2 SETTING THE SCENE COAST GUARDIAN 2009 Landscape story

f you think geology is just today. It created the nationally and in- The answer lies in finding a bal- sure the magic of the place endures. Geology rocks! about rocks, and Norfolk is a ternationally protected landscape we ance between our needs and those of Working as a team, we look after Take a closer look at what flat, unchanging landscape, all love. And the changes that made nature, and working together. this area of outstanding natural made our coast, and look Ithen prepare to be amazed. In the coast then are ongoing - this dy- Natural processes are inevitable beauty – one of our country’s most out for my fun facts this year’s Guardian we reveal the in- namic place is always shifting and and even desirable. Marshland, for ex- treasured areas. 2009 marks the 60th credible ‘backstory’ of the coast, from moving, and home to many creatures ample, is one of the best forms of anniversary of the government’s de- the magnificent glaciers of the ice that rely on this flux. flood defence; more sustainable than cision to make sure these areas were ages to the giant worms of warmer Of course it’s home to people too, concrete walls which cost a fortune protected for everyone (read more on We hope you find this edition of our times, when dinosaurs lived and a and we need stability. But how can a to install and maintain. page 10). annual newspaper interesting and very famous elephant died – and was viable future for the communities of The Norfolk Coast Partnership So whether you live in the area, useful – and it reveals to you some- eaten by hyaenas – at West . the coast and its visitors co-exist with exists to bring together the organisa- visit it regularly, or are here for the thing of the elemental forces which It may seem a long time ago, but the ever-present and powerful influ- tions and communities of the coast to first time, the partnership is working shape and continue to influence our what happened then is still relevant ence of the sea on soft lands? find long-term solutions to make to protect the Norfolk Coast for you. tranquil haven.

THE NORFOLK COAST PARTNERSHIP YOUR NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN... The Old Courthouse, Baron’s Close, , Norfolk NR21 8BE T: 01328 850530 F: 01328 850546 E: [email protected] W: www.norfolkcoastaonb.org.uk 3-9 GEOLOGY SPECIAL Norfolk Coast Partnership staff Funding Partners Experts from Norfolk and beyond explain Manager: Tim Venes Natural the coast from the ground up Policy and partnership officer: Norfolk County Council Estelle Hook District Council 10-11 NEWS UPDATE Communications officer: Lucy Galvin Borough Council of King’s Lynn Celebrate protected areas 60th anniversary Community and external funding & West Norfolk plus latest news, DVD and book reviews officer: Kate Dougan Borough Council Technical assistant: Steve Tutt 12-13 MAP AND TRANSPORT Articles available in large print: please contact Bus services, heritage railways and cycle hire 01328 850530 or via website www.norfolkcoastaonb.org.uk 14-15 COAST KITCHEN Historic Wells harbour's future; tasty seafood recipes and local goodies guide 16-17 WILDLIFE Help keep tracks of some unusual coastal species – and stop the invaders! 18 OUT AND ABOUT Plan a circular walk on the National Trail with our handy mile calculator 19-23 EVENTS Check out nearly 500 great events 23 KIDS KORNER Have a go at our tricky crossword

NORFOLK COAST PARTNERS

Natural England Country Land & Business Association Norfolk County Council National Farmers Union North Norfolk District Council Norfolk Farming and Borough Council of King’s Lynn Wildlife Advisory Group & West Norfolk Parishes Representatives Great Yarmouth Borough Council AONB Common Rights Holders Broads Authority Wells Harbour Commissioners Environment Agency and North Norfolk Coast English Heritage European Marine Site Management Scheme Wash Strategy Group National Trust and Norfolk Coast RSPB Path National Trail 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The Norfolk Coast Guardian is published by BC Publications on behalf of the Norfolk Coast Partnership Editor: Lucy Galvin Designed and produced by: BC Publications 01986 834250 Printed by Mortons Print Ltd Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication. However, the publishers            can accept no responsibility for any effects arising there from. Views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Norfolk Coast Partnership member organisations. All material copyright Norfolk Coast Partnership 2009. NCP 03/09 – 60K Cover: Walkers at Weybourne on the Norfolk Coast Path National Trail © Natural England. Andy Tryner NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009 GEOLOGY SPECIAL 3

Come with us on a journey through and beyond time to see how this dynamic place was made – and continues to evolve – in our seven page special feature

Ground force The landscape looks too big to move, but monumental forces over millions of years shaped the Norfolk Coast we know today. Jenny Gladstone explains how. Illustration by Jo Spaul.

ere in Norfolk we sit on ended with one of the largest mass Scotland, sand from the , so powerful that it sometimes the most complete se- extinctions in earth history. chalk from the Wash; all were crushed plucked huge chunks of chalk from quence of chalk in Britain. So what lies above the chalk? to ‘flour’ under the weight of the ice the sea bed and carried them along HWhat we lack in the drama About one and a half million years that was sometimes up to two kilo- too. dropped in great gravel mounds and of the massive white cliffs of Dover, ago the North Sea dumped beds of metres thick. From Weybourne to outwash ‘aprons’ along the ice edge. we make up for in chalk diversity; loose sands, shells and gravels called Ice sheets behave like giant, one the sea has since eaten away at these The Ridge and you can touch the oldest (Red ‘crags’ as it encroached and retreated way, conveyor belts, continually mov- glacial tills, forming cliffs that show, Heath likely grew just this way, their Chalk) at the base of the from the east. Mostly they are not ing outwards from their growth re- in spectacular fashion, the thickness, sands and gravels pouring out of the cliffs in the west, and walk over the well exposed at the coast, but you can gion, towards the margins where they variety and contortion of the glacial front of a decaying ice wall. As the youngest (Maastrichtian Chalk) at investigate the ‘ Crag’ at melt. Often Norfolk found itself at deposits, whilst the chalk ‘rafts’ are geologists say, ‘everything was in the east. Weybourne – it lies above the chalk, these melting fringes, so the debris dramatically displayed in the cliffs be- brought to Norfolk.’ Further east still, it dips away forming a fossilised stony beach carried by the ice was spread in suc- tween West and East Runton. below sea level, so that if you follow perched part way up the cliff. cessive layers of glacial ‘till’ or ‘boul- Under and through the ice sheets Jenny Gladstone is convenor the coast round to Winterton, you Chalk and crag were just the prel- der clay’. flowed powerful melt-water rivers. of the Norfolk Geodiversity need to dig over 100 metres down in ude to the last powerful force that Where an ice sheet passed over Often constrained by the ice walls Partnership and treasurer for the order to reach chalk rock. constructed Norfolk’s landscape, and sand it left sandy tills behind, and about them, they gushed along at Geological Society of Norfolk The chalk was laid down over a this time the agent was ice. The suc- where it passed over chalk it left great pressure, until released at the Jo Spaul is a local artist and period of 35 million years. It’s the cession of ice ages that have come chalky-clay tills. When an ice sheet edge of the ice sheet. There, the rocks illustrator remnants of minute sea creatures that and gone for the last 6-700,000 years encountered the debris of the one and boulders that had tumbled lived and died in the shallow seas or so, generated vast, thick, ice sheets before, it frequently pushed and against each in the flow, were until - about 65 million years ago - that ground their way from the north shoved and contorted the tills, so that the warm climate, vast seas and and from the west and brought much untangling their sequence and age is dinosaurs of the great era of Norfolk with them. Rock from a major undertaking. And the ice was 4 GEOLOGY SPECIAL NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009

