Some places you never forget

This is my impression of Ballydwan Cove in Ireland. You reach the single beach via a rock-strewn gap in the cliff face and can find yourself trapped between the crumbling rockface and the pounding waves. The whole bay is a horseshoe amphitheatre for sound and movement. Some days the fog stays trapped on the shingle and you can't see anything but the innermost waves. On other days, the sun flays through the fog to reveal the hitherto latent white horses that ceaselessly race each other across the rough and tumble wave tops. Your eyes and ears have nowhere to rest. You cannot escape the feeling of energy all about you. It is palpable, visceral and always intimidating. Now you understand how the gap in the towering cliffs was made: the sun and the sea are simply irresistible. They work without pause for breath, wielding cosmic and global forces we can't even begin to comprehend. If I painted here all day and night for the rest of my life, it would never be the same from one moment to the next. Such is the power of Ballydwan Cove.