ENGLAND-ON-SEA
England-on-Sea is drawn from a nationwide tour of the English coast – a series of road trips to all points of the English coast, made over several years. Living and working from the back of a Ford van, I set out to explore the coastal landscape and how we interact with it and to each other.
I was brought up in the late sixties in the coastal village of Fawley and spent my childhood sinking into oily mud, picking my way across shingle and rock pooling. It was with these childhood memories that I returned to the seaside to discover how it is changing economically, socially, and culturally.
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England-on-Sea is a detailed exploration of the seaside, a place so embedded in our nation’s psyche and national identity that it reflects our changing population and behaviour. Focussing on the collective rather than the individual, England-on-Sea highlights English peculiarities and eccentricities as well as the more mundane scenes of everyday seaside life.
The project set out to record the feelings of belonging and permanence that the coast evokes, as well as its constantly evolving cultural diversity. We live in a country obsessed with owning land, but the coast offers an unexpected strip of common, democratic space, open to all and free from the exclusivity that characterises much of England.
During the research for these road trips it was evident that beneath the veil of neon lights and brightly decorated seafronts a darker reality exists. The English coast has some of the worst levels of deprivation in the country. Suicide, addiction, self-harm and obesity are all well above average here. The seasonal economy and the lack of quality employment all contribute to the hardship.
The ‘road trip' and the coast, have long been an inspiration for documentary photographers and artists alike, both on these shores and abroad. Many of these have provided inspiration for this project, including Stephen Shore, Simon Roberts and L S Lowry.
My approach was to decide the composition, set up the camera with a fixed viewpoint, and settle down for the great British public to populate the scene.
After a pandemic that threatened to break many of the constraints that bind our societies, this was an opportunity to record our re-emerging population.
Against the backdrop of Brexit, COVID, the climate emergency, and economic recession, I felt this was a particularly pertinent moment to record our nation at leisure.
Chesil Cove, Portland, Dorset, 2nd November 2016
Chesil Beach is an 18-mile-long stretch of shingle that stretches from Portland to West Bay. For much of its length, it is separated from the mainland by the Fleet lagoon. The calm of this November scene is deceptive, for these waters are among the most treacherous in Britain. The seabed is densely populated with shipwrecks, hundreds of which have been recorded off here since the sinking of a captured Spanish Armada ship, the San Salvador, in 1588.
Remembrance Day commemorations, Weymouth, 13th November 2016
Almost wherever you travel around the English coastline you are reminded of our military past and present. Murals, shrines, plaques, monuments and sculptures commemorate battles fought and loved ones lost. Weymouth’s military history dates to the late 18th century, and Portland Harbour was built to host the new steam navy a hundred years later. The town’s annual Remembrance Day ceremony is always well attended and draws crowds from far and wide. This national commemoration of loss has been coupled in recent years, particularly along the coast, with a noticeable increase in personal public memorials, in the form of flowers, shrines and benches.
Fastnet Yacht Race, Hurst Spit, Keyhaven, Hampshire, 7th August 2017
Hurst Castle spit has always been a popular view point from which to watch the Fastnet Yacht race and many hundreds of spectators make the one and a half mile shingle trudge to watch this biannual event. The 607 mile course starts in Cowes on the Isle of Wight and heads out to round the Fastnet Rock off southern Ireland and return to finish in Plymouth. It is a famously gruelling course and in 1979 was the scene of the largest peacetime rescue operation as the race was hit by a storm claiming nineteen lives and sinking 5 boats. Since my visit the castle from which I was standing when I took this photograph has itself lost it’s battle with the sea, when a large section of the Southeast battlements collapsed.
The Rock Pool, Westward Ho!, Devon, 6th September 2021
Westward Ho!, named after an 1855 novel by Charles Kingsley, is the only settlement in England with an exclamation mark in its name. The Rockpool, a tidal swimming pool, was built by the Victorians in the late 19th century when the village first became a popular tourist resort. Now and then the pool fills up with fish, which remain stranded until the tide comes back in or a valve is opened to release them.