Wilderness on our doorstep: The grandeur of eroding cliffs on the Buried treasure Trimingham – beach. of earth’s history

From gems to , earth science detectives can find all sorts of exciting clues to the past. Martin Warren explains where to look.

ave you ever found a A far-travelled and wondered what its erratic rock, world was like, millions of freshly plucked Hyears ago? Or looked at from the cliff, folded rock formations in a cliff and was scratched marvelled at what colossal forces and facetted caused those contortions? Then you on its journey were thinking like a geologist. The to Norfolk inside Norfolk coast is a good place for the a glacier. earth science detective because it obligingly shows us the layers where the clues are buried. The story in-

cludes subtropical seas, ice ages and Martin Warren majestic herds of big game animals. The arc of the Norfolk coastline More intrepid explorers might of the area is the legacy of the ice age. bulges into the North Sea. Eroding venture down the rugged cliffs to the Wooded hills, dry valleys and sandy in parts, depositing in others, it is still coastal section between heathlands around Holt were created readjusting after the upheavals in the and Trimingham. Here the savage by processes around the margins of last Ice Age. The geological record in cliff erosion presents a primeval an icesheet over 400,000 years ago. these soft rock cliffs makes this a scene, as the sea slices through the Blakeney esker was laid down by a fruitful ground for fossil hunters and side of England, exposing its innards. stream beneath the glacier, as it issued geologists. Though it has been stud- It’s one of my favourite places, not from a cave in an ice-cliff at the edge ied for almost two centuries, new least in winter when the elements are of the glacier (for more on Blakeney techniques and observations are re- at their rawest. The cliff is a cross-sec- esker, see page six). vealing fresh evidence for global cli- tion through the Cromer Ridge, the Norfolk’s bedrock is almost en- mate change, lost landscapes and large glacial landform that runs from tirely from the Cretaceous period. exotic wildlife that lived here. Holt to Cromer and eastwards to Most of the county is underlain by If you want to explore the geol- meet the coast here at Sidestrand. thick deposits of the chalk of the ogy of the Norfolk coast then At the Overstrand end of the Upper Cretaceous. An aquifer, this is a good place to section is one of the most graphic ex- provides us with reliable water sup- start. Convenient, with parking, pub- amples of ice-pushed, or glaciotec- plies, soils good for cereals and yields lic transport, café and toilets and easy tonic structures in Europe. Two up lime and the ubiquitous flint access to the beach, it’s ideal for fam- masses of chalk, normally concealed stones that give our traditional build- ilies and student parties. There’s below beach level, are canted up at a ings their wonderful character. The plenty to see: fossil-rich beds along steep angle, with one riding up over properties of flint and the extraordi- the beach and cliff base, spectacular the other. Several metres of gravel, nary character of the chalk are fasci- Five hidden gems eroding cliffs and various hard rock sand and boulder clay are riding nating. When closely studied, the boulders and pebbles on the shore piggy-back too. There is no clearer chalk is more varied than it would Glassmakers, ice-age reindeer hunters, carried from distant parts by glaciers example of the power of ice to re- appear at first. Composed of the mi- and now eroding out of the cliffs. arrange the landscape. croscopic bodies of planktonic coc- permafrost patterns: Tim Holt-Wilson selects The famous West Runton There are hard rocks too. Eroding coliths it is, in its upper part, a very a handful of interesting geological sites Freshwater Bed represents a warm from the cliffs from Weybourne to pure calcium carbonate mud that was period more than half a million Happisburgh and now on the laid down on the bed of seas across years ago, when Norfolk was big shore, one can find a variety of boul- large parts of Europe, Eurasia, and the game country. This has yielded a ders and pebbles of hard crystalline USA, from around 100 million to 65 wealth of seeds and pollen, shells, rocks - granites, dolerites, syenites million years ago. At this time the 1 teeth and bones, including Britain’s and gneisses. They can be matched to Earth’s climate was warm and there largest and most complete fossil ele- outcrops in , east- were no polar ice caps, while the at- phant. The cliffs here are composed ern Scotland and Oslofjord in Nor- mosphere was rich in carbon dioxide. of contorted glacial deposits, tortured way. Moving ice carried them here, It is well exposed in the cliff and by ice some 450,000 years ago. as glaciers spread out from these up- foreshore from Weybourne to Towards East Runton, the 50m land centres and deposited till and Cromer and in glaciotectonic rafts at high cliff beneath Wood Hill displays outwash in the lowlands. If collected Sidestrand and Trimingham. The chalk strata hundreds of metres long, when fresh, some boulders still carry Trimingham chalk is the youngest in that have been pushed, folded and the striations and facets they acquired Britain. uplifted high above their normal level as they scraped and ground their way In Norfolk geology meets archae-

