Blakeney Point
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Website | National Trust Blakeney Point |
Blakeney Point (designated as Blakeney National Nature Reserve) is a
The area has a long history of human occupation; ruins of a
The many visitors who come to birdwatch, sail or for other outdoor recreations are important to the local economy, but the land-based activities jeopardize nesting birds and fragile habitats, especially the dunes. Some access restrictions on humans and dogs help to reduce the adverse effects, and trips to see the seals are usually undertaken by boat. The spit is a dynamic structure, gradually moving towards the coast and extending to the west. Land is lost to the sea as the spit rolls forward. The River Glaven can become blocked by the advancing shingle and cause flooding of Cley village, Cley Marshes nature reserve, and the environmentally important reclaimed grazing pastures, so the river has to be realigned every few decades.
Description
Blakeney Point, like most of the northern part of the marshes in this area, is part of the parish of Cley next the Sea.[1] The main spit runs roughly west to east, and joins the mainland at Cley Beach before continuing onwards as a coastal ridge to Weybourne. It is approximately 6.4 km (4.0 mi) long,[2] and is composed of a shingle bank which in places is 20 m (66 ft) in width and up to 10 m (33 ft) high. It has been estimated that there are 2.3 million m3 (82 million ft3) of shingle in the spit,[3] 97 per cent of which is derived from flint.[4]
The Point was formed by
History
To 1912
Norfolk has a long history of human occupation dating back to the
An "eye" is an area of higher ground in the marshes, dry enough to support buildings. Blakeney's former
The spit sheltered the
National Trust era
In the decades preceding World War I, this stretch of coast became famous for its wildfowling; locals were looking for food, but some more affluent visitors hunted to collect rare birds;[26] Norfolk's first barred warbler was shot on the point in 1884. In 1901, the Blakeney and Cley Wild Bird Protection Society created a bird sanctuary and appointed as its "watcher", Bob Pinchen, the first of only six men, up to 2012, to hold that post.[27]
In 1910, the owner of the Point, Augustus Cholmondeley Gough-Calthorpe, 6th Baron Calthorpe, leased the land to University College London (UCL), who also purchased the Old Lifeboat House at the end of the spit. When the baron died later that year, his heirs put Blakeney Point up for sale, raising the possibility of development.[28] In 1912, a public appeal initiated by Charles Rothschild and organised by UCL Professor Francis Wall Oliver and Dr Sidney Long enabled the purchase of Blakeney Point from the Calthorpe estate, and the land was then donated to the National Trust.[29] UCL established a research centre at the Old Lifeboat House in 1913,[2] where Oliver and his college pioneered the scientific study of Blakeney Point.[30] The building is still used by students, and also acts as an information centre.[2] Despite formal protection, the tern colony was not fenced off until the 1960s.[27]
In 1930, the Point's first "watcher", Bob Pinchen, retired and was replaced by Billy Eales, who had assisted Pinchen the previous summer to "learn the job". His son, Ted Eales, succeeded him as warden when he died in early 1939. Ted Eales went on to work as a wildlife cameraman for
The Point was designated as a
Fauna and flora
Birds
Blakeney Point has been designated as one of the most important sites in Europe for nesting terns by the government's
The Point juts into the sea on a north-facing coast, which means that
Other animals
Blakeney Point has a mixed colony of about 500 harbour and grey seals. The harbour seals have their young between June and August, and the pups, which can swim almost immediately, may be seen on the mud flats. Grey seals breed in winter, between November and January; their young cannot swim until they have lost their first white coat, so they are restricted to dry land for their first three or four weeks, and can be viewed on the beach during this period.[13] Grey seals colonised a site in east Norfolk in 1993, and started breeding regularly at Blakeney in 2001. It is possible that they now outnumber harbour seals off the Norfolk coast.[41] Seal-watching boat trips run from Blakeney and Morston harbours, giving good views without disturbing the seals.[13] The corpses of 24 female or juvenile harbour seals were found in the Blakeney area between March 2009 and August 2010, each with spirally cut wounds consistent with the animal having been drawn through a ducted propeller.[42]
The rabbit population can grow to a level at which their grazing and burrowing adversely affects the fragile dune vegetation. When rabbit numbers are reduced by myxomatosis, the plants recover, although those that are toxic to rabbits, like ragwort, then become less common due to increased competition from the edible species.[43][44] The rabbits may be killed by carnivores such as red foxes, weasels and stoats.[27] Records of mammals that are rare in the NNR area include red deer swimming in the haven, a hedgehog and a beached Sowerby's beaked whale.[45]
An insect survey in September 2009 recorded 187 beetle species, including two new to Norfolk, the
The many inhabitants of the tidal flats include
Plants
Grasses such as
The shingle ridge attracts