Westward Ho!, Devon, 6th September 2021
Surfing in England may have started in Bridlington in Victorian times, but it wasn’t until the 1950’s and 60’s that it really became established, and only then in the south west. However, alarming numbers of tourists were drowning each year on the Cornish beaches, so the council wisely decided to recruit professional lifeguards to remedy the situation. This attracted many Australian and American surfers, and a new culture was born. With an estimated half a million people now participating in the sport, RNLI lifeguard stations are to be found on many beaches around the English coast.
Lytham St. Anne's, Lancashire, 18th October 2021
John grew up here and has practiced his golf out on the sands since the 1970s. He compared the beach to a giant bunker and remembers the nearby pier when it was twice as long. Although he no longer lives in the area, he still returns to see his fathe r.This is an example of how people's early childhood experiences can create a lifelong attachment to a place which they later revisit throughout their lives.
Durdle Door, Lulworth, Dorset, 17th April 2022
Durdle Door is probably the most famous natural stone arch in the world. Since being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, visitor numbers have increased significantly. Although open to the public, the site is, perhaps surprisingly, still in private ownership, lying within the 12,000-acre Lulworth Estate, which has been owned by the Weld family for several generations. In recent years, Durdle Door has become a significant draw for people from the the British Asian community, since it featured in the 2010 Bollywood film ‘Housefull 3’.
Tyneham Village, Dorset, 29th May 2022
The village of Tyneham dates back to the time of William the Conqueror, but the most poignant moment in its history came just before Christmas in 1943 when the village and its surroundings were commandeered by the War Office as a military training area. All 252 inhabitants were evacuated on the understanding that they would be allowed to return after the war. When the war ended, however, the military maintained they still needed the land for training. Despite many representations and appeals, the villagers were never allowed to return. Today the village and surrounding coastline still lies inside the military zone and is open to the public only at certain times of the year. Its ruins are now maintained as a tourist attraction where visitors can explore the “lost village.” The last known resident died in 2010. There is a strange irony that a village with such an unfortunate history is preserved as a tourist attraction within the lifetime of its original residents.
Weymouth, Dorset, 16th June 2022
Weymouth, Dorset, 1st June 2022
Weymouth is one of England's first modern tourist destinations and was made famous by its royal patronage in the late 1700s. Sometimes referred to as the “English Bay of Naples”, with its immaculate sandy beach it provides all the elements you would expect to find in a traditional British seaside town - pedalos among them. But Weymouth was also the site of one of England’s darkest moments. In the summer of 1348 a seaman on a ship that arrived here from Calais is thought to have been the first person to bring the Black Death to the country; in the following two years the disease would wipe out more than one-third of the population.
Fosil hunting, Lyme Regis, Dorset, 5th June 2022
Ever since the time of Mary Anning, who discovered her first dinosaur fossils here in 1811 when she was just twelve years old, Lyme Regis has been a pilgrimage site for fossil hunters. The rather ominous backdrop to the fossil hunters in this photograph of cliffs slipping into the sea is another sign of the fragility of our coastal environments. Much of what is found on the beach comes from a long-buried rubbish dump - another layer of history uncovered before being sucked out to sea.
Bournemouth, Dorset, 23rd July 2022
This was an unusual scene on Bournemouth beach where on a particularly hot summer's day local rickshaw drivers decided to abandon their rickshaws and cool their horses down in the sea. They made some extra money by giving children a ride at the same time.
Crosby, Merseyside, 11th August 2022
On Crosby beach, children run among Anthony Gormley's 'Another Place' sculptures, which were permanently, and controversially, installed here in 2007. Looming in the distance are Liverpool's Seaforth Docks. Although hard to believe from this photograph, the beach is red flagged, meaning that people are advised not to enter the water. There have been numerous incidents over the years of people getting stuck in the sinking sand and being caught out by the tide. After the Second World War, moreover, rubble from the Blitz was used to bolster the sea wall here. Since then, the wall has eroded and asbestos has been found on the sands. Despite all this, the beach is remarkably beautiful and, since it is used mainly by local people who have been coming here for years, has a strong sense of community.
