If we're lucky, we might get a few of those lovely still sunny days where the sea is glassy calm and it's a joy to walk on the beach or even out on the mud. But do keep a weather eye on the conditions if you venture out on the mud. Late Autumn can often be the time for mists out on the mud flats which can quickly become more dense and can turn into foggy ‘Pea Soupers’*.

 

Interestingly, some of our domestic animals still seem to have an inbuilt sense of direction which can be useful at such times.

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I went bait digging once in very poor visibility some three quarters of a mile from shore. Naturally, I had a compass with me, but I also had my trusty hound ‘Chip’ who always came along. I dug for a couple of hours before the flood tide arrived at my bait hole. As I washed off my fork and bucket and was about to get out my compass and head for shore, I noticed that Chip had realised we are about to go and so set off before me in the right direction without any prompting. Visibility was down to just a few yards so I decided to test Chip’s sense of direction.

Not a moment's hesitation on her part. She led me as straight as an arrow all the way back to shore. Whether she’d picked up on sounds from the sea front perhaps, I don't know, but I learned to trust her instincts and there were many times after that when she guided me faultlessly through the dark or when visibility was poor. Mind you I always kept my compass handy just in case!​