enlarge March 2nd - gulls all lined up
Click to enlarge 8th March - a stormy day, windsurfers out in force. Click to enlarge 8th March - waves breaking on the shore. Click to enlarge 8th March - Force 7 gale, freezing biting wind, but lots of walkers and windsurfers. Click to enlarge 22nd March - early evening, beach huts in the sunshine.
Click to enlarge March 22nd, evening - ducks sitting on a groyne. Click to enlarge 31st March - mid-day - Supply ships line up in the Solent, waiting to take supplies on board for the Gulf. Click to enlarge 31st March - a beautiful lunch time at the beach. The sea was the most incredible green. Click to enlarge 16th April - Lunchtime - hottest day of the year so far, off for an adventure!
Click to enlarge 16th April - buckets and spades out! Click to enlarge 16th April - first picnic of the year on the beach, a beautiful hot spring day Click to enlarge 16th April - beach greenery Click to enlarge 16th April - a beautiful sunset on a balmy spring evening.
Click to enlarge 16th April - a full moon rises over Seafield Park as the sun sets. Click to enlarge 26th April - kiteboards in abundance. Click to enlarge 26th April - a relaxing afternoon on the beach. Click to enlarge 7 May 03 - USS Harry S Truman, the worlds most powerful aircraft carrier, stops in the Solent en route from the Gulf back to America, to give the 5000 crew shore leave in Portsmouth for a week.
Click to enlarge 13th May, 7.30pm. A sunny blustery evening. Loads of windsurfers. The Isle of Wight is looking very close during the showery weather we've been having, it clears the air. Click to enlarge 13th May - 7.30pm - storm clouds gathering over Seafield Park. Click to enlarge 18th May - early on a hot summers day - a fishing boat on a very calm Solent Click to enlarge 18th May - early morning, the Solent was calm as a millpond as the tide rolled in.
Click to enlarge 18th May - later in the evening, a wind had got up and the waves were spectacular! Click to enlarge 18th May - late evening, windsurfers enjoying the waves. Click to enlarge 31st May, mid-day. Very hot weekend, the beach was full of people enjoying the sun and sea. Click to enlarge 31st May - Yachts in Hill Head Harbour
Click to enlarge 31st May - sailing on the Solent Click to enlarge 31st May - Sailing on a beautiful summers day Click to enlarge 8th June - a sunny, blustery day - blowing a gale - not many people on the beach, they would have been blown off! Click to enlarge 20th June - almost midsummer - a glorious sunset
Click to enlarge 20th June - 9.15pm - a beautiful evening on the beach Click to enlarge 20th June, 9.15pm - the reflection of the sunset in the wet sand Click to enlarge 4th July - clear view over to Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight Click to enlarge 4th July - posts in the sand at low tide
Click to enlarge 4th July - footsteps in the sand Click to enlarge 4th July - clear view over to the Isle of Wight - showing Queen Victorias bathing beach to the bottom left and Osborne House on the rop right skyline. Click to enlarge 6th July - 5pm on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. An older boat in Hill Head Harbour Click to enlarge 6th July - 5pm, a small rowing boat is moored in Hill Head harbour awaiting the return of it's larger yacht.
Click to enlarge 6th July - yachts in Hill Head Harbour Click to enlarge 6th July - 5pm, Honeysuckle flowering on the cliffs above the beach. Click to enlarge 9th July - 9am on what would be a very hot day - seaweed swirling in the shallows, and very clear water today. Click to enlarge 9th July - the remains of Queen Victoria's bathing house....
Click to enlarge 27th July - the old coastguard cottages Click to enlarge 10th August - paddling on a hot Sunday afternoon Click to enlarge 5th August - early calm on what was to be a very hot day Click to enlarge 10th August - relaxing on a hot afternoon
Click to enlarge 10th August - Sunday tea at the beach Click to enlarge 10th August - enjoying the hot weather at the beach. Click to enlarge 31st August - Fishing at dusk at the end of another warm day Click to enlarge 31st August - patterns in the shingle at dusk
Click to enlarge 31st August - beautiful clouds at sunset Click to enlarge 31st August - all the dinghys at Seafarers Sailing Club Click to enlarge 13th September, 4pm - the hot weather continues! Click to enlarge 13th September, Sailing at Seafarers, all the trolleys on the beach.
Click to enlarge 13th September - sailing at Seafarers Click to enlarge 13th September - bringing the boats back in. Click to enlarge 13th September - one of the last really hot summer days, and a busy time for the ice cream van! Click to enlarge 17th September - 9am - the first fog of autumn
Click to enlarge 17th September, early morning in the fog Click to enlarge 17th September, spider's webs in the fog at Hill Head Haven Click to enlarge 11th October - Mid-day, the weather is still hot (like a summers day) and people are still enjoying the beach. We have had no proper rain since the end of July. Click to enlarge 11th October - sailing in Southampton Water and from Hill Head Sailing Club on a beautiful hot Autumn day.
Click to enlarge October 21st - 8am - our first heavy frost. The weather has turned from unseasonalby warm last week to unseasonably cold this week! Click to enlarge 21st October - early on a frosty day, the dawn reflected on the incomming tide. Click to enlarge 21st October - only bait diggers, joggers and dog walkers (and photographers!) at this time on a chilly morning. Click to enlarge 7th November - 3pm on one of the hottest November days on record, it got to 18c in parts of Hampshire, but slightly cooler on the coast. A lovely autumn afternoon for a walk on the beach!
Click to enlarge 7th November - Titchfield Nature Reserve, from Hill Head Haven on a beautiful sunny autumn afternoon. Click to enlarge 29th November - 10am on a windy, wet, Saturday morning. A flock of geese feeding on the shoreline. Click to enlarge 29th November - driving rain on my windscreen (with the beach beyond!), far too windy and wet to get out of the car. The weather is making up for the dry months in the summer and autumn! Click to enlarge 14th December - sunset at 3.30pm, cold and windy.
Click to enlarge 14th December - fishing from the beach on a cold, dark afternoon. Click to enlarge Christmas Eve Dawn - 8am, not a soul on the beach, just a couple of gulls. Click to enlarge Christmas Eve dawn - seaweed at low tide. Click to enlarge Christmas Day 9am - a lone windsurfer on a cold blustery morning.
Click to enlarge Boxing Day - 11am - loads of walkers brave the driving wind and rain Click to enlarge Boxing Day 11am - Queen Mary 2 travels up the Solent towards Southampton. You can't actually see it in the mist though! Click to enlarge 31st December 2003 - New Year's Eve - a very cold, calm, misty day. Click to enlarge 31st December 2003 - lots of people walking this morning, but it was very cold!
Hill Head is a small village, on the Solent, between Portsmouth and Southampton on the south coast of England. Opposite is the Isle of Wight about 5 miles away.


All pictures copyright Ailsa Brims 2003-2007
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