European glasswort is picked between May and September and sold locally as "samphire".[59] It is a fleshy plant which when blanched or steamed has a taste which leads to its alternative name of "sea asparagus", and it is often eaten with fish.[60][61] It can also be eaten raw when young.[62] Glasswort is also a favourite food for the rabbits, which will venture onto the saltmarsh in search of this succulent plant.[63]
Recreation
The 7.7 million day visitors and 5.5 million who made overnight stays on the Norfolk coast in 1999 are estimated to have spent £122 million, and secured the equivalent of 2,325 full-time jobs in that area. A 2005 survey at six North Norfolk coastal sites, including Blakeney, Cley and Morston found that 39 per cent of visitors gave birdwatching as the main purpose of their visit.[35] The villages nearest to the Point, Blakeney and Cley, had the highest per capita spend per visitor of those surveyed, and Cley was one of the two sites with the highest proportion of pre-planned visits. The equivalent of 52 full-time jobs in the Cley and Blakeney area are estimated to result from the £2.45 million spent locally by the visiting public.[64] In addition to birdwatching and boat trips to see the seals, sailing and walking are the other significant tourist activities in the area.[8][22]
The large number of visitors at coastal sites sometimes has negative effects. Wildlife may be disturbed, a frequent difficulty for species that breed in exposed areas such as ringed plovers and little terns, and also for wintering geese.[65] During the breeding season, the main breeding areas for terns and seals are fenced off and signposted.[2] Plants can be trampled, which is a particular problem in sensitive habitats such as sand dunes and vegetated shingle.[65] A boardwalk made from recycled plastic crosses the large sand dunes near the end of the Point, which helps to reduce erosion.[2] It was installed in 2009 at a cost of £35,000 to replace its much less durable wooden predecessor.[66] Dogs are not allowed from April to mid-August because of the risk to ground-nesting birds, and must be on a lead or closely controlled at other times.[2]
The Norfolk Coast Partnership, a grouping of conservation and environmental bodies, divide the coast and its hinterland into three zones for tourism development purposes. Blakeney Point, along with Holme Dunes and Holkham dunes, is considered to be a sensitive habitat already suffering from visitor pressure, and therefore designated as a red-zone area with no development or parking improvements to be recommended. The rest of the reserve is placed in the orange zone, for locations with fragile habitats but less tourism pressure.[67]
Coastal changes
The spit is a relatively young feature in geological terms, and in recent centuries it has been extending westwards and landwards through tidal and storm action.[11] This growth is thought to have been enhanced by the reclamation of the salt marshes along this coast in recent centuries, which removed a natural barrier to the movement of shingle.[68] The amount of shingle moved by a single storm can be "spectacular";[11][27] the spit has sometimes been breached, becoming an island for a time, and this may happen again.[1][5] The northernmost part of Snitterley (now Blakeney) village was lost to the sea in the early Middle Ages, probably due to a storm.[69] In the last two hundred years, maps have been accurate enough for the distance from the Blakeney Chapel ruins to the sea to be measured. The 400 m (440 yd) in 1817 had become 320 m (350 yd) by 1835, 275 m (301 yd) in 1907, and 195 m (213 yd) by the end of the 20th century.[1] The spit is moving towards the mainland at about 1 m (1.1 yd) per year;[70] and several former raised islands or "eyes" have already disappeared, first covered by the advancing shingle, and then lost to the sea.[9] The massive 1953 flood overran the main beach, and only the highest dune tops remained above water. Sand was washed into the salt marshes, and the extreme tip of the point was breached, but as with other purely natural parts of the coast, like Scolt Head Island, little lasting damage was done.[29]
Landward movement of the shingle meant that the channel of the Glaven was becoming blocked increasingly often by 2004. This led to flooding of Cley village and the environmentally important Blakeney freshwater marshes.[9] The Environment Agency considered several remedial options. It concluded that attempting to hold back the shingle or breaching the spit to create a new outlet for the Glaven would be expensive and probably ineffective, and doing nothing would be environmentally damaging.[70] The Agency decided to create a new route for the river to the south of its original line,[71] and work to realign a 550 m (600 yd) stretch of river 200 m (220 yd) further south was completed in 2007 at a cost of about £1.5 million.[72] The Glaven had previously been realigned from an earlier, more northerly, course in 1922.[9] The ruins of Blakeney Chapel are now to the north of the river embankment, and essentially unprotected from coastal erosion, since the advancing shingle will no longer be swept away by the stream. The chapel will be buried by a ridge of shingle as the spit continues to move south, and then lost to the sea,[73] perhaps within 20–30 years.[71]
Notes
- Blakeney Haven are included within the NNR.[11]
References
- ^ a b c Wright, John (1999). "The chapel on Blakeney Eye: some documentary evidence" (PDF). Glaven Historian. 2: 26–33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Blakeney Point coastal walk to Lifeboat House" (PDF). Blakeney National Nature Reserve, Morston, Norfolk. National Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ^ Bridges (1998) p. 39.
