First impressions? How swiftly we can be swept back on a subtle wave of half-remembered smells, sights and sounds to moments from childhood. Holidays with my father. It’s the melding of many things that, isolated, aren’t necessarily noteworthy; but when they come together, they create something invaluable.
I smelt the sea before I saw it. Rolling onto the gravel drive, stepping out of the car and stretching, taking in a lungful of the fresh coastal air. The beauty is that such feelings are shared. We’ve all experienced it, but still it comes upon us as newly every time: that transportation back to younger, easier, freer days. And all that which you experience in the moment, which makes the coast unique – children find themselves a part of it, maybe for the first time, and so this is then what they will happily be reminded of one day.
What began in us as a nervousness with regard to weather (surprise, surprise) quickly turned into an ease of mind coastal getaways are made for – the restorative effects of sun, sea, pebbles under feet and the distant call of gulls; some as faint but as sure as those same childhood memories.
Our first full day in Ferring started with a light breakfast and some Nespresso coffees. Within an hour I was set to make the four-mile stroll east along the coastal path towards Worthing with its pier, arcades, fishing zones, small independent cafes, beach huts and old boats strewn uncomplainingly between fresh fish shacks, playgrounds and green spaces. The latter of which was the surprise I found minutes after leaving the house. Turn a corner, round a hedgerow, following the path, and all at once to your side, facing the sea, fields open up for miles, parted by a couple of quiet main roads, which would take you back to that world which by now you feel so perfectly removed from.
I found myself basking in the presence of it all – unexpected sun, stronger now in mid-May. The sky azure, at times cloudless. The breeze that ran along the coast, playing in the folds of St George’s flags, Union flags, loose hair and the bright stripes of deck chairs and umbrellas. Closer to our home away from home, the calming, gentle crash of pool water and the waves lapping a stone’s throw from the patio. One bird, clapping wings, the warmth of sun on cheek, the smell of salt and seaweed – these are of the moments in which the magic of the coast is fully realised and later taken away.
This day was the highlight of the weekend: around 10 miles of walking, feasting on all that was perfect about the season. Keep walking along that way from the house and you’d eventually get to Brighton. Today some people were venturing that far (by car), but for me it was enough to make my leisurely way to Worthing, to see what it had to show me; to walk its pier, watch its people, to work up an appetite for what we all knew would be a special meal that evening. We had a couple of private chefs from Dineindulge coming at 5.30pm to prepare three courses for 16 of us – for me it would be Chimichurri pan-fried king prawns with garlic and chilli root veg ‘slaw and fresh herbs to start; followed by cocoa-rubbed fillet of beef with a peppercorn sauce, naked mash and seasonal greens; and finally a cherry trifle with summer fruits and vanilla cream… Yep, I couldn’t wait!
It all starts from the house and it all returns there with you (in my case, that meant in the form of a red face!) Have you noticed how the evenings are now light up until about 9pm? That’s summer, people – and what a relief it is to finally get our hands on it! So while the air temperature was still fair, the sun was dipping to the west out of sight and our feet were soothed from the day of walking by taking to the cool grass, someone calls “Croquet!” and the evening is set: a fun game we all joined in with, pausing halfway for that three-course meal which, by the way, was incredible.
My stay at Ferring Beach Houses was the perfect mix of relaxation and activity; sun and shade; laughter and quiet; some of the best food I’ve ever tasted; wine, conversation, friendship, the peace to write and return again to prolonged moments of clear-headedness; it was exercise, inspiration and easy sleep bringing me into bright new mornings; it was that unmistakable feeling of summer.
I walk towards the shore, the waves louder, the water approaching, receding, eternally. What is it about that vast sparkling expanse that captivates us? Stretching out seemingly without end as we stand there, thoughtful – that is it, that very vacancy and breadth is the space in which we are more able to think clearly; every distraction washed away by the tide for as long as we have time to put ourselves before it.
Click the house name below to take the first step towards a summer holiday to remember…
Ferring Beach Houses | Sleeps 20 | Ferring, West Sussex
