Mellow Fruitfulness

 

On the Fecamp waterfront it is a warm still autumn day. The heavy dew and morning chill driven off by the warmth of the sun.

The angling boats head out to sea, between the harbour moles, to make the most of the settled weather.

I explore the limestone headland, which shelters the port, Pointe Fagnet. A road zig zags its way to the summit. But there is also the enticingly named Matelot's Way. A route which is a mixture of steps and steeply sloping pathway. It leads straight up from the quayside and through verdant woodland. It is very reminiscent of the climb up from the Salcombe ferry landing, to the brow of the hill, at East Portlemouth. 

I emerge, slightly breathless, from the cool shade of the trees and back into bright sunlight. The church of Notre Dame du Salut is before me. Its gold topped tower a daymark, for the port entrance, to the home coming cod fleet of yore

Out on the clifftop, nature has reclaimed the crumbling concrete wartime fortifications of the Atlantic Wall. Nature replacing man's tools for destruction with sweet ripening blackberries.

Whisps of thinning sea fog hang in the air, allowing splashes of sunlight through to glint off the white cliffs. A foretaste of "the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" to come.