- ^ Steers, J A in Allison & Morley (1989) p. 24.
- ^ a b c May, V J (2003) "North Norfolk Coast" in May (2003) pp. 1–19.
- ^ Tansley (1939) pp. 848–849.
- ^ Steers, J A in Allison & Morley (1989) p. 19.
- ^ a b c d e "Coastal wildlife walk Blakeney Freshes, Norfolk" (PDF). National Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d Carnell, Peter (1999). "The chapel on Blakeney Eye: initial results of field surveys" (PDF). Glaven Historian. 2: 34–45. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-12-01.
- ^ "Peddars Way/Norfolk Coast Path". National Trails. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f "Blakeney Point National Nature Reserve" (PDF). Natural England. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
- ^ "Facilities & access". Blakeney National Nature Reserve. National Trust. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ^ a b c Dorling Kindersley (2009) p. 214.
- ^ Coles, Bryony. "The Doggerland project". Research projects. University of Exeter. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d Robertson et al. (2005) pp. 9–22.
- ^ Murphy (2009) p. 14.
- ^ Robertson et al. (2005) p. 36.
- ^ Robertson et al. (2005) p. 143.
- ^ Lee, Richard (2006). "A report on the archaeological excavation of 'Blakeney Chapel'". Glaven Historian. 9: 3–21.
- ^ Birks (2003) pp. 1–28.
- ^ a b Robinson (2006) pp. 3–5.
- ^ a b c Pevsner & Wilson (2002) pp. 394–397.
- ^ "Church of St Nicholas, Blakeney". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
- ^ a b Pevsner & Wilson (2002) p. 435.
- ^ a b Hume, Joseph. "Port of Cley and Blakeney" in appendix to Tidal Harbours Commission (1846). Second report of the commissioners. London: W Clowes & Son. pp. 83a–84a.
- ^ Bishop (1983) pp. 9–13.
- ^ a b c d e f g Stubbing, Edward (2012). "The birds of Blakeney Point: 100 years of National Trust ownership". British Birds. 105 (9): 520–529.
- ^ Ayres (2012) p. 123.
- ^ a b Allison H & Morley J in Allison & Morley (1989) pp. 7–8.
- ^ "Blakeney Point". University College London Department of genetics, evolution and environment. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
- ^ "Blakeney National Nature Reserve". protectedplanet.net. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
- ^ a b c d "North Norfolk Coast" (PDF). SSSI citations. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ White, D J B (2005). "Blakeney Point and University College London". The Glaven Historian. 8: 17–20.
- ^ "North Norfolk Coast Biosphere Reserve Information". UNESCO – Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme Biosphere Reserves Directory. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ a b Liley (2008) pp. 4–6.
- ^ "North Norfolk Coast". SPA description. Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- ^ Elkins (1988) pp. 136–137.
- ^ Newton (2010) pp. 97–98.
- ^ Newton (2010) p. 50.
- ^ Allison (1989) pp. 87–88.
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- ^ Elton (1979) pp. 167–168.
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- ^ Barkham, Patrick (24 August 2012). "Do we still need nature reserves?". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Rare beetles found at Blakeney National Nature Reserve". BBC Norfolk. Norwich: British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
- ^ Blower (1985) pp. 98–101.
- ^ "Migrant insect summary – end of June 2012". Atropos. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
- ^ Knight, Guy. "Large numbers of the turnip sawfly Athalia rosae (L.)" (PDF). Newsletter 2, January 2007. Sawfly Study Group. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
- ^ Foster, W A in Allison & Morley (1989) p. 79.
- ^ Barnes, R S K in Allison & Morley (1989) pp. 67–75.
