Friday 17 September 2021

In A Battle Zone

It'll be OK. There's a ceasefire at the moment in this particular battle, though it's an absolute certainty that hostilities will begin again in the next few months, maybe sooner. On one side is one of the greatest powers in the world, while pitted against it is a tiny community who seem largely forgotten by most people. Every year the national news reports another battle lost in their endless war. Sooner or later they seem to be doomed to complete obliteration. 



This is the battle between the plucky village of Happisburgh and the world's oceans, specifically the North Sea. Not that Happisburgh has always been at war in this way; there used to be another village between them and the sea - no need to tell you what befell that little community. There's a Whimpwell Street in Happisburgh but the village of Whimpwell disappeared as long ago as the twelfth century.



Every winter storms tear in and nibble away at the friable cliffs on which Happisburgh stands: a few houses tumble down on to the beach below, the lifeboat station is swept away, roads plunge over the cliff, water-pipes are left hanging forlornly in mid-air. The sandy ramp you can see on the right-hand side of the picture above is just the latest solution to allow people to get down on to the sands.



As if the residents of Happisburgh didn't have enough problems they are also involved in a perpetual struggle to convince people that their village is not pronounced "Happy's Burg" at all, but is actually HAZE-br.



Every cloud, they say, has a silver lining. These soft eroding cliffs have several little holes up near the top; if I'm not mistaken these are the nest-holes of Sand Martins (that's Bank Swallows, for those of you across the Atlantic).



And this lovely sandy beach has been formed just south of the village, which has helped the tourism industry and provided the local dogs with a marvellous playground.



Then in May 2013 the sea uncovered some human footprints in the soft rock at the base of the cliffs. Within a few days the tides had destroyed them, but not before they'd been studied, measured and photographed. Someone also had the bright idea of investigating the pollen that had survived in the deposits. What was discovered was astonishing and reshaped much of our thought about early humans: these footprints were no less than 840,000 years old! From the size of the footprints archaeologists believe it was a family group, possibly searching for shellfish or other food in a river delta.



By the time my brother and I reached a place known as Cart Gap we were looking for food too, but luckily there were ice creams for sale. We began the walk back behind a row of seaside shacks built on the cliff tops that are rather better protected from the sea. Little holiday homes like these sprang up before strict planning rules were introduced and have been there ever since.



We soon came to a path leading back along the cliff top - keep well back from the edge!



Not the sort of place to wander on a dark, foggy night!



Just a little inland stands Happisburgh Lighthouse, built in 1791, shortly after a terrible maritime tragedy when 70 ships and 600 men were lost in a storm off the Norfolk coast. In 1988 Trinity House, who operate lighthouses in England and Wales, announced the closure of Happisburgh Lighthouse. Local people realised how dangerous that could be and began a campaign (yes, they're always fighting something!)  to keep it open. It is now the only independently operated lighthouse in the land.



If we go north from Happisburgh we'll see more of the efforts to control the destructive force of the sea.



Although attempts at coastal protection began along this stretch of coastline as long ago as 1802, little was done at Happisburgh till 1958 when a structure of steel and wood did much to protect the cliffs.



Regular repairs took place to maintain the breakwaters and revetments but these merely delayed the inevitable. 



In recent years a line of huge boulders has been placed along the beach to absorb some of the power of the waves. This is all very expensive work and official Government policy is to protect only the most valuable coastal areas, which mostly means big towns. Unfortunately for the people of Happisburgh and similar places the re-alignment of coasts is an unavoidable natural process.


Take care.


25 comments:

  1. Thanks for the dramatic photos, John. I sure learned a lot in this post!

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  2. I love the lighthouse, and great story about the locals keeping it in operation. The sad story about the sea taking out this town is all too familiar. There are homes on the Oregon coast that are also being wiped out by ocean waves. Don't think I would build a home on an unstable sea cliff!

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  3. What a wonderful walk you had there. I love the photos and the stories of the history that goes with them. I would have loved to have seen those footprints. Any signs of ancient life fascinates me, fossils make me so happy! The views and the crumbling hills remind me so much of California. Thank you for this, John.

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  4. That's a nice lighthouse, glad they could keep it operating. The ocean can beat down anything, it just takes time. Great background info, thanks for sharing John.

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  5. The effects of climate change have been the topics of conversations, and sharing various sites on line to continue the conversation we had this noon. A friend is an artist and has planned an installation about climate disaster. I'll send her this blog link as well.

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    1. You can't really blame climate change for what's happened here; it's been going on for hundreds of years along this stretch of coast. The village of Whimpwell had largely disappeared by 1183 and in 1845 a twelve acre field was washed away in a single night. However if sea levels rise and we get increased storm activity as predicted then things look bleak for many coastal communities.

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  6. How sad for the people who live there.

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  7. There is something strangely beautiful about it all isn't there John - but I don't expect the locals think that.

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  8. Thank you for documenting this sadly doomed battle. The photos are (from an outsiders perspective) beautiful too.

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  9. I for one would have pronounced Happisburgh wrong...would never have guessed. That is a beautiful lighthouse. I always hate to see erosion...whether on the seashore or on farmland.

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  10. Interesting. I've never been but you do occasionally read that another bit of it has disappeared. Incredible to read about those footprints!

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  11. This is the future of much of the coastline on this island for sure. Sad but true, though we may be under water before that.

    Great lighthouse. Impressive size.

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  12. A wonderful series of captures here John. I SO enjoy your commentaries - you have a very pleasing way with words. Have you thought (or indeed do you) of writing (as in books)? Thank you too for dropping by my blog

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    1. Not likely! It's enough of a struggle putting together these little blogposts.

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  13. Coastal erosion is a fact of life and while we may be able to slow its progress the end result is inevitable.

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  14. The earth will survive with or without us and our structures. I'm really curious about the footprints in the rocks from eons ago. I must see what I can find about those.
    And this question: how do you get Haze-br from Happisburgh?

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    1. Found this about the footprints on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happisburgh_footprints
      Fascinating!

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    2. Yes, the mind boggles! I love the fact that they conjure up such an intimate domestic scene too. I can make a guess at how the pronunciation developed. It was recorded as Hapes-burc in the Domesday Book. The written version, half-learned and incorrectly copied by semi-educated court clerks or church wardens then slowly evolved into the present day spelling. Meanwhile the majority of people who couldn't read gradually dropped the "p" from "Hapes" and also the final letter "c" or "gh".

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  15. Delaying the inevitable is exactly right. I think I read that the popular Pacific Surfliner that runs down the coastline is having multiple delays and closures due to shoreline erosion and railroad track destruction. I love the lighthouse!

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  16. I went down to the shore today here (shore of Georgian Bay) and found they've put huge boulders to control the erosion.

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  17. Fascinating, John. Lovely photos as always.

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  18. Nature is amazing! And sometimes sad. I love the photos. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

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  19. Hi John - it's always interesting to hear about - now I'll be able to visualise the area more easily.

    So interesting reading your description of how the name came to be pronounced Haysbrrr ... and I'm sure so true. Fascinating snippet of probably logic. Cheers Hilary

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  20. pretty place, and a shame about its sure fate. Even Miami here in the US is fighting the same battle. But with more resources than tiny Happisburgh.

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