It’s freezing here, and despite my best intentions of aimlessly wandering along the beach, the thought of near frozen toes does occasionally put me off. Nevertheless, when the night is calm,  the beach is dark, and the house walls are closing in; a beach fire calls. Granted the wood may be wet, but if you’ve been smart, you may have stashed some to dry out or brought some logs with you.

As you pull on your hats and scarfs, there are a few things you’ll want to think about before your fire evening.

Position
Where is your fire going to be? You don’t want to damage the environment or anyone’s property.  Below the high water line is perfect.

Think safety.
I have no doubt I will at some point tell you about the firework going off up my trouser leg. That is, as they say, another story.
You don’t need a full on first aid kit (although keeping one in the back of the car is good practice), but having a mental plan of what you are going to do should something go wrong is always a good idea.

Think easy.
Take matches or a lighter. Take dry kindling and maybe even fire starters. You only have to carry the kindling there. Should all go well, you’ll only be bringing back photos.

Have fun.
Take marshmallows, bread to toast, some already cooked sausages you can burn. Anything which will not give you food poisoning and will stay on a stick. A couple of songs, and a friend or two; and you have the perfect evening on the beach.

Finally, remember to take your litter home. Maybe even, collect litter some unenlightened people have left.
Feel even better about yourself.

Here are a couple of fire starting links, which may prove to be useful:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-a-Fire-on-the-Beach/

http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/Practical-guide/public/lighting-fires