Bridgwater Bay

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Bridgwater Bay at low tide

Bridgwater Bay is on the Bristol Channel, three miles north of Bridgwater, along much of the coast of Somerset. It is at the mouth of the River Parrett (and the end of the River Parrett Trail). The bay stretches from Minehead at the south-western end of the bay to Brean Down in the north.

The area consists of large areas of mudflats, saltmarsh, sandflats and shingle ridges, some of which are vegetated. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering an area of 8,832 acres[1] since 1989, and is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.[2] The risks to wildlife are highlighted in the local Oil Spill Contingency Plan.[3]

Several rivers, including the Parrett, Brue and Washford, drain into the bay. Man-made drainage ditches from the Somerset Levels, including the River Huntspill, also run into the bay. The mud flats provide a habitat for a wide range of flora and fauna. These include some nationally rare plants, beetles and snails. It is particularly important for overwintering waders and wildfowl, with approximately 190 species recorded including whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), dunlin (Calidris alpina) and wigeon (Anas penelope). Fishing has taken place using shallow boats, known as flatners, and fixed wooden structures for hundreds of years. It was also the last site in Britain used for 'mudhorse fishing'.

There are several small harbours along the coast.

The low-lying areas of the bay have been subject to flooding, including the Bristol Channel floods of 1607 and many times since particularly around the Steart Peninsula. In response to this threat sea walls have been built at several points including at Burnham-on-Sea, Berrow and Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast. The extensive mud flats and high tidal range have been the cause of several drownings and rescue services are now provided by the Burnham Area Rescue Boat.

Geography

Bridgwater Bay forms a portion of the coastline of Somerset on the southern side of the Bristol Channel stretching from the Quantock Hills at the south western end to Brean Down at the northern end. Around the coastline is a wave-cut platform of Jurassic Blue Lias. Several rivers flow into the bay, the main ones being the Parrett, Brue and Washford, along with the man-made River Huntspill.

Major features and settlements along the coastline, running from north-east to south-west, include: Brean, Berrow, Burnham on Sea, the mouth of the River Parrett, the Steart Peninsula, Lilstock, East Quantoxhead and Watchet.

Sand dunes at Berrow and a shingle ridge at Steart have been created by winds blowing from the west. On the beach near Stogursey are the remains of a submerged forest dated to 2500 BC.[4] - 6500 BC.[5]

Hinkley Point in Bridgwater Bay

Brean Down

Brean Down is a promontory marking the eastern end of the bay. Made of carboniferous limestone, it is a continuation of the Mendip Hills, and two further continuations are the small islands in the Bristol Channel; Steep Holm and Flat Holm. It is owned by the National Trust, and is rich in wildlife, history and archaeology, as well as being a Site of Special Scientific Interest in its own right.[6]

The Down is bounded by steep cliffs and, at its seaward point, Brean Down Fort built in 1865 and then re-armed in the Second World War. There is evidence of an Iron Age hill fort, prehistoric barrows, field systems[7] and a pagan shrine. The shrine dating from pre-Roman times[8] was re-established as a Romano-Celtic style temple in the mid-4th century and probably succeeded by a small late-4th century Christian oratory.[9]

In 1897, following wireless transmissions from Lavernock Point in Wales to Flat Holm, Guglielmo Marconi moved his equipment to Brean Down and set a new distance record for wireless transmission.[10]

Mudflats

At low tide large parts of the bay become mud flats two and a half miles wide, due to the tidal range of 49 feet, which is the second-highest in the world, exceeded only by the Bay of Fundy in Eastern Canada.

The intertidal mud flats are, as a result, potentially dangerous and it is not uncommon for the emergency services to mount rescue operations on them. Following the death of Lelaina Hall off Berrow in 2002, a local fund raising campaign succeeded in purchasing a Swedish-built BBV6 rescue hovercraft.[11][12] The hovercraft is operated by Burnham Area Rescue Boat (BARB) in Burnham-on-Sea.[13]

About the bay

Much of the coastline within the western part of the reserve is accessible via a waymarked public footpath, and the South West Coast Path begins at Minehead at the western end of the bay. The tidal range holds potential for energy generation and plans for a tidal barrage in the bay have been considered.[14]

Hinkley Point is a headland extending into Bridgwater Bay five miles west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett. The landscape of Hinkley Point is dominated by two nuclear power stations: Hinkley Point A - Magnox (now closed) and Hinkley Point B - AGR. A third, twin-unit European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) reactor is planned, and will become Hinkley Point C.[15]

Man-made sea defences include a sea wall at Burnham-on-Sea and a two-mile section south from Brean Down. There are also sand dune belts which are managed for their protective function and as a wildlife habitat.

