A windswept, pebbly beach with cliffs topped by a castle in the background on the right. A bathing machine stands in the water to the left. Clouds billow on the horizon. In the foreground, a you woman sits on a low wooden barrier reading a book; her wide crinoline is spread out around her. She has her back turned to two men in the middle ground who are observing her. Behind them, a groups of people are walking or sitting on the beach.