Your Go-to Place


A couple of mornings a week I drive 16 miles to a stretch of Promenade that borders a man made beach. It's become my go-to place .
A place to go to - in order to feel better
This morning we sat in a line on the low wall.
Coffee in hand
Me, Winnie and George.
Mary is on my knee.
All looking out at the sea

Where is your go-to place.

99 comments:

  1. The beach, any beach. I hope you feel better. X

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  2. I'm spoilt for choice really but if I just had to pick one, for the peace and tranquility, it would be a place called Lac des Confins, in the mountains above me, just above my favourite ski resort of La Clusaz. It is high enough above the resort that the downhill skiers don't go there and you can actually just sit and have a coffee (or make that a glass of wine in my case) and listen to the cowbells!

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  3. Anonymous11:04 am

    Quite a drive, but how good is it looking out to sea.

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  4. A beach for me too. Somerset beaches aren't pretty like Cornish beaches, and the sea is muddy not blue, but they're rocky and full of wading birds and boats, lots of dog walkers on the popular beaches, or hardly anyone on the isolated ones if that's what I want, depending on my mood. I'm glad you have a go to place, John, you've been sounding like you need it recently xx

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    1. I've just realised they're not real people in that photo, but cut outs. How clever!

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  5. My "go to" place is a particular walk I have undertaken many times. I park at the end of Shorts Lane near Dore and then cross Blacka Dike before climbing up to Blacka Moor. Then it's on to Totley Bents and then to Avenue Farm and back to Shorts Lane via Redcar Brook. The walk takes exactly one hour.

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  6. I’ve paid many visits here on the Essex coast:-https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2444961

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  7. My go-to place is any garden. Be it the Arboretum or the Botanic Garden or any Conservatory or public gardens it's the place to be to regain my composure and gather my thoughts. And I've found myself going more often there lately....
    Your walk sounds awesome, though. If I lived closer to the lake (unfortunately I live West of Chicago) I'd go near the water more often.

    XOXO

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    1. Barbara Anne3:53 pm

      Hi! I spent my teen years in Elmhurst!

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  8. My go-to happy place is the beach on the Gulf coast of Florida. Actually, any body of water in stills peace in me. But hearing the sound of those waves, feeling the salt spray on my face, and the warmth of the sun makes me realize how blessed I am. Hubby and I spend six months a year here, with plans to make it permanent within the next couple years.

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    1. Catrina, I live on the gulf coast of Florida and Clearwater Beach or Honeymoon Island is my go to place. Welcome to Florida whenever you get here!

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  9. Like you, it's the ocean. I think it puts things in perspective.

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  10. A slow drive down the George Washington Parkway to Mount Vernon and back. I drove it yesterday in the middle of the day, in the convertible with the top down, the heated seats turned up, there was a large Bald-Eagle in the top of a tree - he took flight as I was passing on the way back.

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  11. The rocky, west shores of the West Wales coast. In the winter, empty and wild.

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  12. Down the shore, Stone Harbor, New Jersey; always & forever.

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  13. Anywhere need water. Soothes the soul. Preferably a beach in Cornwall or indeed Wales. Helps me come too gently. Hugs x

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  14. Bizarrely for an ardent atheist, my place is the tiny medieval Prior Crauden's chapel in Ely. If you knew it, it would possibly become yours too!

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  15. It used to be the river valley but we moved to a small city without a river running through it and I miss the river. There are a couple of small lakes/sloughs nearby that I walk to but it's not the same as the river.

    The sea is a lovely place to go to. It's good for the soul.

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  16. Another fan of water here too, unfortunately, too far from a beachfor me, so it's a ruined mill. There's never been a water wheel in my memory but the waterfall is such a soothing sound and it's such a tranquil place. I used to swim in the waterfall pond in my younger days. I would like my ashes scatttering there when I die.

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  17. Anonymous12:49 pm

    Also a beach, that happily I can walk to 5 months a year on the US gulf coast. J

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  18. a drive in the country always makes me feel better.

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  19. Loch Lomond, i try and go every few years but I have a cabin here on a lake.

