Boxing Day in my house is the day of the traditional family walk – we take the dogs, anyone who has been foolish enough to join us for the holidays, and head to the beach.

Being the middle of winter, sunset is very early, and luckily this year we had a clear blue sky, allowing the beautiful light of sunset to flood the scene. (My only complaint is that being on the east coast of the UK, once you descend the cliffs to the beach below, you’re stuck mostly in shadow, except at the very edge of the sea!) I must admit, until yesterday, I hadn’t quite realised just how amazing this light is -

This shot was taken quite late in the walk, once we’d come back up the cliff and the sun was almost lost, just hitting the tops of these trees.

It’s traditional for us, as I guess most people, to take a nice long walk on Christmas Day (although this year my Christmas Day was actually Boxing Day. Curses). Since we’ve always lived by the sea, this usually means the beach, which can be hellishly cold in the middle of winter. This year I was wearing a t-shirt, a jumper, a hoodie and a big coat – along with hat, gloves and scarf. I think living in London has somewhat sheltered me from the elements.

So, this is Susie, our elder Boxer. We thought she’d died a couple of Christmases ago when she had a fit at the end of the garden – but she’s still with us, just. Unfortunately at over 13 I don’t expect her to make next Christmas, which is a shame because I prefer her to Roxy! (Don’t tell Mother…)

We didn’t make the beach this year, due to Susie’s ailing health. We live further away now, so it wouldn’t have been kind on the old girl to make her go all the way and back again, so it was just a quick one into Gunton Woods and back. Not that I’m complaining – made for some good shots, including this (my favourite of today) of pet senior.

You can see more photos from today in this flickr set.