Hello Claire. I'm still trying to put into words what my connection to the sea means to me. I grew up in a landlocked country, Zimbabwe where we swam a lot in pools. But I've lived on the coast and when I moved back to the UK 4 years ago, I knew I would not survive if I didn't live very close to the sea. So I moved to the Isle of Wight. I started all year round sea swimming and a finally feel like I've come home to myself. In the sea I can release unwanted energies and connect to the sea's rhythms, just by being in the water. I've also connected with so many other like minded souls by swimming. This summer especially I've been down to swim or walk by the sea almost every day. So that's my story about connection.
I grew up in London, so the sea was not a regular feature of my childhood - more something to dream of when we got woken up at 4am once a year to go on holiday. In the wake of two life altering events in my thirties - my first child contracting neonatal meningitis, and my brother tragically dying, I found myself at the coast on a family holiday, and was inexplicably drawn to the water. I signed up to do a sea swim, although I was terrified of deep water, and it became the first chapter to the rest of my life. That day as I naively entered the water in just an M&S cossie, the sea cracked open something deep inside of me, and allowed me to first of all surrender to my feelings, giving me the strength to ask for help, and then finally heal. I have been swimming in open water now for several years, and swim in my bikini in the snow, and never do I feel more alive than when doing that. The sea washed over me when I needed it most, and has become part of my soul. My first book, 'Breaking Waves' is all about the connection women have with water all over the world, and having spoken with women from Fiji to Finland, I am in awe of what it means and how it connects us all. It is in my soul.
Claire, I don’t know how you fit everything in, but I just love reading your posts and (sort of) feel like I’m with you on your journey.
I used to watch blogs on YouTube quite often but I stopped around the time of the pandemic. I’d love to get back into it and would love to watch your videos!
What a generous offer to give away! You know, I don’t really have a connection to the sea, and I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit that after reading the comments above.
I’m from Leeds so nowhere near the seaside, that’s probably why. I do remember camping in Scarborough as a child though, and days spent by the sea with my siblings would bring me so much joy. In fact, it was the place I wanted to go to after I got married as a sort of mini honeymoon because I wanted my own children to experience that feeling too.
I’d like to build more of a connection to it though. We’re planning a day trip to the coast sometime soon, but we’re thinking of going somewhere other than Scarborough this time. Do you have a recommendation for the east coast? 🥰
I grew up on a river not far from the sea in Florida. There’s always been something about water that helps me breathe more deeply. And the wide open sky by the ocean’s edge gives me some kind of perspective that I need—a view of my own particular and connected place in the universe. That sounds pretty poetic, but I also just like spectacularly fresh seafood.... 🌊
I miss the sea! I used to live in a city with beaches everywhere, and sunny days automatically became beach days; cloudy days were even better because the beach was deserted, and rain meant the water would be warm. Beaches feel like home to me 💙
Ah, the sea! How I miss it!! My father was a sailor in the merchant navy, so we spent almost all of our school holidays sailing with him across the world! The month-long sea voyages, watching the dolphins jump along with the ship, catching flying fish and throwing them back into the sea, feeding the fish jumping alongside the ship....so many wonderful memories associated with the sea!!
My connection to the sea is profound. I’m even a marine biologist. I have studied dolphin’s behaviour and loved nothing more than being at the ocean looking for them. Although I’m not a field biologist anymore I still have amazing dreams full of dolphins and whales. Always swimming around me, or jumping around my boat. I always take them as good omens. 🐋
Ah my connections to the 🌊. I find if I go to far away from it I feel landlocked and claustrophobic. I seek the sea whenever I need reassurance of my place in the world. Seeing the sea always gives me perspective and comfort.
I chose a university for its excellent sociology course and also it’s proximity to the sea.
I lived in County Durham for three years and whilst I loved the countryside, I found myself driving the long drive up to Druridge Bay time and time again.
Consequently we bought a house near the sea and I love the impact that it has on my life. I feel content and held by its proximity.