Blackpool, Lancashire, 13th August 2022
Blackpool is the archetypal English seaside resort. Washed by the chilly waters of the Irish Sea, it has been a summer pilgrimage for the northern working classes for more than 150 years and is by far the biggest resort in the country. In 2021, this town of 141,000 people attracted more than 19 million visitors.
Blackpool, Lancashire, 13th August 2022
I noticed on my travels that nearly all the large resorts around the country suffered from litter. In some cases it was depressingly bad. Blackpool Beach has been ranked one of the ten dirtiest beaches in Britain. Although normally cleaned up early the next morning by the local council, I still found it surprising to see how people were so oblivious to it and were quite happy to leave their day’s waste for someone else to pick up.
Ocean Edge Holiday Park, Heysham, Lancashire, 14th August 2022
There are over half a million touring caravans in Britain and more than 51 million nights per year are spent in them. Caravan parks are a huge part of English holiday culture - they show our attachment to certain places as we return to them year after year. In the background in this photograph is Heysham nuclear power station. Built in 1970, it is due to close by 2030.
Morecambe, Lancashire, 14th August 2022
Morecambe lies on the southern edge of Morecambe Bay sands. In it’s heyday, in the mid 20th century it attracted so many tourists from Yorkshire it was known as ‘Bradford on Sea’. Sadly its spectacular rise as a major tourist destination was followed by a similarly spectacular decline and today it is a pale shadow of its former self. Once the home of Pontins’ largest resort, from the 1970’s onwards, Morecambe was to suffer a series of setbacks including the loss of both of it’s piers and a major fairground attraction. Other attractions followed and with stiffening competition from Blackpool and other Lancashire resorts a steady decline set in. However the recent announcement for the go ahead of the Eden Project Morecambe has provided a much needed boost for the area.
Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland, 15th August 2022
The Mr Whippy ice cream van has been an iconic part of the English seaside since the late fifties. Originating from America, at it’s peak there were over thirty thousand vans populating the country, now a mere five thousand remain. Despite their decline a recent law change has brought much needed jubilation to the industry. The famous Greensleeves chime can now once again be played for it’s full twelve seconds as opposed to the previous overly restrictive four - a limit brought in 31 years earlier under the Code of Practice on Noise From Ice Cream Vans etc!
Spittal Promenade, Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland, 15th August 2022
This photograph was a kind of homage to the painter L S Lowry who was influenced my approach to England-on-Sea. He took regular holidays here in the 1930’s just after this Venetian style pavilion was completed. He made many paintings of scenes from the promenade, and continued to come here until his death in 1976.
Fisherman's huts, South Gare, North Yorkshire, 17th August 2022
Just occasionally you stumble across areas that seem to have been left behind or forgotten. Nestled between the sea and the half-demolished Corus steelworks, these huts were built to house a garrison that was stationed here in World War Two. They have since been taken over by fishermen and other local people and survive in varying states of repair. The closure of the steelworks was the end of an era and gave the area a melancholic feel. Joe Kerrigan has lived nearby for much of his life and has had a hut here for years. He said it felt like a second home to him.
Woolacombe, Somerset, 23rd August 2022
Although only subconsciously aware of it at the time, this photograph turned out to be a kind of homage to Simon Roberts’ book ‘We English’,where a very similar photo appears. His book was a great inspiration and although Simon’s photo was taken over ten years earlier it was interesting to compare the two.
During my tour, I saw how beachgoers interacted in often very confined spaces. This typically crowded beach scene reveals our need to be social, whilst at the same time finding our own space. Some feel the need to mark out their territories with tents and wind breaks, while others are more intent on burrowing their way through the beach. All the while the tide prepares to wipe the slate clean again in a matter of hours.
Rock, Cornwall, 24th August 2022
Famous for being a royal holiday destination, Rock, full of lavishly designed houses and lines of motor launches, has become something of an exclusive London colony. There is no sense of locality and it is as if the population has been parachuted in from another world. Cornwall attracted over 3.5 million visitors in 2022 and as I travelled around in the height of summer it was clear to see the impact of what is now known as ‘overtourism’ on the county.