by advancing ice. here across what is now the bed of ology, as the rocks are so young and NCP the North Sea. the archaeology is so old. Very early LING COMMON, SOUTH WOOTTON Among the beach pebbles you can humans lived here – palaeolithic also find semi-precious red carnelians stone tools have occasionally been Pits on Ling Common have been dug into sands of Lower Cretaceous Further information: and colour-banded agates eroded found loose on Norfolk beaches, and age (about 135 million years ago, the time of the dinosaurs) which • Cromer Museum has an from lavas; amber, the fossil resin from a well-made handaxe was spotted by give rise to the typical heathy scenery of the area. They were dug for attractive display of rocks long-vanished pine forests; and a a keen-eyed beach walker in mud on making glass, as still happens at nearby Leziate quarry, and the harder and fossils: jewellery-quality coal called the shore at Happisburgh. layers (‘silver carr’) were used for building stone at Castle Rising. Take museums.norfolk.gov.uk jet. These have been polished and a look at a small cliff in one of the pits here. The surface layers are • Geology pages on the Norfolk carved and in Victorian times were Martin Warren is collections and made of drifted sand, which may be evidence of soils damaged by Museums Service website: offered for sale by cottage-industry information manager for the deforestation in Roman or Saxon times. Thin brown layers are the museums.norfolk.gov.uk traders in Cromer. Norfolk Museums and Archaeology traces of former ground surfaces buried by the drifts. Much of the attractive landscape Service 6 GEOLOGY SPECIAL NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009 C R E N © S G B Tunnel vision What was once a freezing underground river is now a glorious viewpoint. Blakeney Esker provides a fascinating insight into the ice age past, as Anna Harrison explains.

ce sheets covered Norfolk provides free downloadable teach - several times in the past, and ing aids to support A-level geog - Ihave shaped the landscape. raphy teaching, covering topics During one of the more recent ice such as climate change and biodi - ages, ice covered much of Britain, versity on the esker. But the site as far south as the River Thames. isn’t just for teachers; others with The ice retreated in a number of an interest in the natural history of phases, and the Cromer the area may find the aids an in - Ridge, a raised strip of teresting read. There are also pho - land (called a tographs and a printable leaflet for moraine), was left by visitors to the area. retreating ice be - An information board (pic - tween Cromer and Holt. tured below) has been installed on If you could have stood on the esker, at Downs Local top of the glacier, near where Nature Reserve, 2km south of Blakeney village exists Blakeney village. This site was today, looking south you chosen due to the small scale would have seen the margin quarrying of the sand and gravel of this glacier, pushing up that took place there, which against the Cromer Ridge. proved useful to geologists as they Looking north, there pieced together the glacial history Hunstanton’s dramatic red, brown and white sand and limestone cliffs (above), coiled ammonite would be ice as far as the eye can of Norfolk. The site has not been from Hunstanton (right). see, and up to 100 metres deep be - worked for many years, and is a BGS©NERC neath your feet! The climate was beautiful spot for viewing the so cold that it would have felt Norfolk coast. more like present day Greenland than Norfolk. Anna Harrison is a quaternary At the base of the glacier, rest - geologist at the British History rocks ing on the land, a tunnel formed, Geological Survey periodically carrying fast moving ‘rivers’ of meltwater, which trans - EXPERT WRITERS You have to search for bedrock at the coast, but once you ported large amounts of sand and The Norfolk Coast Partnership is gravel out towards the glacier mar - grateful to our team of guest find it, you make astonishing discoveries, says Mark Woods . gin. The flow of meltwater rose experts from the British and fell with the seasons. When Geological Survey at Keyworth, uch of Norfolk’s attrac - stone might have formed over a ma - They are made of very finely crys - the river slowed, the sand and Nottingham. Thanks to them we tive landscape has been rine bank, where strong currents re - talline silica, the same material that gravel fell to the riverbed. The are benefiting from the services shaped by the erosion moved fine particles of sediment and forms crystals of quartz. tunnel eventually filled with sand of: Mand weathering of rela - caused concentration of the fossil re - Flints are believed to have formed and gravel. Two quaternary geologists – tively young sedimentary rocks, mains. whilst the chalk was still being de - Back to the present day and the scientists who take information formed immediately before, during The red and brown colours of the posited, and many appear to be fos - climate has warmed and the gla - from rocks, fossils and the lie of and after the Ice Age. However, on sandstone and limestone at Hunstan - silised burrow systems made by ciers have disappeared. This mean - the land, to piece together the the coast at Hunstanton in the west, ton are caused by iron-rich minerals. animals that once inhabited the Cre - dering tunnel is now a ridge of evolution of the landscape and and between and However, the chalk above is a very taceous seabed sediment. In the past, sand and gravel, up to 20 metres changes in climate over the last Cromer in the east, areas of bedrock pure limestone, giving it a strikingly the durability of flints made them high and 3.5 kilometres long, 2.5 million years; emerge from beneath the younger white appearance. Through a micro - useful as an exterior covering to known as an esker, and is a promi - And a biostratigrapher –a cover. Geologists use these natural scope, the chalk is literally made of many of Norfolk’s traditional rural nent feature on the coastal land - palaeontologist who uses the ‘windows’ to see into a much more fossils. It is formed of the lime-rich cottages, and in prehistoric times scape. fossil content of rocks to ancient world, stretching back in time skeletons of countless billions of tiny flints were the raw materials for stone The British Geological determine their geological age. more than 100 million years. plants (algae) that formed part of the age tools and weapons. Survey, collaborating with All articles on pages six and Visitors to Hunstanton cannot plankton in the Late Cretaceous seas Some of the flints seen on the Norfolk County Council and seven reproduced by kind avoid noticing the dramatic colour and oceans. Chalk may once have coast near Cromer are unusual, since Queen Mary University of Lon - permission of BGS (all rights banding in the cliffs. The oldest rocks covered much of the UK, but mil - instead of forming horizontal layers, don, launched the ‘Blakeney Esker reserved by BGS ©NERC are represented by the dark, orange- lions of years of erosion have limited they occur as broad cylinders, run - Explored’ website in 2006 IPR/110-06C) brown sandstone at the base of the its modern extent. ning vertically through the chalk. The (bgs.ac.uk/blakeney). The website cliff. This is overlain by a thin layer of The chalk seen on Norfolk’s east formation of these flints appears to bright red limestone, which in turn coast, between Sheringham and have been caused by thin burrows is overlain by creamy-white lime - Cromer, contains layers of irregularly that penetrated deep into the sedi - stone. All of these rocks are of Creta - shaped flint nodules. The flints have a ment of the Cretaceous seabed, and ceous age; the white limestone is the completely different composition which were possibly once occupied chalk, which also forms the famous from the chalk, and are much harder. by a giant, soft-bodied, worm-like white cliffs of Dover. creature. Each of these different coloured Further south along the coast, in layers represents a stage in the geo - the cliffs at Trimingham, Sidestrand logical history of the area. The sand - and Overstrand, the chalk has been stone at the base of the cliff contains dramatically affected by glaciation plant remains, and represents a period Each of these during the last Ice Age. Here, large when the sea was beginning to spread different coloured blocks of white chalk are surrounded across land areas. Most of this land by darker coloured glacial sediments, was submerged by the time the l“ayers represents and testify to the power of ice sheets bright red limestone was deposited. a stage in the to detach and transport huge masses

