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

[blue-room.livejournal.com]

Mark W: Reminds me of summer holidays on a beach in Wales (http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=215500&y=248500&z=5&sv=215500,248500&st=4&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf&dn=815) when I was a kid. Living in a Chalet right next to the beach, kid heaven, even when it was raining and blowing a gale I'd go out and make sandcastles anyway, just because.

[squirmelia.livejournal.com]

Sounds great. Similarly, I stayed in a chalet that looked out over the sea at the weekend, which was amazing. Even in the freezing cold weather, I happily laid on the patio at night and stared at the moon and the dreamy sea.