Polzeath, Cornwall, 24th August 2022
This idyllic holiday scene of surfers and families playing in the waves at Polzeath masks a darker side of tourism that takes place at night. Along with the neighbouring village of Rock the area has developed a reputation for wealthy teenagers from independent schools who descend on the beaches for their annual two weeks of partying before the state schools break up. Fences and doors have been ripped from local residents houses to make bonfires which are left smouldering on the beaches in the morning together with broken glass and other detritus. The anti social behaviour reached such a peak that the police enforced a curfew and floodlights were installed on the beach.
St.Michael's Mount, Marazion, Cornwall, 25th August 2022
In this scene St. Michael’s Mount lies behind me, and the people on the top of the rock are busy trying to photograph themselves in front of it. Below them and divided by the tideline, are a dad and his kids completely absorbed in exploring a rock pool. It was interesting to observe the wide variety of activities, experiences and behaviours exhibited by people whilst visiting the same location.
Jubilee Pool, Penzance, Cornwall, 25th August 2022
Opened in 1935 this Art Deco styled saltwater tidal pool is the largest of it’s kind in the country and the first to be heated with geothermal energy. This striking white and blue triangular structure juts out into the sea from the line the promenade. From the early seventies the popularity of the pool started to decline with European package holidays offering a much warmer alternative and in 2014 it was hit by a freak winter storm which breached the wall and damaged changing rooms etc. This created a make or break situation which galvanised the community and local government into action and two years later it was completely refurbished. It is affectionately known as Penzance’s ‘concrete beach’ and has a strong community presence.
Kynance Cove, Cornwall, 26th August 2022
During the many road trips I made, I was directed by a variety of different information sources, much as a tourist would be on holiday. On this occasion I followed social media, which has been so instrumental in the sharp rise in popularity of many previously unknown and remote locations along the coast. Kynance Cove, which means ‘ravine’ in Cornish, was the most Instagrammed beach in England at the time of this photo. Famous for its serpentinite rock and its offshore stacks, it has featured in a number of films and TV series and is owned by National Trust.
Western Cliffs, Portland, Dorset, 26th August 2022
Portland is a unique limestone headland jutting outing the English Channel. Riddled with tunnels and quarries, little has been left untouched. Many of the quarries are nearing the end of their working lives after centuries of mining and so as the quarrymen depart the climbers have moved in. Over the past fifty years it has become one of the prime locations for cliff climbing in England and most weekends you will find climbers having travelled from far and wide.You could be happily walking along the clifftop path above and be blissfully of a whole community of climbers only a few metres below. So often it seems the repurposing of an industrial landscape creates the perfect leisure landscape. In addition the cliffs have been assigned new names by their more recent inhabitants so Mutton Cove, Black Nor and Clay Ope have been replaced with names such as Superfly guy, Dripping with Blood and Nothing but the Groove describing their new routes accent.
Lydd-on-Sea, Kent, 26th August 2022
Kite surfing is one of the many water sports to have become popular in the last twenty years. As equipment, technology and design improve they become important elements of the local economy and have completely transformed the water sport scene.
Two weeks before this photograph was taken 20 or more migrants landed here having crossed the channel from France in a rubber inflatable. This was the latest of many immigrant boat landings which have become a familiar sight on this stretch of coast.
Birling Gap, Seven Sisters, East Sussex, 2nd September 2022
This stretch of shingle beach at the Birling Gap lies at the lowest point the cliff range and has seen some of the most severe cliff erosion anywhere in the country. Notice the chimney from one of the terraced coastguard cottages protruding from the cliff above. These have nearly all been demolished with only one cottage still inhabited. The staircase that provides public access to the beach, built in 2013, has had to be moved back several times as the cliff has eroded. The beach is particularly popular with South Koreans, who come to enjoy the clifftop site where a K-Pop video was made a few years ago. Considering I was nearly always either perched on top of a ladder or using a tripod on top of the van, I was surprised at how little attention I generally received and how quickly people forgot I was there.
