Severn cliffs

A couple of weekends ago, we visited Sedbury Cliffs in Gloucestershire. The cliffs are on the west bank of the River Severn, a mile or so north of the old Severn Bridge. The landscape encompasses all that one could wish to see, with natural, semi-natural and man-made elements of interest.  The Severn is tidal at this point and when ebbing or flowing, gallops by rapidly.  The swirls, currents and rips can’t have changed much ever, though change may come about if a barrage is built.  The cliffs are also relatively unchanged, eroding slowly into the river but clad now in Holm Oak as well as our own native oak and hazel.  On the bank, there is much evidence of the hand of man.  Ancient rotting timbers mark a jetty.  The Severn Bridge dominates the view to the south.  The east bank is dotted with large buildings, including nuclear installations at Oldbury and Berkeley.

Underfoot and overhead, the plants are interesting, even in the dead of winter. We walked over a grassy field, which looked green and firm but was in fact very heavy going, full of water filled pock marks from cattle. It was more marsh than field and more sea than marsh but the girls enjoyed skating along a silt path.  The grass gave way to reeds at the water edge and on that clear winter’s day, the tall stems shone yellow in the low light.  The reeds contrasted wonderfully with the dark green of the oak clad cliffs.

If the scenery was not enough for the senses, we also found many fossils in the limestone blocks that tumble down sporadically from the cliff.  Many of the ammonites we found were so worn and smooth that there was barely a suggestion of the spiral structure.  The ancient shells were more rewarding, bigger too, the size of a good Satsuma.  The fossils were not enough to keep the kids interested for long but they were pleased to find an excellent climbing tree stretching out over the beach.  Leaning but still alive, the tree had that wonderful springy quality of green wood, great for bouncing on.  I suspect that this time next year, the whole tree will have been ripped from the base of the cliff by the tides.