Brighton, tues 12th oct 2011, 6 pm

Late evening swim at low tide. I met a friend, AL, who is a keen swimmer but today was suffering with a cold and a dodgy knee and so stayed dry (apart from her feet and shoes which got soaked by a freak wave).

The sun was just coming out after a day of heavy cloud creating a beautiful erie light. At low tide the seabed is flat and sandy, great for long rolling waves but too shallow for good swimming unless you go a long way out - and then you would be at the mercy of the lightening fast wind surfers. Staying in the safer shallows it was great fun and invigorating playing in the waves, the perfect antidote to a day in a hot, stuffy classroom.