A short trip along the coast from Winchelsea Beach to Pett Level

The cycle from Winchelsea Beach in East Sussex to Pett Level is a short but mesmerising journey. A couple of miles in length, on the one side is the sea, jagged rocks rising out of the sand at low tide. On the other side sheep grazing in fields as far as the eye can see.

At Pett, when the tide is at its lowest, the remnants of the old stone age forest can be seen buried in the beach.

On the day of my ride, the sun shone bright amid a blue sky. There were curlews poking around the rocks, the occasional one taking off with that low trajectory flight, heading out to sea before veering in, probably to land in one of the pools at Rye Harbour.

Coming the other way to land was the Oystercatcher, that distinctive black and white pattern progressing low across the sea. An energetic flight, with wings beating, as it cuts across above the surf, the distinctive red beak just visible.

Already, on the beach among the rocks are the imperious looking egrets. A member of the heron family, the all white egret has a regal pose standing amid the many rock pools.

The return journey involved cutting in from the road to join the footpath running parallel through the fields all the way to Winchelsea. Rugged in places the picturesque route has the Royal Military Canal on one side, with lakes and fields on the other.

A kestrel rises from a nearby field, hovers, hunting its prey before making off. A matter of minutes later another kestrel almost replicates the flight of the first – clearly an attraction, a fellow admirer watches through binoculars from the hill opposite.

A cormorant comes whirring across the sky, a lumbering flight, no doubt off to Rye Harbour. Viewing the cormorant landing front on, it quickly becomes clear how much aviation has borrowed from the natural world of bird flight - feet coming down in similar style to wheels on a plane about to land

Three egrets sit in a tree overlooking the canal – they fly off as I approach.

There is though also a reminder of the harsh world of nature, with a dead sheep spread-eagled in the water.

The journey continues past fields of broad beans on the right – no black fly there – how do they do that? Finally, the journey through the fields in the sun ends at the base of the hill near Winchelsea, time to return back to base along the road in the opposite direction. A quick vignette of nature both stunning and harsh in the same instant.