- ^ Tansley (1939) p. 855.
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- PMID 13023750.
- ^ Stannard & Smith (2005) p. 34
- ^ Knights & Phillips (1979) p. 49.
- ^ Sweetser & Laurie (2009) p. 187.
- ^ Fearnley-Whittingstall, Hugh (June 2007). "Join the samphire brigade". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
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- ^ "Valuing Norfolk's Coast" (PDF). Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
- ^ a b Liley (2008) pp. 10–14.
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Cited texts
- Allison, Hilary; Morley, John, eds. (1989). Blakeney Point and Scolt Head Island. Norwich: National Trust. ISBN 0-9514717-0-8.
- Ayres, Peter G (2012). Shaping Ecology: The Life of Arthur Tansley. London: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-470-67156-6.
- Birks, Chris (2003). Report on an archaeological evaluation at Blakeney Freshes, Cley next the Sea: report No. 808 (PDF). Norwich: Norfolk Archaeological Unit.
- Bishop, Billy (1983). Cley Marsh and its Birds. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-180-9.
- Blower, J Gordon (1985). Millipedes: Keys and Notes for the Identification of the Species. Leiden: Backhuys. ISBN 90-04-07698-0.
- Bridges, E M (1998). Classic Landforms of the North Norfolk Coast. Sheffield: Geographical Association. ISBN 1-899085-53-X.
- Dorling Kindersley (2009). RSPB Where to go wild in Britain. London: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 978-1-4053-3512-6.
- East Anglia Coastal Group (2010). North Norfolk shoreline management plan. Peterborough: Environment Agency.
- Elkins, Norman (1988). Weather and Bird Behaviour. Waterhouses, Staffordshire: Poyser. ISBN 0-85661-051-8.
- Elton, Charles Sutherland (1979). The Pattern of Animal Communities. London: Chapman & Hal. ISBN 0-412-21880-1.
- Gray, J M (2004). Geodiversity: valuing and conserving abiotic nature. Edinburgh: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 0-470-84896-0.
- Knights, B; Phillips, A J (1979). Estuarine and Coastal Land Reclamation and Water Storage. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate. ISBN 0-566-00252-3.
- Liley, D (2008). Development and the north Norfolk coast. Scoping document on the issues relating to access (PDF). Wareham, Dorset: Footprint Ecology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
- Mabey, Richard (1996). Flora Britannica. London: Chatto & Windus. ISBN 1-85619-377-2.
- May, V J (2003). Geological Conservation Review: volume 28: Coastal geomorphology of Great Britain. Peterborough: ISBN 1-86107-484-0.
- Muir, Richard (2008). The lost villages of Britain. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7509-5039-8.
- Murphy, Peter (2009). The English coast: a history and a prospect. London: Continuum International Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84725-143-5.
- Newton, Ian (2010). Bird Migration: Collins New Naturalist Library (113). London: Collins. ISBN 978-0-00-730732-6.
- Pevsner, Nikolaus; Wilson, Bill (2002). The Buildings Of England Norfolk I: Norwich and North-East Norfolk. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09607-0.
- Robertson, David; Crawley, Peter; Barker, Adam; Whitmore, Sandrine (2005). Norfolk Archaeological Unit Report No. 1045: Norfolk Rapid Coastal Zone Archaeological Survey (PDF). Norwich: Norfolk Archaeological Unit. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 August 2011.
- Robinson, Geoffey H (c. 2006). St Nicholas, Blakeney. Norwich: Geoffrey H Robinson.
- Scott Wilson Ltd (2006). Tourism benefit & impacts analysis in the Norfolk coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (PDF). Norwich: Norfolk Coast Partnership. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2016.
- Stannard, David; Smith, George (2005). Fishing Up the Moon: Norfolk Seafood Cookery. Dereham, Norfolk: Larks Press. ISBN 1-904006-26-4.
- Sweetser, Wendy; Laurie, Jane (2009). The Connoisseur's Guide to Fish & Seafood. New York: Sterling. ISBN 978-1-4027-7051-7.
- Tansley, Arthur George (1939). The British islands and their vegetation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Thompson, Dave; Bexton, Steve; Brownlow, Andrew; Wood, David; Patterson, Tony; Pye, Ken; Lonergan, Mike; Milne, Ryan (2010). Report on recent seal mortalities in UK waters caused by extensive lacerations (PDF). St Andrews: Sea Mammal Research Unit. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-05.
External links