Yes, his name is Gary!: Footrace at Braunton Burrows

Feb 15, 2011

Footrace at Braunton Burrows

OK, let me premise this post by saying that I love my parents....they are fantastic people.. however they have one character flaw and it exists in both of them... they don't enjoy the scenery around them when they go walking. It's all about a footrace... when the dogs can't keep up you know that something is wrong.. it's always been the same, my Mom being the biggest culprit.. picture back to holidays in the Lake District where she'd be half up a hill and Dad and I would be wondering whether we were even going to attempt to get up it.. she has earned her title as 'Mountain Goat'..

Anyway, she's 64 this year and she still hasn't slowed down.. good job I was taking the pictures, else you'd have seen none of Braunton Burrows...!

So enjoy our walk.. parents out front, husband and niece in middle and me dragging at the back trying to capture the beauty of our surrounds...it was about 4 miles in all.. but up and down those dunes is a killer!

Incidently Braunton Burrows played a vital role during World War II. In 1943 Lieutenant Colonel Paul W. Thompson was tasked with training the Americans for their assault on the heavily-defended Normandy beaches and finding all south coast places already in use by the Brits, ended up at Braunton . The beaches here were ideal for amphibious exercises, despite the fierce Atlantic surf, and the nearby sands were soon found to be identical to Omaha in every respect – including sand quality, beach gradient and tidal range. Anyone who has seen Omaha beach will instantly recognise an uncanny resemblance to Woolacombe and Saunton. The area is to this day closed for 10 days per year for military training.