This limestone contains erosion sur - of bedrock. C R faces and is rich in the fossils of ma - E

geological history N ©

rine organisms, including ammonites, Mark Woods is a biostratigrapher S

of the area. G belemnites and bivalves. The lime - at the British Geological Survey. B NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009 GEOLOGY SPECIAL 5

Martin Warren

3 5 Mike Page Mike FORESHORE BURNHAM DEEPDALE Old maps are marked ‘Remains of DOWNS Ancient Forest’ on the deserted expanse of Titchwell beach. Beds of Low chalk hills form the backdrop are occasionally exposed at to Burnham Deepdale, giving a low tide mark, resting on a surface panoramic view of of glacial clay. Flint tools blackened Harbour and by contact with the peat have been Scolt Head. But take found here, and have been dated to a satellite view of the end of the last Ice Age. Hunters local fields and may have camped here for a while, something as they followed herds of reindeer strange appears. migrating across the chill plains Viewed close up, where the North Sea lies today. Did you know? mysterious The peat beds are fragile, and The best way to see Scolt dappled and important feeding areas for birds. Head is from nearby Barrow feather-like John Warham Please don’t walk over or disturb Common and Burnham patterns can be them – instead look out for peat Deepdale Downs seen in the topsoil. 2 washed up on the shore. SCOLT HEAD These are a gift from 4 the last Ice Age, when seasonal freezing and melting of The charming dry valley at The remote, desolate beauty of Scolt Head island is famous. It is a permafrost sorted the sandy topsoil Ringstead Downs is the biggest barrier island created by natural processes acting over thousands of and chalky subsoil into a pattern of area of chalk grassland in years, of wind and sea acting on sand and shingle, and plants and network circles and stripes. The Norfolk. About 20,000 years ago algae binding them where they can. Extending like the frond of a fern, result is as intricate as a thumb the scene was very different: an its recurved spit has been building out steadily westwards for centuries, print. Visit Google Maps and see for ice sheet lay close by, near with curved dune banks marking the successive phases of its passing. yourself. Hunstanton. The valley was Meanwhile salt-marshes have developed from mudflats in the shelter carved out of chalk bedrock by of the spit; their sinuous creeks now empty and fill with every tide. Tim Holt-Wilson is developing an torrents of glacial meltwater Dunes form where clumps of marram grass have trapped the blowing action plan for the Norfolk streaming from the ice-front in sand, and have developed into hummocks and eventually ridges. This is Geodiversity Partnership and a spring. a dynamic environment, a true wilderness where natural processes rule. chalk landscape interpretation

RSPB/Chris Gomersall project for the NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009 GEOLOGY SPECIAL 7

Putting it all in perspective

There’s nothing like within the coastal cliffs. The Cromer Ridge, a prominent ridge of high geology to help you ground that can be traced eastwards take a long view. BGS©NERC from Trimingham to Holt, represents a re-advance of this ice sheet and the Jonathan Lee explains bulldozing of the sediment that lay in how over the past front of it to form a feature known as a moraine. The landform can be seen 2,600,000 years the clearly from vantage points such as climate has shaped Beeston Hill and Skelding Hill which themselves represent smaller ‘push’ the landscape. features from the ice sheet. Between these ice ages, during periods known as interglacials, global rom Mediterranean heat to sea-levels rose and the area of the barren arctic desert like North Sea once again become inun- northern Canada, the Nor- dated with sea water. Climate during Ffolk coast has seen extreme these interglacials were often as warm long term climatic changes over the as the present day – some were even past two-three million years that we hotter, with the ‘Costa-del-Cromer’ can see recorded within coastal cliffs basking under hot Mediterranean cli- and the inland landscape. mates. Under these warm climates, a Between 2,600,000 and 450,000 much more diverse and mature flora years ago, Norfolk and its wider geo- and fauna became established. graphical setting were quite different, Our early ancestors, primitive and climate oscillated between cool stone-age humans, also colonised this and warm episodes lasting about landscape, living close to rivers which 40,000 years. The Straits of Dover provided them with water, food and didn’t exist either and England was shelter. They first arrived in Britain joined to France by a land-bridge. about 700,000 years ago as the Closer to home and the and In ice-age Norfolk only the hardiest survived amenable climate enabled their Wash didn’t exist, and rolling chalk northward migration, but probably downs would have extended north- cliffs all the way along the north During some of these ice ages, from as far afield as the Pennines, migrated southwards during the Ice wards from into Lin- Norfolk coast. big ice sheets covered much northern England, the Scottish Ages as Britain was simply too cold. colnshire. For the last million years, global of the British Isles. The Highlands and even southern It’s only during the past 9,000 years Norfolk was drained by two climate has been much more ex- largest of these ice Norway. You can see these that humans have become a contin- major rivers. The first called the treme, with big sweeping oscillations ages occurred tills within the cliffs at uous part of the Norfolk landscape - Bytham River, which extended from in climate each lasting about 100,000 450,000 years ago places like Happisburgh, and only 150 years ago that we had the Midlands through to . years, plunging Britain into alternate during a period of or at West Runton and the Industrial Revolution. The second, called the Ancaster ice ages and warm temperate periods. time known as the Weybourne where they River, extended eastwards from the Within the ice ages, which may have Anglian Glaciation. have a more stripy ap- Dr Jonathan Lee is a quaternary Pennines towards Cromer. Dark lasted up to 50,000 years, global sea- At the peak of this Did you know? pearance where local geologist at the British Geological muds deposited by these rivers, levels were so low the North Sea ice age, ice hun- Stone age humans chalk has been broken Survey which often contain ancient animal would have been largely devoid of dreds of metres lived on the Norfolk up the glacier and bones, wood and seeds can be seen sea water. thick covered the Coast, but were driven mixed in with the SEA LEVEL UPDATE along much of the Norfolk coast in- The North Sea area and Norfolk whole of the south during the many mud. cluding places like West Runton and would have been an area of arctic British Isles as far ice ages. As the global climate Today climate change is still Pakefield. tundra with only a few, hardy species south as the River warmed, this immense ice affecting the coast, but much The coastline was in a similar lo- of plants and animal surviving (e.g. Thames and occupied sheet began to melt and waste more rapidly. Due to human cation to today, but moved with woolly mammoth, rhinoceros and much of the North Sea Basin. In away. This gave rise to the develop- behaviour, global warming is episodes of global sea-level change. sabre toothed cats). The landscape north Norfolk this glacier ice laid- ment of a series of meltwater lakes taking place at an ever Sediments laid-down in this ancient would have looked very similar to down deposits known as till or boul- forming in front of the ice sheet. At increasing rate. For the latest North Sea – such as layered muds, that of northern Canada today, with der clay. These are grey or brown Happisburgh, evidence for these lakes information on sea level rise sands and gravels are called ‘Crag’ ground completely frozen for most, muds which contain stones ripped- can be found in the form of the and its effects, see page 11. and can be seen at the base of the if not all of the year. up and transported by the glacier thinly striped grey muds that occur