New Year's Swim, Lyme Regis, Dorset, 1st January 2023
The Lyme Lunge, as it is known, is one of hundreds of New Year swims to take place around our coasts. This is a relatively young event having only started in 2009 when a mere 20 lungers plunged into the icy cold waters of Lyme Bay. In this photograph up to 1200 swimmers took part with another 6-7000 spectators looking on, making it one of the largest events of its kind in the West Country. People travel from all over the country to take part and thousands of pounds are raised for charity. Fuelled by the resurgence in sea swimming this is a tradition that is set to last as numbers rise every year throughout the country.
Walpole Bay tidal pool, Margate, Kent, 8th April, 2023
After the COVID-19 lockdowns, outdoor or ‘wild swimming’ boomed. While swimming pools remained closed to the public, people took to the rivers, beaches and lakes in significant numbers. This increased interest has continued. Walpole Tidal Pool is reportedly the largest in the country, covering some four acres. Unusually, it is also supplied with fresh water by the many springs that rise within it. There are over 60 tidal pools in England dating back to the early 1800s. They were initially made in places where the tide went out a long way, so that swimmers could have easy access to water throughout the day.
The swimmers in this photograph, from a local club, were braving temperatures of around five degrees on this particular morning, as I shivered feebly behind the camera. Declines in water quality around our shores, largely created by raw sewage releases, have resulted in many pools, as well as beaches being declared unfit for use.
Seven Sisters, East Sussex, 9th April 2023
This iconic range of cliffs signals the end of the famous long distance footpath ‘The South Downs Way’ as it is dramatically truncated by the sea. At 530ft, Beachy Head is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain. The area has gained notoriety for being the third most common suicide spot in the world, with an average of 23 people per year taking their own lives by jumping from the cliffs. There are reminders of this by the almost constant presence of the Beachy Head Chaplaincy cars patrolling the area day and night.
Seven Sisters, East Sussex, 9th April 2023
The beach is particularly popular with South Koreans, who come to honour a K-Pop video that was filmed here, with selfies.
Brighton, East Sussex, 28th May 2023
Throughout the 1800’s piers became a must have item for any seaside town and over 100 were built around the coast of England. These distinctly British inventions were initially introduced as simple landing stages for the steamships delivering visitors to their resorts. By the mid nineteenth century, with the introduction of the railway network allowing access to the working classes, they were being rebranded as pleasure piers. With the addition of complex entertainment venues and ornate pavilions owners realised they could increase their revenues by providing entertainment for their guests on the pier. Sadly now many have been destroyed by fire and storms over the years but the 55 that remain are a poignant reminder of how transformational this period of history was for English seaside resort and signalled the beginning of the commercialisation of tourism for the masses in England.
Piers are still held dear to the heart of any seaside town and generations hold nostalgic memories of peering through wooden boardwalks and watching the sea below. These strange and unique structures are neither sea or land and still attract vast crowds over two hundred years after invention.
Lulworth Ranges, Dorset, 9th July, 2023
You might be forgiven for thinking this is a scene of natural tranquility, however in reality this is where the British Army trains for warfare.The Ministry of Defence manages many sites around the English coast. This particular site at Lulworth, not only lies within a National Landscape area, but is also part of the Jurassic Coast, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Access is restricted and monitored. Walkers are guided between yellow posts marking the areas that have been cleared of ordnance. The military’s impact on the landscape is evident here, as areas either side of the paths are strewn with exploded shells, and disused military vehicles litter the hillsides. Lulworth has been used as a tank and gunnery range ever since the first tanks were invented during the First World War, and the sound of gunfire echoing across the Dorset hills has become a familiar sound.
The bay in the foreground is Arish Mell, and the concrete structure running across the beach is the now redundant, Radioactive Effluent Disposal Pipeline running from the Winfrith Atomic Energy Authority. The pipe carried radioactive effluent two miles out to sea to its dispersal point. Although the Winfrith atomic reactor was shut down nearly 30.
