Friday 27 December 2013

Tidal surge damage at Old Hunstanton

Christmas Day afternoon was the first time we had been to Old Hunstanton since the tidal surge down the North Sea, hit it a few short weeks ago. What a change of scenery. We also wanted to know when the Old Lifeboat Beach Cafe would be open, so our visit served two purposes!

Normally, you could stand outside said cafe and look through tall sand dunes, down a slope and eventually see the sea. Now it has changed. Some of the dunes have been completely washed away, several had had their height brought down and others have been cut back into by many feet.

I'll leave you with the photographs - visiting gives you a better perspective, this first one shows how much sand worked its way up the slope to the cafe, almost all the same height now rather than a slope!

This is the view once you get on the beach. You couldn't previously see these stones in cages.


The top half of the beach looks more like a field of hay recently ploughed. This 'hay' or grass from the sand dunes, was maybe 20 or so feet in depth!
A chunk of part of a small ledge had fallen away and a new fence has been erected.
Several rock falls were evident. You can see the flower and bramble remains of land that was on the top of the cliffs.
A huge chuck dropped here .
More land sitting on the beach.
Even a large litter bin.
We only walked down the slope and turned right, it was so cold and windy we didn't go in the other direction, towards Holme etc. Another day perhaps!


14 comments:

  1. Wow!..........How much closer to the cliff edge is the lighthouse now?

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    1. I don't know as we didn't walk past it.

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  2. Hi - the weather has been really rough at our end too - I sleep in the attic and the noise has been dreadful. I'm on Radio Cornwall on Sunday and I would love you to be part of it. The topic this week is frugal resolutions, what financial advice would you give to listeners to help them get through 2014? If you could give them budgeting advice, what would it be? if you could email tracy.wilson@bbc.co.uk - thanks Froogs xxx

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    1. Thanks Froogs - Only just opened this Saturday afternoon. Will try and sort out something but if it is too late, maybe she could use it another time.

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  3. Oh my it does look like its has a battering. I noticed that our neighbours back fence is hanging on by a nail, good job it backs onto the field.

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    1. I think fences have taken the brunt of the weather, still more to come.

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  4. Gosh it is quite worrying just how much the inclement weather and seas can damage the coastline. Crumbling cliffs and rock falls seem to be prevalent everywhere.

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    1. Some house further around the coast went over the edge. Must be awful, worse than being flooded out!

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  5. I find the power of the sea terrifying. I'm definitely not one of those people to be found wave watching at the seaside on a stormy day!

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    1. Me too. I might wave watch but from a long, safe distance!

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  6. Just shows how powerful the sea is.

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  7. A lot of damage done. We were lucky here as the harbour walls protected the town of Dover from most of the high tides, although the subway tunnel from the seafront to the market square was practically filled with water that had flooded up the Dour inlet. Deal, just along the coast (my home town) had lots of shingle thrown up onto the promenade but thankfully they've recently had a new low wall built all along the seafront so I think that helped avoid more damage as the high street used to regularly get flooded after high winds and tides. Sandwich, a few miles further along had it much worse, but I haven't been there to see the results. After the winds and seemingly endless rain over Xmas fingers crossed for better weather. Its nice and sunny and calm here today which is encouraging.

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    1. Lovely day here yesterday and today, not so in the coming days I gather!

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