May watched the city streets give way to fields of young wheat and meadows full of wild flowers. ‘Oh, look! What are those animals? They don’t look like horses.’

‘That’s because they’re cows. Haven’t you ever seen a cow before?’

‘You don’t see many cows in the city,’ she pointed out.

The journey came to an end all too soon, but James promised that next time they would go further afield. They got out at the little station and walked downhill towards the sea. May was used to the broad expanse of the Mersey but the vastness of the open sea was almost overwhelming.

‘What happens if you take a boat and just keep going straight out?’ she asked.

‘You fall off the edge,’ he said.

She looked at him, for a moment thinking he was serious; then she laughed and punched him in the side. ‘I’m not that stupid!’

‘No, I know you’re not. I suppose if you keep going you get to Ireland.’

It was a beautiful late-spring afternoon and the long beach was dotted with families enjoying the sunshine. Children were splashing in the shallows and a few hardy souls were swimming.

May stood on one leg and shook the other foot. ‘The sand is getting inside my boots.’

‘Take them off,’ he suggested. ‘We could paddle.’

They sat on the sea wall and he pulled off his boots and socks, then knelt in the sand and helped her to remove her shoes. She stood and turned her back to lift the hem of her skirt and pull off her stockings and then he took her hand and led her down to the edge of the sea. The sand was hot and dry under her feet at first, then cool and ridged and squeezed up between her toes.

‘Ah, it’s cold,’ she gasped as the first small wave covered her ankles.

‘No, it’s not,’ he said. ‘Not when you get used to it. Let’s walk along a bit.’

They strolled further up the beach, to where there were fewer people, and after a while he admitted that the water was cold and they moved to dryer land. Suddenly a ball whistled over their heads and landed on the sand a few yards in front of them. There was an excited bark and a scamper of running feet and a large brown dog galloped past them and seized the ball in its mouth.

‘Oh dear, I must apologise,’ said a breathless voice from behind them, and they turned to see an elderly lady hurrying in their direction. ‘I do hope I didn’t give you too much of a shock. I’m afraid my aim is not as good as it might be.’

‘That’s quite all right,’ James said. He nodded towards the dog, which was trotting back towards them. ‘He seems to enjoy the game.’