Thanks must go to a friend J1 for the inspiration for this one. About six months ago J1 said “D’you know that you can walk almost the entire length of Dubai along the beach.” Well I did not know it then but I know it now. And so when the wind below up one weekend we had batten down the hatches on the Friday but by Saturday noon it was clearing up so the ILPH and I thought we would give it ago.

We arrived at the Umm Suqiem open beach ready to go. What stood before us was a nice flat 14km strolling meander and the prospect of a Limetree tea with only a limited one bowl of cereal breakfast this was motivation enough!

After obligatory snap in front of the Burj Al Arab we were off. A waddle down to the water’s edge we were all of a sudden there was a patch work of jelly fish. Was this end? Had the world’s jelly fish finally snapped launching a rather floppy and sqidgy jelly fish D-day? If this was so they have very foolish senior officers. After putting jelly fish into google it was revealed that they can not survive out of water and they did all looked rather lifeless. Pheew, with all the d-day thoughts behind us we started game of hop-scotch, which was rather disrespectful to the war dead.

At the end of the Umm Suqeim, we made a quick dart inland to avoid the fishing village and then emerged back on soft sand. Before this day when had been to all the “advertised” Dubai beaches like the Russian beach, the beach park, kite surfing beach and Umm Suqiem beach but what we did not know is that there a kilometres more of beautiful beach.

As the day went on we felt strangely detached and embrace from this wholly new view of Dubai. You were removed from all the large world beating developments and frenetic traffic, while a the same time the slower pace settled us allowing to drift in and out of conversations that would not have appear if we were in the city. We passed some beach volley ball courts and the beach gym only AED 35 per visit and other offers so get down there.

Apart from the kms of sand beach, one highlight of the was the discovery of Miraj Islamic Art Centre (MIAC). MIAC is part museum and part really expensive art gallery. If you would like a life size silver horse for AED 100,000 here is your place. If you fancy looking round some interesting quality islamic art and not spend AED 100,000 here is also your place.

The jellyfish were continuing to batter the shore as we nipped round the beach park and onto the next beach to the next fishing village. All the fishing villages are being redeveloped to provide better and accommodation for the fishermen and fingers crossed maybe a coffee shop? Who knows?

Round the last fishing village and we were confronted by a construction site for what looked like a flying saucer but upon a closer inspection it was a rather ostentatious building for an unknown purpose. A shimmy through the construction site and a scramble over the narrow rocky revetment and we arrived at the Russian beach. By this time the 12ish kms of walking in sand was really working up an appetite.  And so when we reached Limetree, it was welcomed we open arms!