igbluesky k . c o m 8 GEOLOGY SPECIAL NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009 Stage managing the scenery

Rob Coleman on Sheringham Park,

where Humphry Trust National Repton used the ridge left by a glacier to create a stunning vista and his ‘most favourite’ work

orfolk was famously sum- marised by Noel Coward in Private Lives as ‘very Nflat’. Nowhere is this de- scription less apt than the land to the south and west of Sheringham on the north coast. Here lies one of the highest hill features in the county; a glacial ridge extending some 10 kilo- metres and reaching over 90 metres above sea level. This landform of sand and gravel, originally dumped by ice sheets over 450,000 years ago, has been re- peatedly scraped, scarred and bulldozed by subsequent gla- ciers, creating topography of steep-sided valleys and rolling hills. With the re- peated movements of its constituent material and the sinuous line of its back-bone, the Holt- Cromer ridge is consid- ered ‘the remains of a moraine’, not unlike Making the most of geology: Repton cherished the natural scenery at Sheringham Park those which are forming at the edge of many present- down earlier in the work of day glaciers. Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, Following the end of the and indeed some contem- last ice age some 8,000 years porary critics labelled ago, this ridge, in many places Repton a mere copyist of too steep or too acidic to his renowned predecessor. farm, became a network of images NT/Fish-eye He was also satirised at the woods and heaths, many of which are time by Jane Austen as ‘the still intact. This countryside has a nat- SHERINGHAM PARK great improver’, keen to cut ural charm, and the Sheringham es- down avenues of trees • Sheringham Park is the most tate became the focus of the which had no place in his grand complete and best preserved celebrated work of our most famous scheme (in Mansfield Park). example of a park by Humphry landscape gardener. Repton (1752-1818). These accusations proved un- Humphry Repton would have • The Park has been owned and founded. A measured consideration known the area around Sheringham managed by the National Trust of Repton’s work reveals landscapes well. Born in in since 1986 and is open all year which are more cherished, restrained , Repton moved with his par- round (dawn to dusk). and appreciative of the natural land- ents to aged 10. Following • The Visitor Centre, with an forms than any which went before. In time spent in Holland and a failed exhibition on the history of the this sense, Repton was a make-up Jeffries National Trust/Penny textile business, Repton returned to estate and facsimile copies of artist rather than a cosmetic surgeon, live in Norfolk in 1778, using his in- the Red Book, is open every day subtly making the most of what was down a wooded promontory from panorama before and after comple- heritance to buy a small estate at from 15 March to 30 already there. He adopted a distinctly the high ground of the Cromer tion of the work forms the centre- nearby Sustead. Over the next ten September (and weekends at pragmatic approach, advocating judi- ridge. As the road descends, an piece of Repton’s ‘Red Book’ for years he embarked on a number of other times of the year) as cious rather than radical change and abrupt dog-leg brings about a sudden Sheringham. ventures; as an illustrator, political follows: tailoring schemes to suit his client’s change in the view; the parkland The Hall, which nestles beneath a agent, merchant and entrepreneur, • 1 Feb - 14 March, means as well as their aspirations. opens out and the Hall, previously wooded hill, faces south with views but found little success. Short of Saturdays and Sundays, Designs were documented in ‘Red screened by a wooded bank, is re- across parkland framed by rolling money, and desperate to establish a 11am - 4pm Books’, illustrated proposals which vealed. hills. By exposing existing contours reputation with the ruling class to • 15 March - 30 Sept, Daily, were presented to sponsors and be- This point, known as ‘The Turn’ through tree-clearance, or retaining which he aspired, he decided upon 10am - 5pm came the de rigueur ‘coffee-table’ was carefully selected by Repton to standing trees to add height, Repton the vocation for which he is remem- • 1 Oct - 31 Oct, Weds to books of the day. ‘stage-manage’ the landscape so the gleans the most the terrain has to Sun, 10am - 5pm bered, and set up as a ‘landscape gar- Sheringham Park is the most house ‘will burst at once on the sight offer. In this way, Repton achieves • 1 Nov - 31 Jan 2010, dener’. complete and best preserved example like some enchanted palace of a fairy his goal of ‘animating beautiful Saturdays and Sundays, A thriving business was created, 11am - 4pm of Repton’s work (he also pro- tale’. It also cleverly ‘borrows’ from scenery’ and accentuating the inher- and by 1800 Repton had worked on • Refreshment kiosk opens at claimed it his ‘most favourite’). Here, the surrounding land and sea to make ent appeal of the natural landscape. over 135 commissions and become 11am (except 9 May - 28 June, the natural topography is used to a vast vista that encompasses far be- the most well-known designer of opens 10am). great effect to create a sense of yond the estate boundary. An illus- parks and gardens in the country. His mounting drama. The approach to tration of this scene featuring a Rob Coleman is learning officer for success was built on principles laid the Hall follows a winding road ‘trademark’ overlay showing the the National Trust, Sheringham Park NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009 GEOLOGY SPECIAL 9 Mike Page Mike

