Saturday 1 November 2014

Happisburgh highlights

Happisburgh Beach and Ebridge Mill
November 2014

To all you non Norfolk philes out there, its not Happysberg - its Haisbro!

Yes, we are back in North Norfolk enjoying what has to be one of the very last dog days of a glorious Indian summer which has clung on, and on, and on. Temperatures over 20c in November with shorts and tee shirts in evidence on the beach was all a bit surreal.



The trip out started with a pause at Ebridge where the restored canal glistened under a blue sky, the water cascading over the remains of the lock gates just as it did when I was at school here the better part of 40 years ago.

November at Happisburgh beach

Then it was on to Happisburgh where coastal erosion is at its most aggressive. As I wandered on the beach it was odd to think that my old school friend Jonathan Morris, had his home about 30 feet above my head! The scoured beach laid bare the cause of the problem. The top layer is soft sand but this sits on top of maybe 10ft of slimy clay, which in turn sits on yet more sand. I could hardly walk over the clay so its not hard to understand that as water percolates down through the top sand it then runs along the top of the clay and that the top layer then simply slides off into the sea when encouraged to do so by the waves.



The newly eroded bay at Happisburgh

We may be able to influence erosion but we will never control it!


Beach defences at Happisborough

Anyhow, the low sun made for some excellent photo opportunities.

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