The Shell Grotto, Margate

I first found out about The Shell Grotto in Margate through this post, from Sophie Davies at The Private Life of a Girl. Reading about it and seeing her images made me instantly want to visit this little hidden gem. I have visited Margate since I was young, and my beach hut is on the bay just round from Margate beach so I couldn't help but wonder -how haven't I heard of it before now? And then a special little Sunday rolled around and I got to finally experience The Shell Grotto. Okay, so it wasn't special but it was one of those 'no plan' days which turned out to be a pretty great day.

The Shell Grotto is a picturesque cave around 100ft long, entirely adorned with shells. It was discovered in 1835 but to this day nobody knows when or why it was built. With no mentioning of it in any historic documents, we don't even know who created it. The grotto consists of the North passage you use to enter the grotto, the Rotunda, the Dome, the Serpentine Passage, and the Altar Chamber. From the moment you enter the Rotunda, you are in the presence of 4.6 million shells (wonder how long it took to collect them all). Of course, since the Grotto was opened to the public in 1838, and the site is too small to prevent visitors from touching the shells, there are signs of wear and tear throughout the site; however, this doesn't prevent you from enjoying the beauty of the site.

Although we do not know anything about its' purpose, and at this point, we will probably never get any real answers, I do think this is what draws people to this attraction. Because of its' unexplained existence, it is shrouded in mystery and I think that is what people find themselves drawn to. There is so much we know these days and very little in our world that is undiscovered. It's nice to go somewhere, experience it, ask your questions and ponder over your theories; all while you wander through its' chilly passages.

Dear Old Friend

So, we haven't spoken lately and I seem to have disappeared for a while. There are few excuses for my absence but I suppose the main reason is that life has simply got in the way. Since Christmas, everything has picked up a pace and life just feels a little more hectic than what I would usually like.

What do I mean by that? Well, let's get into. I have grown up as an only-child, in a single-parent household. Now, as I write this, my mom has a partner and I now have step siblings; which is something I never thought would happen. My house has been sold and we will be moving into a new home, and combining our two families. I'm currently living out of my moms' partners' conservatory and sleeping between my stepsisters' bed, the sofa and the spare bedroom of my grandparents' house. Yup, I'm a nomad right now but it's only temporary and it's worth it. I was the type of kid who always asked Santa for a family so now, 15+ years later, I'm glad that the bearded guy finally came through with the goods.

Talking of bearded guys, there's one of those in my life too. I don't want to mention too much about him here as it's still very new but he's become a very special person in my life; one of which I'm not ready to share with my little corner of the internet just yet, but stay tuned.

In terms of studying with the Open University, I really enjoyed my creative writing module which I completed a couple of weeks ago. It feels bittersweet but I also look back at my first few pieces and feel a huge sense of achievement at how far I've come with my writing. Going into this module I was dreading the sections on poetry and life writing, as well as the idea of someone potentially ripping my writing to shreds. However, it's been an enormous help having like-minded people commenting and giving their own input on my writing; and in terms of poetry and life writing, they have earned me amazing feedback and compliments as well as high scores.

As April has come (and now gone), it is finally beach hut season again which has my sea-loving heart doing somersaults! I have managed to get down there a few times so far, however, I'm hoping that I'll get to spend more time there and fill my lungs with as much sea air as possible within the next few weeks.

Oh, and obviously, I died my hair (well -some of it). Truth be told, I have been wanting a change for a while now and when I was browsing Pinterest a few months back I saw a photo of a young girl with hair like Cruella DeVille. Now, I am not confident to rock that half and half look all over, but I definitely wanted to recreate it with my own little twist. It's not as white as I'd like it yet but it is getting there (Yes, I'm a twenty-one year old who wants white hair).

So as you can see, a lot has been going on. I'm not sure what the next few months will bring this space but I'm hoping to get back into a posting schedule and get some fresh content on here throughout the summer.

Cheerio for now!
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