A beauty all of their own: Norfolk's ever-changing cliffs provide drama as sea meets land at Beeston Bump, with the Norfolk Coast Path National Trail offering fine views Living on the edge Cliffs in north Norfolk? There are, and they tell a great and ongoing story, says Peter Lambley

etween Weybourne and will reveal occasional belemnites The chalk surface dips gently east woodland with many species of plant the top, giving rise to spectacular Happisburgh, spectacular (these look like stone bullets and are so that at West Runton it lies at beach which still occur in Britain today. mud flows and corrie-like features. cliffs rise to about 65 metres part of the remains of a cuttlefish-like level, where it forms a rocky area At another site further east, probably This mud and sand slides onto the B(190 feet) around Triming- creature) and sea urchin fossils. which is good for rock pooling. The of a similar date, some of the earliest beaches then gets moved away east- ham - some of the highest between Embedded in the chalk are nod- massive flints with a hole or evidence has been found ward to be deposited on the shores Flamborough Head, north of Hull, ules of flint, made of silica which chalk in the middle are very of humans in Britain, in further to the east and south. This is and the North Foreland on the east- originally formed the skeletons of much a feature of this part the form of a polished a natural process which has been ernmost part of Kent. sponges living in the warm sea in of the area. Their origin stone axe embedded in going on this coast for thousands of Facing north, with no land be- which the chalk was deposited some is uncertain but may peat on the shore. years as evidenced by the loss of the tween them and the North Pole, 80 million years ago when dinosaurs represent burrows of Above this deposit there village of Shipden near Cromer in they’re exposed to the full force of roamed the land. Above it is a red large worm-like ani- are sands and clays the fifteenth century. gales especially in winter. The colours sandy deposit which in places has lots mals which in lived with very large As the cliffs are rather inaccessible of the various clays, sands and chalk of fossil sea shells. This is much more in the bottom of the Did you know? masses of chalk they are a haven for wildlife. In spring give them a beauty all of their own, recent and was laid down in a cold chalk sea. Ancient lion and which are evidence and summer they are coloured yellow and for the geologist the deposits tell shallow sea rather like the outer part Walking up the monkey bones have of a glacier which by the flowers of kidney vetch and in a fascinating story of events. of the Wash but somewhat colder. beach, you go for- been discovered at the moved down from wet runnels the spectacular deep red A walk along the shingle beach at Occasionally the bones of large ani- ward to about base of the cliffs the north scraping form of the early marsh orchid oc- Weybourne shows chalk outcropping mals like an early elephant and deer 600,000 years ago up these deposits off curs. The vertical sand faces are natu- at the base of the cliffs and a search are found. where there is a black peaty the bed of the North Sea as ral nest sites for sand martins which deposit at the base of the cliffs. This it did so. These deposits and those burrow in to them and kestrels are Cromer Forest Bed is so named be- further east between and frequently seen perching on the pin- cause it contains lots of pieces of Happisburgh show wonderful struc- nacles left by the erosion. These

Mike Page Mike wood as well as fresh water shells, and tures of folds and thrusts as the are also the home to a num- is the famous site where the West icesheet pushed this material before ber of very rare beetles and com- Runton elephant was excavated it and then over it. In places as at moner butterflies such as the nearly twenty years ago. Much larger Trimingham and Happisburgh finely common blue. Much of this can be than a present day elephant, it had bedded clays which have a stripy ap- seen by walking along the beaches straight tusks. When it died the bones pearance indicate where there were below the cliffs, but if you can, take were gnawed by hyaenas and their glacially dammed lakes in which sea- a pair of binoculars with you to fully droppings were found with the sonal thawing gave rise to the layers. appreciate their spectacular beauty bones. Because of the complex nature of the and interest. Other animals which have been deposits there is considerable contro- found in this deposit include deer, versy over how many glaciations took Peter Lambley has known the wild ox, a monkey, a species of lion place on this coast. Norfolk coast for many years first and small animals like voles and grass The nature of these cliffs with through his work as Keeper of snakes. The deposit was laid down in sand, clays and chalk means that they natural history for Norfolk Museums a climate similar to the present in a are inherently unstable and they are Service then as conservation officer Wildlife haven: Trimingham's cliffs are eroding from the top and bottom, slow moving river flowing through a subject to periodic landslips often for English Nature – and still has a but home to many creatures mix of grasslands and temperate caused by water flowing down from passionate interest in his retirement 10 NEWS UPDATE NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009

It’s a year of celebrations as the Norfolk Coast joins its NEWS IN BRIEF fellow UK countryside ‘jewels’ to celebrate their diamond FROM YOUR NORFOLK anniversary, European protected areas reach their COAST PARTNERSHIP centenary and locally the Broads marks its twentieth year

