Just at the place where the river meets the sea, at the end of a tiny, winding toll road, is Crow Point.

Driving there today to meet friends, my tired body and mind perked up at the anticipation of some sea air and sunshine. I already felt happier just at the thought of getting to the coast.

When I arrived, a Spring-time warmth awaited me so that my post-winter layers were too hot. The sound of the waves, the view out to my beloved Lundy Island and the sparkle of the sunlit sand worked, as they always do, like a tonic. My hair was teased out of its plait, my feet out of my shoes.

As we walked and talked, the water shimmered. Colourful shells, sea-smoothed wood and pebbles lay across the stretching sand like treasure. The dunes rose beside us in rolling hills of green, pink and brown.

Children sat on body-boards at the top of a sand dune and then careered down the almost vertical drop, screaming excitedly. Someone buzzed around on a speed-boat out on the water and others took their yachts out, red and white sails billowing a little in the Spring breeze.

A boardwalk took us back to the car, a well-trod path. Looking back, it seemed like we were walking our way out of a dream, a seaside version of Narnia.

And as always after a trip to the coast, I left feeling rejuvenated and free.