7 Mar 2012
Sea Sculpture
I love the the old posts that used to support the groynes at Freshwater Bay.
The groynes were originally placed to restrict the movement of sand and pebbles along the beach, but only had a small effect on the beach and are long gone. All that is left is these lovely sea sculpted posts.
At the bottom of the posts where the pebbles and sand grind against the wood as the waves roll in and out, this post has thinned making it look top heavy. This will eventually be ground away, break and be reclaimed by the sea. During storms pebbles have be forced into any cracks or holes and an old bolt is being slowly exposed.
As the beach changes after storms or long periods of calm weather the groyne posts appear and disappear. Sometimes in the summer as the Bay silts up and sand spreads across the beach all but the top few inches of the post are buried. Then a swell pushes in from the Atlantic and the waves scour the beach and the sculptures reappear.
So if you are walking along the beach at Freshhwater Bay look out for these natural sculptures, especially if they are buried, as they can also be a serious hazard for the unwary.