West Wittering Seaside Mingle - 02 April 2022
Photos by Debbie Robinson
On a chilly, bright Spring morning at the beginning of April, a group of Irish Water Spaniels and their owners gathered at West Wittering beach on the Sussex coast for a romp in the sea (dogs) and a walk and a chat (owners).
Our Spring mingle consisted of of 27 people and 16 dogs, with Irish Water Spaniels ranging from over 11 to less than a year in age. Some of us live locally, but several parties stayed overnight and made a weekend of it. It was a pleasure to welcome IWS and their families who hadn’t been on a mingle before.
We particularly enjoy this walk round East Head, as the vast expanse of sand gives plenty of room for dogs to run and play whether high or low tide. The waves are very gentle for any youngsters who haven’t had a chance to get in the sea much before, and the view changes from the seaward yachts sailing across Chichester harbour to the sheltered marshland on the inland side of the sand-dunes. We had lots of interest in our breed from all the other dog walkers taking advantage of the sunny weather.
After shaking the sand off as best we could, we reconvened for lunch up the road at the local pizza restaurant, where we took over the whole of the outside terrace with our damp, sandy dogs, and kept ourselves warm snuggled up in blankets.
Thank you to everyone for coming along. The next mingle will be in the Autumn, planning for the New Forest in Hampshire.
If you’d like to receive emails about future IWS walks in the south, contact Debbie Robinson on debsrobuk@yahoo.com