The Steart Peninsula has flooded many times during the last millennium. The most severe recent floods occurred in 1981. By 1997, a combination of coastal erosion, sea level rise and wave action had made some of the defences distinctly fragile and at risk from failure. As a result, in 2002 The Environment Agency produced the Stolford to Combwich Coastal Defence Strategy Study to examine options for the future.[16]

The foreshore at Watchet, which lies at the mouth of the Washford River, and on the edge of Exmoor National Park, is rocky, but has a small harbour. The cliffs between Watchet and Blue Anchor show a distinct pale, greenish blue colour, resulting from the coloured alabaster found there. The name "Watchet" or "Watchet Blue" was used in the 16th century to denote this colour.[17][18]

East Quantoxhead used to have a small harbour which brought in limestone for local limekilns and exported alabaster. It is thought that it was also used for smuggling.[19]

At Kilve are the remains of a red brick retort, built in 1924, when it was discovered that the shale found in the cliffs was rich in oil. The beach is part of the Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). Along this coast the cliffs are layered with compressed strata of oil-bearing shale and blue, yellow and brown lias embedded with fossils. In 1924 Forbes-Leslie founded the Shaline Company to exploit them. This retort house is thought to be the first structure erected here for the conversion of shale to oil but the company was unable to raise sufficient capital and this is now all that remains of the anticipated Somerset oil boom.

Fishing

Flatner in the Watchet Boat Museum

The intertidal mud flats of the bay have a long history of use for fishing, with structures on Stert Flats being dated by dendrochronological analysis to between 932 and 966.[5] It is the last site in England used for 'mudhorse fishing' in which a wooden sledge is propelled across the mudflats to collect fish from nets.[20] Catches include: Thinlip mullet,[21] plaice, dogfish, cuttlefish, skate, shrimp, prawns, sea bass, and sole.[22] Watchet Boat Museum displays the unusual local flatner boats which were used for fishing in the bay, along with associated artefacts.

Outside links

 ("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Bridgwater Bay)

References

  1. ↑ SSSI listing and designation for Bridgwater Bay
  2. ↑ "Bridgwater Bay NNR". National Nature Reserves. Natural England. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/somersets-national-nature-reserves/somersets-national-nature-reserves#bridgwater-bay. 
  3. ↑ "Oil spill contingency plan". Sedgemoor Council. http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=1549&p=0. 
  4. ↑ @A History of the County of Somerset - Volume 6 pp 130-136: Stogursey (Victoria County History)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Severn Estuary rapid coastal zone assessment". Historic England. https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/severn-estuary-rczas-nmp/. 
  6. ↑ SSSI listing and designation for Brean Down
  7. ↑ Adkins, Lesley and Roy (1992). A field Guide to Somerset Archeology. Stanbridge: Dovecote press. ISBN 978-0-946159-94-9. 
  8. ↑ Dunning, Robert (1983). A History of Somerset. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 978-0-85033-461-6. 
  9. ↑ Aston, Mick; Burrow, Ian (1982). The Archaeology of Somerset. Taunton: Somerset County Council. 
  10. ↑ "Marconi: work of a radio pioneer". BBC. 23 January 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/southeastwales/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_7847000/7847738.stm. 
  11. ↑ Alleyne, Richard; Martin, Nicole (25 June 2002). "Rescuers tell of desperate fight to save mud flats girl". The Daily Telegraph (London). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1398320/Rescuers-tell-of-desperate-fight-to-save-mud-flats-girl.html. 
  12. ↑ "'Sad, tragic' case of girl's drowning". BBC News. 24 October 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2357199.stm. 
  13. ↑ "Spirit of Lelaina lives on". BBC News. 22 March 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2876199.stm. 
  14. ↑ "Bridgwater Bay". Tidal Lagoon Power. http://www.tidallagoonpower.com/projects/bridgwater-bay/. 
  15. ↑ "New dawn for UK nuclear power". WNN. 24 September 2008. http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN_New_dawn_for_UK_nuclear_power_2409081.html. 
  16. ↑ "Stolford to Combwich Coastal Defence Strategy Study". Environment Agency. http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/commondata/acrobat/stolford_to_combwich.pdf.pdf. 
  17. ↑ Leete-Hodge, Lornie (1985). Curiosities of Somerset. Bodmin: Bossiney Books. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-906456-99-6. 
  18. ↑ "Article from Issue Number 12/1 February 2005". Open University Geological Society (London Branch). http://www.lougs.org.uk/february_2005.htm. 
  19. ↑ Farr, Grahame (1954). Somerset Harbours. London: Christopher Johnson. pp. 123–124. 
  20. ↑ "Matt Baker goes mad for mud, fish and relics in Bridgwater Bay.". Open Country. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/opencountry_20080809.shtml. 
  21. ↑ "Estuarine monitoring - Hinkley Point report, 2000–2001". Pisces Conservation. http://consult.pisces-conservation.com/2-hink2001.html. 
  22. ↑ Fort, Matthew (21 May 2008). "Around Britain with a fork". The Guardian (Guardian Newspapers). https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/may/31/foodanddrink.shopping. 
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