New plan launched The wide range of partners who make up the Norfolk Coast Partnership, from Natural England to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, work together for the area through an ongoing National treasures management plan. The latest version covers 2009-2014. The management plan includes a The worldwide movement to protect certain NCP series of actions for the next five years which areas of landscape nationally came to our are regularly reviewed and updated and we shores in the 1940s. The aim: to allow access welcome input. for all to these shared places, and to make sure they stayed special. Friends get together The first ever national parks were set up in It was cold outside, but the atmosphere was Sweden a century ago in 1909, and the idea warm when nearly 20 Friends of the Norfolk spread, taking different forms, across Europe Coast got together to plan their work for the and to the US. coming year back in January. In the highly-populated UK it was an am- With the help of community officer Kate bitious project, and the legislation took almost Dougan and Norfolk Coast Partnership parish a decade to finalise. In 1949 Areas of Outstand- representatives Janice Howell and Keith ing Natural Beauty (AONBs) and National Harrison, the Friends came up with ideas for Parks were created by law. their year’s activities and identified how they The National Parks and Access to the could help the area as its ‘eyes and ears’, Countryside Act was a brave piece of post-war sharing information and taking on tasks like legislation by the Atlee government, which es- attending shows or distributing newsletters. tablished AONBs, national parks and the Na- Activities planned for the Friends this year tional Parks Commission (forerunner to the include: regular gatherings; events like Countryside Commission and successors). It Deepdale Earth Day; Show; Wells gave powers to strengthen the Public Rights Harbour Day; Green Build; fixed point of Way framework including the creation of Places for all to enjoy: national parks, trails and areas of outstanding natural beauty. photography; cycle user, visitor and long distance routes (today’s , geodiversity surveys; writing articles for like the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path); the smallest the Isles of Scilly AONB - just 16 for the understanding and enjoyment of the publications and attending parish council access to open country; and measures includ- sq km. special qualities of the Broads by the public, meetings. If you’d like to become a Friend, ing special protection for forestry and agricul- The first, the National Park, and protecting the interests of navigation. please get in touch. ture. was designated in 1951 and the most recent, The act also sets down the need for the Since the act was passed, 49 AONBs and 14 the , was confirmed in 2005. The Authority to have regard to the needs of agri- Community link national parks have been designated. They con- first AONB was Gower in 1956 and most re- culture and forestry, and the economic and so- Communities are crucial to looking after the tain this country’s finest landscapes, country- cent, the Tamar Valley in 1995. cial interests of those who live or work in the Norfolk Coast, and the 69 or so parishes that side and wildlife. There are 36 AONBs in Locally we celebrate another important Broads. fall wholly or partly within its boundary are England, four in Wales, one straddling the Eng- birthday this year. It was 20 years ago that the the grassroots of managing the area. However lish/Welsh border and nine in Northern Ire- Broads Authority was set up in 1989, following • For lots more information including it’s not possible to have a member from each land; and nine National Parks in England, three the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988, 60 walks for 60 years check out parish sitting on the partnership, so instead in Wales and two in Scotland. which gave the Broads status equivalent to a www.diamondsinthelandscape.org.uk five parish representatives were elected to These protected areas range from lowland national park. The act gives the Broads Author- • You can find details of all Fun in formally represent several parishes in their heath to upland mountains, from gently rolling ity responsibility for conserving and enhancing the Broads events at area. They are: hills to expansive saltmarsh. The largest is the the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural her- www.broads-authority.gov.uk • Janice Howell (NW Parishes) Lake District national park at 2292 sq km and itage of the Broads, promoting opportunities • See page 23 • Tony Groom (Central Parishes) • Keith Harrison (Eastern Parishes) • Hilary Thompson (N. Eastern Parishes) TAKING A CLOSER LOOK... • Richard Searle (Western Parishes) If you would like to raise any concerns with Steve Tutt reviews some of age in , ‘Norfolk Coast’ has some your parish representative, please contact us. rare footage that will bring nostalgia to the best of the latest books those who remember and fascination to Cycleway update and DVDs about the coast others. With the popularity of cycling on the up there Predominantly featuring the coastal towns has been a substantial increase in sales of the SKY HIGH NORFOLK COAST is an aerial of Yarmouth, Sheringham and King’s Lynn, Norfolk Coast Cycleway map. The map uses journey from Great Yarmouth on the east this film looks at the story of life on and by the Sustrans national route 1 and regional coast to the amazing cliff patterns of the coast as it was. It’s hard to imagine that route 30 which is waymarked and also has Hunstanton in the west. This pocket-sized in its heyday 64 trains a day would arrive at loops and links around these with further book from Mike Page is must for all lovers of Sheringham, its popularity much to do with information on the map and a text guide. this diverse coastline. Many will have seen the North Norfolk’s ‘poppyland’ image. typical and includes some that make their During 2008 with the aid of volunteers we the wonderful ‘East Anglia from the Air’ films Clips cover the ’53 floods when much of home nowhere else. have been gathering information to update on video and DVD with the commentary the east coast was breached, farming and By not trying to be an encyclopedia, this the map for reprinting in summer 2009. narrated by BBC Radio Norfolk’s Roy Waller - even a ghost story is featured with a guide provides a refreshing insight into what this little book has beautiful aerial images recollection of ‘Old Shuck’. One of my can so easily be taken for granted. Illustrated Fund for the future accompanied by a small information snippet. personal favourites is the fascinating story in full colour, it provides an easy to The Sustainable Development Fund supports a Also available is a sister book Sky High and film of brickmaking at Runton - with all understand guide to identification with its variety of projects that look after the Norfolk Broads, and a third publication Sky the process done by hand. clear, consise information that also includes communities and environment of the area High Suffolk Coast is due out in May 2009. The Norfolk Coast 1920s-1970s £9.99 flowering times, and where to find into the future. Over £56,000 of grants were Also due to be published this year is Norfolk available by mail order from them. awarded in 2008/09 to nine projects ranging from the air. www.archivefilmshop.co.uk or tel 01603 As a lover of the area rather than a from improving access for people with Many of Mike Page’s images have been 251744. The East Anglia Film Archive is a not- experienced naturalist I found this a great reduced mobility, to equipment purchases for used in the Norfolk Coast Partnership for-profit organisation owned and operated little guide that I could pick up time and an artist blacksmith, education projects and publications. Visit www.norfolkskyview. by the University of East Anglia. again and would happily take out with me. studies of conservation areas. The fund is flyer.co.uk to view more of his aerial images. www.eafa.org.uk Flowers of the Norfolk Coast is published available for projects in 2009/10. Sky High Norfolk Coast is published by by Norfolk Nature Guides at £7.99 Halsgrove, £4.99 ISBN 978-1-84114-830-4 FLOWERS OF THE NORFOLK COAST by (www.norfolknature.co.uk) TO FIND OUT MORE ON ANY Simon Harrap does not attempt to list or ISBN 978-0-9558579-0-4 OF THESE STORIES GO TO THE NORFOLK COAST 1920s-1970s is a describe the hundreds of flowers and plants NORFOLKCOASTAONB.ORG.UK DVD produced by the East Anglian Film that can be found around the coast but Steve Tutt is technical assistant at the Norfolk Archive. One of a series depicting a bygone describes and illustrates 77 of the more Coast Partnership NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009 NEWS UPDATE 11 Anita Fox