The old Cliftonville Bathing Pool, Margate, Kent, 25th July 2023
Once a thriving Art Deco complex entertaining thousands of holiday makers and attracting some of the biggest entertainment acts of it’s day the Cliftonville Lido and baths are shadow of it’s former self. Having been closed for thirty years it sadly reflects the fortunes of Margate itself. The subterranean baths were constructed in the 1820’s and the lido a hundred years later. There have been many attempts to redevelop the site but as yet none have come to fruition.
Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, 28th July 2023
Since the recent success of the English women’s football team the participation of girls and women in football has exploded as seen here with this group of local teenagers. With the Women’s World Cup having just kicked off it made me reflect on how things have changed since my own childhood in the early 1970's. It also pleasantly defies the reputation of the town once coined by a journalist as ‘Harwich for the continent, Frinton for the incontinent’!
Deal Rowing Regatta, Kent, 29th July 2023
Deal Regatta has been going for almost a hundred years. This chaotic scene reflects the difficulty involved in manoeuvring these long and ungainly boats. Watching this for for a couple of hours it seemed that just getting to the start line alone seemed like quite an achievement.
In contrast, the English Channel forms the backdrop of the photo which tells a darker story. Here the channel narrows to only about twenty miles which has made it a prime target for migrant crossings. Despite the recent passing of the government’s Illegal Migration Act, in the last month alone 3299 migrants have crossed these waters in 63 boats.
Margate, Kent, 29th July 2023
Margate is one of the oldest tourist resorts in the country entertaining holiday makers for almost three hundred years. The home of the famous Dreamland entertainment complex, in it’s heyday it was the prime holiday destination for Londoners who arrived by steamboat or rail in their thousands. Although in so many ways a town of fallen splendour after a very difficult last forty years, today it there are many signs of recovery and the town has a creative edginess about it.
When I visited, the beach was throbbing to the sounds of Afropop as a group of a hundred or more Sierra Leoneans partied the afternoon away. They were all from a community in London and had travelled down just for the day. A music rig and numerous food tents had been erected for the afternoon and the party had begun. One lady told me that it reminded her of times she spent when growing up on the West African coast.
Maggi Hambling's 'Scallop', Aldeburgh, Suffolk, 31st July 2023
‘Scallop’ was made in 2003 as a tribute to the composer Benjamin Britten who lived in Aldeburgh and who walked this stretch of beach regularly. It was self funded by the locally born sculptor Maggi Hambling and received a very mixed reception at the time. A local group of residents disliked it so much that they called on the council to remove it as they viewed it as an ‘eyesore on the seafront’. Despite this and withstanding repeated attempts of vandalism the sculpture remains defiant much like the artist herself. In the hour or two I spent taking this photograph I was amazed to see the number and variety of people it attracted and entertained from all ages. It works on so many levels, you can sit on it and enjoy the view, shelter under it, drop stones on it (which makes a great sound) or simply just watch and admire its beautiful shapes.
Southwold Model Yacht Regatta, Suffolk, 1st August 2023
Model yacht sailing has been an integral part of the Southwold calendar since 1905. Steeped in tradition this is the purest of sports where the use of rudders, radio controls or other such aids are strictly forbidden.
Boats were originally designed and made, often crafted from solid wood, by the local longshore fishermen, during the long winter months when weather would prevent them from fishing. Nowadays, materials have changed to plastic and carbon fibre, and rigs are designed with a much more scientific approach. However the sport itself remains largely unchanged with standard races across the pond and back.
This is a very 'English' scene; where in the past large crowds would gather along the banks, now it is a more peaceful sight but none the less competitive. It’s one of the few sports where all ages can compete together equally.
Many of the adult volunteers were childhood members of the sailing club themselves and many families are into their fourth or fifth generation of sailing. However, for most, just the sight of these beautiful craft silently gliding up and down the lake is reward enough.
Blakeney, Norfolk, 3rd August 2023
This scene appeared soon after I arrived at the village and reminded me of the long summer holidays I enjoyed as a kid mucking around in the mud. Britain’s first coastal nature reserve, Blakeney is located on the north Norfolk coast, an area often referred to as ‘London by the sea’ due to it’s easy proximity to the capital, and it’s exceptional wild beauty. The villages along this forty mile section of coast have been largely taken over by second home owners and holiday lets and house prices have have risen beyond the reach of locals.
