Sea tractor

[squirmelia]

I daydreamed about crossing vast oceans in a sea tractor, as if the surface of the seabed had been rendered flat and the depth of the sea reduced to only that of a deep ford. The Solent seemed almost a possibility to voyage over.


My sudden fondness for sea tractors emerged after seeing a photo of one in Coast Road: 3,000 Miles at the Edge of England by Paul Gogarty, and then in various old UK travel books by the AA, Reader's Digest, and similar publishers.





I travelled to Bigbury-on-Sea in Devon and gazed at the sea tractor resting on the sand next to Burgh Island, presumably waiting for high tide, when the island becomes cut off from the mainland.

Burgh Island is fairly small, but contains a hotel, a pub, an old building that sits upon the top of the hill, as well as views down to the rocks and the surrounding sea, rabbit warrens and a springiness to the ground.

I walked across to the island but my timing was off, I failed to get stranded. I never actually travelled by sea tractor, which is probably why I am still contemplating it now.

Comments

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Thanks Jaime! I had a nice birthday - spent the weekend by the beach and the moors and there was even snow on my birthday too.

I like reading your LJ, it seems so lively, whether you are writing things that are intended to be silly or even a bit more serious, and cable does not seem to have dumbed you down at all!

If the farmers in the old Time magazines had sea tractors instead of real tractors, their light might not have gone bad and their crops may have survived and by now they would be harvesting seaweed.

[jaimeee.livejournal.com]

thank you, jodi.