Down at the beach

During my government sanctioned exercise we cycled down to the seafront in Weston-super-Mare. Compared to the a previous visit,  back in the middle of April, it was much busier, but to be honest pretty much deserted.

There were a few people like us doing our exercise, walking, cycling, running. The odd dog walker as well.

In addition there were people kit surfing in the sea.

The council closed all their seafront car parks in an additional move to dissuade casual visitors and at the time of writing they are still closed. So in the end the place is deserted with only a few people exercising.

Just to note that I am following government advice during this national emergency and the photograph was taken during my government sanctioned exercise.

Zoom Backgrounds of Weston-super-Mare

So if you are looking for some backgrounds for your Zoom and Teams calls, then here are some lovely pictures of the beach and pier at Weston-super-Mare that I have taken over the years.

Right click the images to download the images for your personal use only.

Ten more amazing sand sculptures


After last week’s ten sculptures, here are another ten.

For over ten years now, there has been an exhibition of sand sculptures on the beach at Weston-super-Mare. To call them sandcastles is a bit of a misnomer as these are truly remarkable sculptures and the artists have spent hours and days carving the compacted sand.

We have been most years and I bring my camera to capture the sculptures, here are some photographs of this year’s carvings.

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Aliens in your head

Aliens in your head

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Ten Amazing Sand Sculptures


For over ten years now, there has been an exhibition of sand sculptures on the beach at Weston-super-Mare. To call them sandcastles is a bit of a misnomer as these are truly remarkable sculptures and the artists have spent hours and days carving the compacted sand.

We have been most years and I bring my camera to capture the sculptures, here are some photographs of this year’s carvings.

The theme this year was “What if?”.

What if Rome had never fallen?

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

What if mermaids were real and were suffering due to the pollution and plastic waste in the sea.

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures

Incredible Sand Sculptures


For over ten years now, there has been an exhibition of sand sculptures on the beach at Weston-super-Mare. To call them sandcastles is a bit of a misnomer as these are truly remarkable sculptures and the artists have spent hours and days carving the compacted sand.

We have been most years and I bring my camera to capture the sculptures, here are some photographs of this year’s carvings.

These sculptures all start like this, wooden frames, filled with sand which is then compacted down.

The tide is coming in…

When I mention where I live, the talk often comes round to people getting stuck in the mud or cars getting caught by the tide.

Those who live in Weston-super-Mare will know that every summer weekend, a visitor or three gets caught in the mud trying to cross between Uphill beach and Break Down. The river Axe gets in the way, but it’s usually the mud that gets in the way first.

After the mud, the other thing that comes up in conversation is the tidal range.

Usually referred to the as the second highest tidal range in the world, it is actually the third, only the bay of Fundy (North America) and Ungava bay (Hudson straits) are bigger. The tidal range on the Severn can be as much as 15m (49ft). What this means for Weston-super-Mare is that the low tide mark in Weston Bay is about one mile from the seafront. For most of the time you don’t see the sea, which is why when I get the chance to see the beach with the tide in I take a photograph!

Grand Pier in the sea at Weston-super-Mare

Although the beach itself is sandy, low tide uncovers areas of thick mud, hence the colloquial name, Weston-super-Mud.

The other aspect of this long ideal range is that sometimes people get caught out by the fast rising tide having parked their car on the beach and their car gets swamped by the incoming tide.

This was the first time seeing the tide in at Uphill beach (just along from the main beach at Weston-super-Mare) that I saw a bus right by the high tide.

Bus in the sea

This wasn’t any old bus though, this bus served coffee!

Ten amazing sand sculptures

Here are ten of my favourite sculptures from this year’s Sand Sculptures at Weston-super-Mare. This year’s theme was “when I grow up…” and there was a range of sculptures that were inspired by this theme. Click the image for larger versions.

So who wanted to be a firefighter when they grew up? So there are the fires, the hoses and the water.

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If I found these surgeons looking over me, just about to go under a general anaesthetic, I would be feeling rather scared. These are rather freaky.

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Now who wants to go to the moon? Astronauts are often a childhood dream. This sculpture was really tall and I was impressed with the height of the thing, and the nice details, like the chimpanzee looking out of the window of the rocket.

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A rather depressed farmer looks after his crops and a sullen cow. Maybe its’ the sand, but he does look sad. The sculpture was rather flat, and it was quite effective.

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No this wasn’t about someone growing up to be a Pharaoh or even an Egyptian god, no this was about growing up to be an archaeologist, you can see the little figures in the sand.

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I think this was a vet, or someone wanting to be a mad scientist growing over sized dogs.

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Lots of young people want to be professional footballers.

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Tut, tut, construction worker stereotype!

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This was just plain freaky! No idea what it was supposed to represent.

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Yes, we can all grow up to be superman! To infinity and beyond… oh wait!

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I am always impressed with the quality and the ideas of the sculptures.

Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures

Over the last few years, artists from around the world have created amazing sand sculptures on the beach at Weston-super-Mare. Here are ten incredible sculptures.


Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures Ten Incredible Sand Sculptures

“the cafe on tv at weston super mare is it real”

Noticed in the blog stats one of the search terms used that resulted in someone finding my blog was

the cafe on tv at weston super mare is it real

I suspect my recent blog post on the filming of The Café was the reason Google directed them to my blog.

There is no real Cyril’s, it’s a fabrication, just a set, but they do film in Weston-super-Mare.

The Café

The café building itself is just a set, it’s not a real café dressed at Cyril’s but a set built for filming and when done, it’s broken down and taken away until the next season (if one is commissioned) is filmed.

The Café, Series 1 – The Café

The Café, Series 2 – The Café