Studland, Dorset. 19th August 2023
It may not be immediately evident in this photograph but Studland beach has been the scene of many simmering conflicts over recent years as naturalists, naturists, beachgoers and boat users all vie for their use of the area. As such, it attracts thousands of visitors every year but it is also a nationally significant habitat to several threatened species. These include all six of our native reptiles and the highly sensitive and much threatened long snouted, or spiny, seahorse.
A sad example of the pressure this land is under occurred in 2022 when a fire, believed to have been started by a disposable barbecue, destroyed twelve acres of heathland. On top of this, erosion is increasing on this soft coastline, forcing the current owners, National Trust, to make difficult decisions about heritage and infrastructure on this changing coast.
Ulrone, East Yorkshire, 25th August 2023
East Yorkshire is one of the four worst areas affected by coastal erosion in the country. These caravan sites are being forced to retreat on an annual basis as the soft clay cliffs are no match for the constant pounding of the North Sea. With rising sea levels predicted for the future, and climate change creating more unsettled weather, thousands of homes are under threat. This has provoked an urgent debate around the controversial implementation of a managed retreat in certain areas. Many caravan owners have been holidaying on these beaches for years and have slowly seen their plots disappearing before their eyes. They can recall shops, roads, houses and in some cases whole villages that have all been lost within their lifetime. Despite the inevitable destruction they face, their memories and affection for these areas still remain strong and draw them back year after year.
Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, 29th August 2023
Built on a volcanic outcrop and towering above the surrounding Northumberland coastline Bamburgh is arguably the most impressive of the many castles dotted along the north east coast.
It is currently privately owned by the Armstrong family who restored the castle to it’s present condition in the late nineteenth century.
Bournemouth Airshow, Dorset, 1st September 2023
In a brief visit to the annual Bournemouth Air show one could be mistaken for accidentally walking into a military recruitment day as much of the beach and clifftop are taken over with tank demonstrations and aircraft simulators. While children are shown how to use machine guns and anti tank missile launchers, others pose for selfies with soldiers in front of their tanks.
The Den Bowling Club, Teignmouth, Devon, 2nd September 2023
Most towns around the English coast have a bowling green. Appealing to the older populations that generally occupy these towns, bowling has become a popular sport. The strict all white dress code, the immaculately manicured greens and the peaceful sound of the balls gently knocking into each other creates a quintessentially English scene.
Portreath, Cornwall, 10th September 2023
Whilst exploring the north coast of Cornwall I stumbled across the National Surf Lifesaving Championships run by the Portreath Surf Lifesaving Club. The coast was cloaked in sea fog (or Haag as it’s known as in Cornwall) which came and went throughout the day.The event seemed to include a wide range of beach related activities including beach sprinting, canoeing and surfing many of which were new to me. It reminded me of how the world of beach and water sports had expanded and diversified in the last ten or fifteen years largely driven by the clothing and technology industries. Surf & body boards, wetsuits & snorkels have all become must have items for any beach bag.
The Royal North Devon Golf course, Westward Ho!, Devon, 11th September 2023
Opened in 1864, it is not only the oldest golf club in the country it was also the first to admit women and is now in the top 100 golf courses in the world that a golfer “must play”. The ‘links golf course’ had to be part of my story, as it has always been such an ever present feature of the English coastal landscape. The course is built on ‘Northam Burrows’ a Site of Special Scientific Interest at the mouth of the River Taw and shares it’s land with sheep, ponies and walkers. When I recced the area in 2017 I noted the 7th tee as the best potential shot but when I finally returned to the site in 2023 the green had been badly damaged by Storm Eleanor in 2018 and was closed to golfers.
The Burrows is protected by a fragile bank of beautiful grey pebbles which are vulnerable to coastal erosion. Disagreement has arisen between the golf club and Natural England who manage the site but say they have no plans to build sea defences at this point.