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  20. I am lucky enough to have a small spinney at the bottom of the paddock which I can sit in and watch the wildlife: birds; rabbits; resident weasel; and the beautiful array of trees and wild flowers. I always leave feeling uplifted and tranquil.

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  21. Gardens on blue sky days.

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  22. My garden, it's a healing space for me.

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  23. My place is Cemlyn beach Anglesey. Although we lived there for a short time nineteen years ago, I have not been back recently. I used to love this beach in the Winter when there was not another soul around. I have always thought of it as my "Heart Place". Nearer to home, I find peace in my garden with my cats and my chickens.

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  24. It depends on the season where we go. Since winter is too cold and windy we stay clear of beach walks. Instead we go to a park in the city (35 km away) that is wooded and almost completely surrounded in ocean/harbour. The best of both worlds in the winter. Your spot sounds lovely, John.

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  25. Yeah, Colwyn Bay's a lovely place to do nothing but gently amble, then sit a while, gently amble, sit a while, and so on! X

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  26. I am lucky to live in my main go-to place. The trees in my yard are ancient oaks and they shelter me and give me reason to look up. My favorite go-to place which is not my yard though, is Cozumel. That blue-green-purple sea, the people, the flowers. It calms me like no other place I've been.

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  27. My go to place has always been a good book. It used to be a bath and a book, but hunky firemen would have to help me out of the tub these days. Hmmm.....

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  28. Home, that's all, just home

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  29. Several Cornish coves with secret little beaches are within a few miles of my home. I can sit with a dog, a book and a flask for hours with no-one else ever appearing, even in high season. Love the smell, the sounds and the pure air - even better if there's a flypast of piping Oystercatchers.

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  30. A beach on an ocean...unfortunately there isn't one within a million miles of me...or so it seems. I'm in the Midwest of the US. Get to one maybe every couple years. My alternate is Lake Superior.

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  31. Anonymous2:55 pm

    A drive in the countryside.

    Debbie in London

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  32. On our dock while the sun is rising, with a mug of coffee.

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  33. Café H8T facing the lake. Purchase a nice coffee and walk along the waterfront. Even when the “water” is actually ice.

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  34. Albion, California just outside of Mendocino. Heaven.

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  35. Barbara Anne3:57 pm

    In a rocking chair on my front porch looking out onto our park-like front yard. Add coffee or iced tea, depending on weather.

    Hugs!

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  36. It used to be by the river where I grew up, it was wild and natural and full of comfort and peace. The developers have now destroyed it; even the old cemetery always believed to be Native American or possibly the resting place of enslaved people. Just ripped from their resting places and tossed away in dump trucks. We now have a holding pond of sorts and big ditch and a view a of the rear of a tiny house motel. Progress in America seems like destruction of America to me. I'm very glad you have your lovely beach that you can enjoy and please hold on with a loving heart to your lovely village. Such places of joy and history and peace are not loved by many here in America anymore.

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    1. Appalling. The arrogance and disrespect has shaken me to my core. This happens, I know, a reminder to all of us to be vigilant and prevent it happening. I wonder if the developers would dig up the cemetery where their parents or grandparents are buried.

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    2. Thank you Susan, I am a lover of history and sweet and sacred places. Perhaps that is why I love and enjoy this blog so much. I can feel the devotion and love for Trelawnyd in each of John's posts. It's a comfort to know there are still caring people have so much respect for the simple natural things that so many just assume have no place in this world anymore.

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  37. A walk in the forest with my dogs, next to a river - in any season.

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  38. Beaches out of season and forest or woodland anytime. Luckily we're only about half an hour from the sea and 5 minutes from lovely woodland.

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  39. Fraserburgh Beach Prom and my Shedudio.

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  40. Any of the following: beach in winter, a secluded garden, a churchyard. The beach in winter is the only one I have regular access to, for which I count myself blessed.

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  41. Redburn Country Park, just east of Belfast. A good walk round the park always lifts my spirits.