Hi Claire, been reading along for a while now and really enjoying getting to know you through this beautiful Substack and excited to hear more of company of two too!
My connection to the sea - we live not far from a beautiful beach where I have walked firstly with my husband, then our beagle, then our little boy and then our second dog - it’s been a place of peace on tired, emotional days and a place of happiness for all of us - it will always be our family happy place.
Oh I look forward to those journal prompts each month, thank you Claire! And I love these updates in general, as I'm sure I've mentioned before ☺️
We used to live by the sea in Hove and I loved it, despite the pebble beach, which I soon started to prefer to sand. That is until visiting the beaches of the silver coast in Portugal and beaches of Greece whilst on our travels, where now nothing beats the feeling of sand between my toes 🤗 I miss being by the sea everyday but I know one day I will be living back besides it. It's like a pull that never seems to go away 💕
Loved reading this Notes From The Sea, Claire! So exciting about your trip to The Peak District. It's so beautiful there! And I am super excited about seeing more of your slow lived life on YouTube! Vlogs are by far my favorite content to watch (and create!) over there. Looks like you've had a busy yet fulfilling month!
I love the idea of videos from Northumberland! I was really into vlogs before Davy was born. I think it's how I was seeking community in motherhood and trying to work it all out. I watched tons of pregnancy vlogs, but also people going about their daily life. I found the American's grating to be honest 😂 so I was mostly subscribed to British YouTubers. I loved seeing bits of the countryside, but even normal mundane things are just different enough something like a bottle of Fairy dish soap makes me nostalgic for my year abroad.
I used to make videos too, but I think my social capacity is pretty much maxed out as a parent (between Davy and therapists and so on) that I don't have energy to show up much on video right now. I really have to portion that out.
I've had a long list of YouTube ideas that I am in the process of reimagining for Substack. Accepting this isn't my video era. I love that art form and may go back to it, but it takes so much out of me.
I feel like most of my favorite vloggers stopped so would love to follow along some slow lived adventures. See the seaside, the sensory garden, even your lovely bookshop. But also the magic mundane. 💫
Hello Claire. I'm still trying to put into words what my connection to the sea means to me. I grew up in a landlocked country, Zimbabwe where we swam a lot in pools. But I've lived on the coast and when I moved back to the UK 4 years ago, I knew I would not survive if I didn't live very close to the sea. So I moved to the Isle of Wight. I started all year round sea swimming and a finally feel like I've come home to myself. In the sea I can release unwanted energies and connect to the sea's rhythms, just by being in the water. I've also connected with so many other like minded souls by swimming. This summer especially I've been down to swim or walk by the sea almost every day. So that's my story about connection.
I grew up in London, so the sea was not a regular feature of my childhood - more something to dream of when we got woken up at 4am once a year to go on holiday. In the wake of two life altering events in my thirties - my first child contracting neonatal meningitis, and my brother tragically dying, I found myself at the coast on a family holiday, and was inexplicably drawn to the water. I signed up to do a sea swim, although I was terrified of deep water, and it became the first chapter to the rest of my life. That day as I naively entered the water in just an M&S cossie, the sea cracked open something deep inside of me, and allowed me to first of all surrender to my feelings, giving me the strength to ask for help, and then finally heal. I have been swimming in open water now for several years, and swim in my bikini in the snow, and never do I feel more alive than when doing that. The sea washed over me when I needed it most, and has become part of my soul. My first book, 'Breaking Waves' is all about the connection women have with water all over the world, and having spoken with women from Fiji to Finland, I am in awe of what it means and how it connects us all. It is in my soul.
Claire, I don’t know how you fit everything in, but I just love reading your posts and (sort of) feel like I’m with you on your journey.
I used to watch blogs on YouTube quite often but I stopped around the time of the pandemic. I’d love to get back into it and would love to watch your videos!
What a generous offer to give away! You know, I don’t really have a connection to the sea, and I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit that after reading the comments above.
I’m from Leeds so nowhere near the seaside, that’s probably why. I do remember camping in Scarborough as a child though, and days spent by the sea with my siblings would bring me so much joy. In fact, it was the place I wanted to go to after I got married as a sort of mini honeymoon because I wanted my own children to experience that feeling too.
