Newcastle Ocean Baths – one of my favourite places. A footpath from Scott Street leads you over a small mound of grass and dirt and as you reach the top of it, Newcastle Ocean baths appear below you. Nestled into the corner of the coast, the baths were carved into the earths rock platform back in 1913. I’ve been visiting them my whole life. When I was a toddler I’d play in the shallow end of the pool and be scared of the sandy bottom. When I was 17 and in first year Uni, I stayed out at the baths on Thursday nite during O-Week. A colourful bunch of new friends and I snuck into the baths while they were closed and stayed there until the sun came up. I caught the bus home at 8.30am and had such a big fight with my mother that I decided to move out.

During one particularly long heart broken summer when I was totally lost, I forced myself to swim at the baths everynight at dusk. It got me through an empty bleak time. Every time I visit them they overwhelm me with their beauty.

This time I visit the baths they have been freshly painted in art deco colours. At dusk, in the pink hour, the sea and grandstands blend in beautiful aqua hues. Ships sit on the horizon like toys in a bath. The sky blends with yellow pink and magenta. It feels like a playground. I come here to swim, to rest, to play. But mostly I come here to rejuvenate. To look out at the still water and the surging sea. To see the horizon and the way the water curves along it. In times of great sadness it brings me comfort. To see the edge of the world, the power of the ocean all from the safety of these idyllic baths. Salt water in my ears and nose, the sharp taste of ocean minerals on my tongue. It feels alive. I long for summer, so that I can float close to the edge of the ocean and be lulled by its motion. The gulls crying out, the lap of waves. I love this place.

Listening to: Loveless by My Bloody Valentine