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  42. When I was a kid, I rode the Coronado ferry. As an adult, The Ocean Beach beach was my favorite spot. Now that I am old and crotchety, I like sitting by the bay.

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  43. My go to place is my sewing machine.
    Helen

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  44. While we were living in Washington state in the USA, my place was a beautiful park with a waterfall. Since we have moved to Arizona I haven't yet found one. I enjoy our home and patio though so it is all good.

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  45. Morag5:57 pm

    Gartmorn Dam, Scotland. A most heavenly place.

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  46. I love to be out in the middle of a forest surrounded by trees and nature. The breeze in the trees talks to me.

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  47. My favourite place to go to is my brother's house.

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  48. The beach definitely. I have several beaches where I live in Devon, that I get to within 20/30 mins in the car. I could people/dog watch for hours, while listening to the sea, nothing better.

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  49. Ocean and forest both are close to where I live and I never take them for granted I feel fortunate to be so close to nature.

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  50. My go-to places have narrowed over the last few years as my mobility has worsened. It used to be Bamburgh to sit on the sea wall and feel the sea breeze on my face. Now it tends to be my favourite cafe in our little town, where I can sit and have a quiet coffee or, if I feel greedy, scampi and chips.

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  51. My favorite place is Home! Your old English poet, John Dryden, says it best: Home is the sacred refuge of our life. We live on an acre beside the Juniata River with no visible neighbors. We're visited by deer, wild turkeys and geese, eagles, song birds, and all the smaller wildlife. There's nothing outside of this that could make me happy, except for the ocean - it's too far away. Gulls make it this far inland sometimes. Send me some salt air, John!

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  52. I love that John Gray...your safe place. I would love to be close to the beach. Mardy. 🇨🇦

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  53. I haven't got time to comment individually
    on nights!
    keep the places coming

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    1. Tomorrow -places we would rather not go to? For example night shifts?

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  54. A bench overlooking the sea at Sandsend N Yorks.

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  55. You are lucky to be so close to the sea. Walking the dog in the countryside usually calms me down.

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  56. Sturt pond which isnt really a pond as tidal with sea water coming in and a stream feeding into it ! The swans, ducks, geese and sea birds are wonderful to see. From there I walk to the beach... I am so very lucky to live here and I have a six months Labrador to enjoy it with. i appreciate it every day.

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  57. Anonymous8:15 pm

    The Beach at Ballycastle N. Ireland looking out to Rathlin Island I love it at anytime of the year but I love it best when the sea is wild with great waves crashing on the rocks.
    Meg

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  58. While I'm here in Whanganui..by the river, by the Mud Ducks cafe in the i site. There is a saying here.."I am the river, the river is me"...but it sounds better in the original Te Reo Maori

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  59. Walking on the beach near my home in NZ. I go two to three mornings a week with my dogs, walk along the beach and back and watch the sun rise. Its my favourite part of the day. I also go if I've had a bad day and just pound it out on the sand.

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  60. Where I am currently living, there is a lake and almost daily there are Egrets hanging around. I like walking around there but there is also a alligator there.
    I have a State Forest behind my house so I get to see deer, raccoons and an occasional wolf.
    My cats and I prefer the wildlife viewing from the safety of the lanai:)

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  61. I love climbing hills to see the view from the top. I could never live in a flat landscape!

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  62. My couch and a book :)

    Second place: my walk along the river

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  63. Hi john my go to place would be the sea or my allotment which I sadly no longer have. Failing those places anywhere with the friends I love just back from a meal and a few drinks with two of the best friends ever but I believe its where we feel peace.I hope work is ok tonight. Take care hugs x

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  64. When we were living in Upstate NY, when my husband died, every day I would walk up the street to the big farm.
    The owner raised Highland Cattle
    They were Fabulous:)
    I would pet them and weep and they would stand there quietly listening.
    There is something about living out of a busy city with all the bustle.. I am hoping to go back:)
    I think telling my worries or thoughts to an old retired race horse is preferable to empty minded chat with humans:)

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  65. I know it’s weird, but my dog and I go to an old cemetery nearby. It is peaceful and quiet, sometimes his best friend is there to run with.

