Coastal landscape and plants

A couple of weeks ago the Autumn storms arrived early,  the wind howled around our loft studio and the radio brought news of Manx Shearwaters blown onto the beach at Newgale, Pembrokeshire.  Hundreds of birds were rescued and later released back into the wild. 

An incredible event, unseasonal but reminding me of the power and unpredictability of the weather at our coasts, how winds create waves that lash the shore and blow salt spray far inland.  How the wind can prune trees and shrubs, creating stunted, gnarled specimens with branches fleeing the storm.

This year, we’ve been to many parts of our coast, including Lyme Regis, South Hams, Pembrokeshire, Weston-super-Mare and the far North-West of Scotland.  The landscapes and plant communities vary so much from location to location.  Coastal cliffs at Lyme are a mix of clays and shale, with some tops of Greensand.  The field, hedge and woodlands of rural Dorset topple into the sea, with no space for dunes or shingle banks. 

At Gara, the fields end near the cliff edge, the rock is of harder Schizt, more durable, which has allowed distinct plant communities to develop on acid soils.  Heather, foxglove, blackthorn and bracken prevail with fines grass where livestock graze.  Pembrokeshire shares similar plant communities and also similar landforms such as ria or flooded valleys.  

The beach at Weston-super-Mare has been tamed, for the most part, and is a happy destination for many holiday makers.  The main beach is cultivated to remove rubbish in the summer months and you can park on the sand reasonably safely.  If you walk south from the town beach, there are dunes rather than concrete and esplanade, to the back of the beach.  Sea buckthorn and blackthorn cover the dunes along with marram grass. Perennial plants such as evening primrose and thistles grow in the sheltered spots.  It is a much more natural landscape. Behind the dunes lies a golf course, which I have not yet explored.  As the tide goes out, a rocky causeway is exposed, seemingly connected to Brean Down – don’t be tempted to cross unless you want a trip in a helicopter.  The far side of the causeway ends in mud.  If you drive round, Brean Down is well worth a visit, especially on a winter’s evening, with the sun setting over the sea.

The coast of Wester Ross and Sutherland is incredibly remote and varied.  There are white sand beaches with clear water shimmering with lance and sandeels.  There are shallow estuaries stained brown by peaty water.  Dramatic fjords twist the few roads from any chance of a direct route. Sea stacks, caves.  Flotsam thrown up fifty or more metres bear testament to the power of the ocean.  More incredible are boulders thrown similar distances.