29th February

 

What a difference a couple of weeks makes... A warm sunny walk on the beach, blue skies and (almost) blue seas... and very little marine litter,  just the patches of the usual debris still collected at the top of the tide at the foot of the cliff. The wide expanses of sand are spotlessly clean.

Rolf finds a nice wildlife trap but loses it in the sea...


low tide: 08.54 hrs 0.9m, high tide: 15.29 hrs 2.4m
time of arrival: 12.13 hrs

weather: hazy sunshine, wind SW 6mph, temperature 14c
marine litter: very little

 

 

13th February

Finally the temperatures are rising - today is a comfortable 6 degrees... Yet, to my surprise, much of the snow that fell 10 days ago remains on the shingle.

Sea defence work is finshed but it doesn't look so at the northern end. I understand that a shingle bank is hoped to form over time as a result of the geotextile bags.

The eroding cliffs reveal fascinating textures and falling sand is scattered on the snow.

There is some angling litter (telltale signs: discarded newpaper and frozen fish packaging) and an unusual number of large bottles. There is also a considerable amount of foreign language items: eg water from Malaysia, juice from Dubai as well as the usual Dutch, Belgian and French offenders - almost certainly jettisoned illegally off ships. The high tide spits plastic cups and sanitary towels onto the shoreline.

A cormorant (or is it a shag?) flaps its wings by the water's edge.

low tide: 08.26 hrs 0.3m, high tide: 14.38 hrs 2.6m

time of arrival: 14.01 hrs

weather: cloudy with some drizzle and occasional near-glimmers of weak sunshine, wind NW 15mph, temperature 6c
marine litter: large amount of plastic bottles and litter from foreign sources (presumed to be from shipping)

 

 

3rd February

 
Hooray, I have my beach back - the barricades are gone!!!
Today is the last day of work on the sea defences - the barricades came down yesterday and a solitary digger is working at the north end of the beach.

An icy wind blows from the northwest. Erosion at the foot of the cliff and a line of seaweed and rubbish (plastic bags, in particular) are evidence of recent high tides - it is a while since I have seen tides of this height. But now the tide is out and just the occasional disposable cup gently wafts in on the waves.

I find a Smartie top early on - a 'K', an old one too. And two old Ski (1960s/70s) yogurt pots...  - why do they wash up so frequently??

There are a lot of cuttlefish today - and too many sanitary towels.

high tide: 07.16 hrs 2.3m, low tide: 13.21 hrs 1.2m

time of arrival: 14.20 hrs

weather: cloudy with some sunshine, winds NW 18mph, temperature 2c
marine litter: primarily light plastics ie. plastic bags, sanitary towels, cups and bottles, mostly at the foot of the cliff deposited by a previous high tide.