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  66. I am usually up very early. Somewhere around noon, on winter days, the sun sits on the bottom of my bed. If I have time, I will lay down, with my head at the foot of the bed and enjoy the warm baking of my middle age bones. It reminds me of childhood for some reason.

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    1. I can feel the “warm baking” just reading this. Perfect, Linda.

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  67. I love broad vistas of green rolling countryside ...and we don't do green countryside very well here in Oz, so my go-to place is the Yorkshire Dales. My heart recognises it as "Home" . Wish I could visit more often but till I do, I just immerse myself in my photos.

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  68. any place near the ocean; the waves are soothing to the ear and the mind and the soul.

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  69. When I was going through a very difficult time, I would go to Valley Forge, a 3000+ acre park, bring a radio and a book, and then set up my chair deep into a wooded area where nobody else was around. I did this for months and needed the solitude. I only told my family I was going for a walk in the park, but not what area. One day, deep in my thoughts, I heard footsteps and looked around and saw my husband standing there with a picnic lunch. He was very concerned about me and had searched the park for my car and then walked all over and found me. It was so sweet of him, and I appreciated what he did, but I could never return to that place because my special place was no longer secret. I eventually got out of my depression with some help and the love of my family.

    Now, my go to place is my volunteer job. It makes me so happy to have purpose and be around people.

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  70. Since I do not live right by the ocean now (being raised in the desert I loved the smell, air and waves of the ocean) and my mobility is limited I like to sit outside early when the birds are flying below me and riding the air like ocean waves over my home on the hill.

    cheers, parsnip

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  71. Barbara Anne1:00 am

    "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen

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  72. I agree that the sea is very healing almost sacred. I also wander among our redwood forest. There's something about mingling with these ancient beings that is very soothing. But really anything that is wild and natural offers healing.

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  73. Anonymous2:56 am

    The neighbourhood café with the morning paper and a cup of coffee. Alone but not alone.
    Maria

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    1. Is that greetings maria??

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    2. Oh, I do hope it is our ‘ greetings ‘ Maria John. XXXX

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    3. Anonymous12:31 pm

      I´m not sure who "greetings" Maria is, but no, not me...
      My only claim to fame here is being a finalist in the animal category of the postcard competition... :-)


      Maria in Stockholm

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  74. My back deck... it overlooks the local bowling club and behind it are fabulous hills filled sometimes with sheep. A cuppa or a glass of wine chatting with my cats admiring the view.. relaxes me every time.

    Jo in Auckland

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  75. It’s a ‘dead heat’ for me - my sewing room/familyroom with the deck doors open, listening to the birds, and our local, absolutely fabulous cafe. When I was really unwell, going to the cafe was the only way of getting to eat breakfast, and then I’d come and sit, doing some embroidery if I had the energy, just sitting if not.

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  76. We are very lucky where we live. 2 miles down the road we have the sea with a lovely new promenade and 1 mile in the opposite direction we have the peaceful countryside with a lovely river walk with a nice pub at the end.
    Carolx

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  77. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  78. In my head it is a wind-swept hill on the outskirts of town, but in reality it is the pub.

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  79. Joan (Devon)10:27 am

    If I'm having a bad day with aches and pains and such I go onto the blogs I follow. My 'friends' usually help me to put emotions to the side as they take me away from myself with their lives and what they have been doing. Sometimes congratulations are in order or sympathies. Others educate me on subjects I never gave a thought about before, but there is always something to learn. Your blog is one of the best, John and feel so much better after visiting.

    I still have the aches and pains, but I feel part of a community again, so all is good.

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  80. Hanging out with my chickens.

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  81. Although I have nearby places I love to go, I don’t have a go-to place. I’ve had one in most places I’ve lived. Something to look for here I guess and I hadn’t even thought about it until your post.

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  82. My go-to-place is the guest bedroom bed. I go there to cry. I'm in there a lot.

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  83. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  84. I'm about to move back to my go to place. Van life in Lancashire suits me better than smallholding life in Wales. It's somewhere I don't need to go away from to escape.

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