A Saturday Walk Along the Rocky Vidzeme Seashore

Yesterday was a truly lovely day - sunny and warm. Good reason to leave the computer at home and head off on a longer walk along the seashore. This time we drove to the Vidzeme seashore and spent about four hours there, walking along the coast and swimming in the now-warmed sea water. We covered a stretch from Tūja to Ķurmrags (approximately 7 km one way). Of course, the sea views were worth capturing in photographs.

When arriving in Tūja and looking for somewhere to park, you don't have to accept the first offer - a privatised stretch of shore where tables have been set up and parking spaces allocated, starting from LVL 2 and up. Drive a little further along the gravel road and you can find an equally well-equipped spot completely free of charge. There were already a few tents there, caravans from Germany, and cars. Newly repaired wooden steps led down the steep bank to the beach. But we were determined to escape the crowds and set off along the sea.

The Vidzeme Rocky Seashore is located in the territory of Salacgrīva Municipality and encompasses a 12-kilometre stretch of coastline from Tūja to Dzeņi. This seashore is the only place along the Baltic Sea coast where sandstone outcrops can be seen. The sand gleams a rusty red in sunlight with silvery shimmers (see the gallery) - a fantastic effect. The sandstone cliffs formed 350-380 million years ago, during the Devonian period. The shoreline is rich in boulders of various sizes. Reading a good geography book, you can learn that they were brought here by a glacier 13,000-10,000 years ago. The rocky beach within the entire nature reserve area is 20-40 m wide. It is most impressive from Rankuļrags to Dzeņi. Well, that makes the next destination for a Saturday walk - judging by the map scale and estimating by eye, it should be about 5-6 km.

After the walk we stopped at the local Tūja café "Liedags L", where a themed Russian chanson evening was planned that night. The poster was hard to miss - a Soviet-era vehicle with original number plates and balloons. The outdoor tables were covered with Russian newspapers, blankets on the benches so that visitors could wrap up cosily and enjoy the food, the evening, and the music. We once again tried fish baked in foil with garnishes, and set off back towards Riga, with a stop still planned to see the Lauči boulder before dark.

More on the Vidzeme seashore in photos: