Life on the beach

Learning Activities: Life on the beach

The Sidmouth beach area offers a complex landscape shaped by geology, immense natural forces, and human intervention, making it an excellent site for furthering knowledge about coastal dynamics, ecology, and management.

Here are ten activities you might undertake on the Sidmouth coast to deepen your understanding, based on the information provided in the sources:

1.  Study the Geological Cross-Section of the Cliffs:

Observe the different rock layers exposed along the coastline, particularly in the high cliffs like High Peak or Salcombe Hill. 

Identify the ancient Triassic red beds, including the **Otter Sandstone (250–200 million years old) and the Mercia Mudstone, and contrast them with the much younger deposits like the Upper Greensand and Clay-with-Flints that cap the highest hills.

2.  Investigate the Provenance of the Shingle:

Examine the continuous shingle bank to identify the composition of the pebbles. Look for flints (from the eroded Chalk) and chert (from the Upper Greensand). 

Consider how this shingle is a "relic" of the massive ancient geological events, having been bulldozed landwards by waves during rising post-glacial sea levels to form the "Great Beach" around 6,000 years ago.

3.  Analyse the Impact of Coastal Defences:

Visit the offshore rock islands constructed around 1994 (using 90,000 tonnes of granite and larvikite).

Consider the debate surrounding these structures, which, while meant to protect the main town, are arguably linked to increased erosion further down the coast, especially on East Beach.

4.  Observe the Dynamic River Sid Mouth:

Go to the point where the River Sid enters the sea (near the Alma Footbridge) to study how the river mouth constantly changes. Observe how the high tide brings in sediment, impeding the river's flow, and how the river then erodes the sediment at low tide to free itself, potentially forming a substantial shingle barrier after storms.

5.  Explore the Protected Beach Garden Habitat: 

Visit the area known as the "beach garden" located in front of the Belmont Hotel. 

This activity allows you to identify halophytes (salt-tolerant plants) that are being protected and encouraged, despite the shingle being unstable, dry, nutrient-poor, and highly salty.

6.  Identify Specialised Plant Adaptations:

Search the beach garden or nearby walls for specific specialist plants listed in the sources, such as Sea Beet (the wild ancestor of beetroot), Yellow Horned-poppy, or Sea Kale. 

Note their physical adaptations, such as deep tap roots (for stability and moisture) and leathery or waxy leaves (often with a bluish tint) to conserve water and resist salt damage.

7.  Conduct a Wader Behaviour Study:

Observe the overwintering Turnstones that frequent the Esplanade and groynes. 

Focus on their unique feeding technique: literally flipping over pebbles and seaweed with their beaks to find creatures underneath. You might also spot Oystercatchers resting on the rock islands or East Beach.

8.  Survey Niche Habitats on Man-Made Structures:

Investigate plant life growing on man-made defences and structures. 

Look for specialised species like the black, tar-like lichen (Verrucaria maura) on the large imported rocks, or Rock Samphire and Rock Sea-spurrey eking out a living on sea walls and older buildings. You may even spot salt-tolerant Danish Scurvygrass in pavement areas.

9.  Document Evidence of Erosion and Vulnerability:

Walk along the coast, especially towards East Beach and Salcombe Hill Cliff, to document evidence of erosion and cliff falls, which are frequent and significant in this area. 

Reflect on the alarming erosion rates of at least two metres per year in parts of the cliff.

10. Analyse Coastal Management Strategy:

Examine the seawall along the Esplanade and consider the "hold the line" approach currently preferred for Sidmouth, which involves engineering like raising the splash wall by up to a metre and beach nourishment (importing shingle). 

Discuss the concept of "coastal squeeze," where habitats are trapped between rising seas and immovable human defences.