I’d like to build more of a connection to it though. We’re planning a day trip to the coast sometime soon, but we’re thinking of going somewhere other than Scarborough this time. Do you have a recommendation for the east coast? 🥰
I grew up on a river not far from the sea in Florida. There’s always been something about water that helps me breathe more deeply. And the wide open sky by the ocean’s edge gives me some kind of perspective that I need—a view of my own particular and connected place in the universe. That sounds pretty poetic, but I also just like spectacularly fresh seafood.... 🌊
I miss the sea! I used to live in a city with beaches everywhere, and sunny days automatically became beach days; cloudy days were even better because the beach was deserted, and rain meant the water would be warm. Beaches feel like home to me 💙
Ah, the sea! How I miss it!! My father was a sailor in the merchant navy, so we spent almost all of our school holidays sailing with him across the world! The month-long sea voyages, watching the dolphins jump along with the ship, catching flying fish and throwing them back into the sea, feeding the fish jumping alongside the ship....so many wonderful memories associated with the sea!!
My connection to the sea is profound. I’m even a marine biologist. I have studied dolphin’s behaviour and loved nothing more than being at the ocean looking for them. Although I’m not a field biologist anymore I still have amazing dreams full of dolphins and whales. Always swimming around me, or jumping around my boat. I always take them as good omens. 🐋
Ah my connections to the 🌊. I find if I go to far away from it I feel landlocked and claustrophobic. I seek the sea whenever I need reassurance of my place in the world. Seeing the sea always gives me perspective and comfort.
I chose a university for its excellent sociology course and also it’s proximity to the sea.
I lived in County Durham for three years and whilst I loved the countryside, I found myself driving the long drive up to Druridge Bay time and time again.
Consequently we bought a house near the sea and I love the impact that it has on my life. I feel content and held by its proximity.
Hi Claire, been reading along for a while now and really enjoying getting to know you through this beautiful Substack and excited to hear more of company of two too!
My connection to the sea - we live not far from a beautiful beach where I have walked firstly with my husband, then our beagle, then our little boy and then our second dog - it’s been a place of peace on tired, emotional days and a place of happiness for all of us - it will always be our family happy place.
Oh I look forward to those journal prompts each month, thank you Claire! And I love these updates in general, as I'm sure I've mentioned before ☺️
We used to live by the sea in Hove and I loved it, despite the pebble beach, which I soon started to prefer to sand. That is until visiting the beaches of the silver coast in Portugal and beaches of Greece whilst on our travels, where now nothing beats the feeling of sand between my toes 🤗 I miss being by the sea everyday but I know one day I will be living back besides it. It's like a pull that never seems to go away 💕
Loved reading this Notes From The Sea, Claire! So exciting about your trip to The Peak District. It's so beautiful there! And I am super excited about seeing more of your slow lived life on YouTube! Vlogs are by far my favorite content to watch (and create!) over there. Looks like you've had a busy yet fulfilling month!
I love the idea of videos from Northumberland! I was really into vlogs before Davy was born. I think it's how I was seeking community in motherhood and trying to work it all out. I watched tons of pregnancy vlogs, but also people going about their daily life. I found the American's grating to be honest 😂 so I was mostly subscribed to British YouTubers. I loved seeing bits of the countryside, but even normal mundane things are just different enough something like a bottle of Fairy dish soap makes me nostalgic for my year abroad.
I used to make videos too, but I think my social capacity is pretty much maxed out as a parent (between Davy and therapists and so on) that I don't have energy to show up much on video right now. I really have to portion that out.
I've had a long list of YouTube ideas that I am in the process of reimagining for Substack. Accepting this isn't my video era. I love that art form and may go back to it, but it takes so much out of me.
I feel like most of my favorite vloggers stopped so would love to follow along some slow lived adventures. See the seaside, the sensory garden, even your lovely bookshop. But also the magic mundane. 💫