The small Lodmoor RSPB reserve, tucked into Weymouth next-door to the tip, was one of my sanity saving places during the Covid pandemic. It continues to be a calming and nourishing place for me.
It’s 6.30am on what’s going to be a very hot day and the air’s still and expectant. The reserve consists of a salt-marsh, open water and extensive reed beds and this morning the water is so flat the reflections of the wispy alto-cumulus high in the blue sky look like white stones beneath the surface. It’s far from quiet, though. Terns and black-headed gulls dart around above me and are competing to see who can make the most noise. In the spring, the gulls drown out every other sound as they nest in their hundreds on little islands in the lagoon but today it’s a fairly even contest.
I can’t stop for long but a few minutes here is all I need to feel ready for the day ahead.
