DIY Beach

When you can't get to the beach, bring the beach to you

Last month I was at the beach. Except it wasn’t practical for me to travel to an actual beach, so I made my own. It was very easy, and it worked surprisingly well. If you too are craving that sense of freedom and connection with nature that being by the coast uniquely serves up, here are some suggestions of what you might need to bring it to fruition. They are broad and non-specific because everybody’s beach is unique, and that’s what makes it special.

Materials:

• Memories and imaginings of the beach

• A notebook and pen

• Some favourite beach-related items e.g. sun hat, sandals, beach bag, towel

• Reading and relaxation resources e.g. books, yoga mat

• Sensory stimuli e.g. water, pebbles, sand

• A container of time and space (for me this was a Monday in July and the ground floor of my house and garden)

That’s it.

Method:

First things first, preparation. I thought and wrote about what the essence of the beach is for me, and the sensations it evokes, and I set up those elements at home, for a beach experience that involved no traffic jams, no lists of rules and no hassle. It is beyond my scope to prescribe sunshine, so you might need to leave that to the meteorological forces above, but of course the sun can always shine in our imagination. I packed some essential items in my favourite beach bag the night before – notebook and pen, books to read (I chose my very battered copy of The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, Freedom Seeker by Beth Kempton and Quietly Wild by Alix Klingenberg, as featured in the image below). Some snacks, a sun hat, a towel and sandals. I checked the weather forecast – sunny but not the scorching, climate-change-induced heat that we have experienced at various times this summer. I went to bed with a sense of childlike anticipation for a day released from my ordinary responsibilities.

It’s amazing how transformative it can feel to lay on a beach towel on your living room carpet with some books. I spent periods of the day outside, doing yoga and sunbathing, but as I also had a four-month-old baby with me it was sensible and more comfortable to situate some of my beach day indoors. I still felt the vibes of slowness, pleasure and leisure that I associate with being next to the sea. The sensations of scrunching sand between my toes and plunging them into cold water are important aspects of being at the seaside for me. As a happy consequence of having young children with generous grandparents, I have access to a small sandpit and paddling pool, so at various moments throughout the day I was able to stand with both feet planted in the sand, or in the water, my eyes closed, and instantly find myself at some of the many beaches I have visited in my life.

Over to you:

What captures the experience of the beach for you? How does being surrounded by sand and the ocean make you feel? How could you take a few simple steps to recreate those ingredients and cook up your own DIY beach? If another setting makes you feel peaceful, free or creative, how could you follow the same method and transport yourself somewhere, perhaps when schedules or logistics would get in the way of physically travelling to a place like that? The only bounds are setting aside some time, choosing a setting, and your imagination.

With thanks to Beth Kempton and her retreat ‘The Sea The Sea’ (available to SoulCircle members) which was the inspiration for my Beach at Home.

Making space for a beach in my living room