WHERE ARE WE NOW? Work on the new plan started in mid 2007 with background studies. Since then there have been PARTNER consultations with key stakeholders (parish councils and other local organisations) and local exhibitions. Q&A Work is now starting on the preparation of draft policies. It is expected that these will appear in Peter Frew on the a draft plan in the summer. new Hunstanton to Kelling Shoreline DO THE PUBLIC GET A SAY IN ALL THIS? Management Plan We hope you will take this opportunity to comment on the WHAT IS A SHORELINE coastal policies. The plan is an MANAGEMENT PLAN? important step in the development It sets out the policies for managing of plans for the coast. We need coastal defences on a frontage and your views. They will help to form its is supported by strategies that set final shape. The draft plans will be out how those policies are to be available at the offices of all the implemented. client authorities, the Environment Agency, North Norfolk District Seals basking: Most of England’s common seals live in the marine site. WHY DO WE NEED ONE? Council, Kings Lynn and West The background studies involved Norfolk Borough Council, Norfolk Peter Rushmer on successful years for the European Marine give us a better understanding of County Council and Natural England how our coast is behaving. It also and on their websites via links. Site, the Norfolk Coast Partnership’s sea-based partner gives us an opportunity to look into Copies will also be sent to town and the future, particularly to see how parish councils along the coast. The sea level rise will affect our coast. public will have three months to Importantly the plan indicates make their comments. where we will need to invest in coast • Three drop-in sessions will take East coast marine defences and supports our requests place in summer – details from for funding for work. 0708 506506; email: northnorfolk [email protected] or WHAT’S THE CONTEXT search shoreline management plan partnership celebrates OF THE HUNSTANTON on environment-agency.gov.uk TO KELLING PLAN? The shoreline management plan WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? or seven years The Wash and from to Sheringham was All the comments made by North Norfolk Coast Euro- FACTBOX: THE MARINE SITE… completed in 1996. It is now being individuals and organisations will be pean Marine Site Partnership • Covers an area of more than 107, 000 hectares from in reviewed with slightly changed and brought together and a final version Fhas managed the European the north, through The Wash and along the North Norfolk coast more appropriate boundaries. The of the plan will be published and Marine Site to protect it, raise aware- to . new plan will cover the frontage presented to the client authorities, ness of its exceptional importance, from just north of Hunstanton in the probably in autumn 2009. Everyone • Supports more than 2,500 common seal, 90% of England’s common and ensure its sustainable use. west to Kelling in the east. The plan will be able to see the final plan. seal population, more than 10% of the UKs threatened saltmarsh Significant successes in the overall is sponsored by the Environment After it has been accepted by the habitat, some of the best developed reefs built by the Ross worm in condition of the area have been re- Agency, Natural England, King’s clients, it will be submitted to a the UK and the largest populations of wintering waterbirds in the UK. ported, including impressive increases Lynn and West Norfolk Borough, different part of the Environment in the population of overwintering • A diverse range of activities ranging from traditional activities like North Norfolk District and Norfolk Agency for approval on behalf of waterbirds in north Norfolk and The wildfowling and baitdigging, to commercial fishing and ports, as well as County Councils. The Environment the government. Wash and numbers of breeding little tourism and recreational uses. Agency is acting as the lead tern increasing at Gibraltar Point. In www.esfjc.co.uk/ems/pages/ems.htm authority and the work is being Peter Frew is head of coastal 2007, cockle stocks were found to undertaken on behalf of the clients strategy at North Norfolk District have reached their second highest focus its efforts on some important look forward to continuing to work by consultants Royal Haskoning. Council level since records began, and mussel challenges including understanding closely together to address the out- stocks reached levels not recorded the causes for decline in certain standing issues affecting the site.” SEA LEVEL UPDATE: LATEST FIGURES since the late 1980s. species of beach breeding birds in “The experience gained from the The improved shellfish stocks some parts of the site and the declin- hard work of this group will be vital • Up to 2025 sea level on the east coast is forecast to rise by 4mm a along with fisheries management ing common seal population at in informing management of new year (less than the previous forecast of 6mm a year, but set to policies have created more sustainable moult in The Wash. marine protected areas such as those increase beyond that time frame). fisheries, and have shown that suc- Shaun Thomas, Natural England’s proposed in the Marine and Coastal • The east coast of England is lowering due to ‘post glacial cessful commercial fisheries can con- Regional Director for the East of Access Bill currently before parlia- rebound’ following the last ice age. This means sea level figures tinue to operate whilst safeguarding England said; “The Wash and north ment.” and rates of rise are not equal across the country. the wildlife interests of the site. This Norfolk coast is England’s largest Eu- • Worldwide, the average sea level is considered to have risen by has been achieved thanks to the in- ropean Marine Site and an excep- 10-20cm in the last 100 years, due to global warming. Climate volvement and enthusiasm of a wide tionally important site for marine Peter Rushmer is project manager change impacts on flooding and coastal erosion include sea level range of local people, organisations wildlife. Much has been achieved by for The Wash and North Norfolk rise and the potential increase in intensity, severity and frequency and interest groups. this partnership since the launch of Coast European Marine Site of coastal storms, and rainfall flooding. Source: DEFRA The partnership will continue to the scheme in January 2002 and we Management Scheme NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009 WILDLIFE 17

Scott Perkin An alien invasion Invasive non-native species are considered one of the greatest threats to biodiversity worldwide and are having an effect on the coast says Mike Sutton-Croft

lobally, damage caused by ranges and becoming increasingly invasive alien species dominant. This makes it even more THREE OF amounts to almost 5% of essential that we be pro-active in THE WORST Gthe world economy. In managing and monitoring non-native Britain it has been estimated that they species in the future. All three species below are cost the economy several billion There are several ways that you either already found in pounds. To help address these issues, can help prevent the further spread of the Norfolk Coast area the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership invasive alien species. The most or on the border and launched the non-native species ini- straightforward way is to choose na- likely to move into the tiative in September, which aims to tive plants for your pond. Also, if you BIODIVERSITY IN BRIEF promote and guide the control of in- are clearing weeds out of your pond, area in the near future. vasive alien species in Norfolk. then do not dispose of them in the Giant hogweed Heracleum The Norfolk Coast is an area rich wild (even if the plants in your pond Bee joins the spots mantegazzianum – Native to the Caucasus in native biodiversity. However, it has are native, invasive alien species could mountains, this plant looks similar to native Thrilling news came in last summer of not escaped the insidious invasion of have been carried into the pond on hogweed but can grow up to 5 metres in a rare 'cuckoo' bumblebee sighted at alien species. Many of these species waterfowl and will ‘hitchhike’ into height. It was introduced to Britain in 1893 Bog National Nature were introduced as ornamental plants the wider environment). You can also as an ornamental plant and escaped into Reserve. in Victorian times, with little consid- help by taking part in the upcoming the wild shortly after. The plant forms dense Senior reserve manager Ash eration as to their potential impacts Natural Connections survey of inva- colonies that suppress the growth of native Murray, of Natural England, spotted on the wider environment. One such sive non-native species being run by plants and is covered in small hairs the red-tailed cuckoo bumblebee plant, Japanese knotweed, can add the Norfolk Wildlife Trust (visit containing poisonous sap that causes (Bombus rupestris) amongst a colony of more common red-tailed tens of thousands of pounds to the www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/nat- Olaf Booy painful blistering and severe skin irritation. cost of developing a site. If the plant uralconnections). bumblebees and reported his find to is not adequately removed, then it can The non-native species initiative is Australian swamp stonecrop Crassula the Norfolk Biodiversity Information – Australian swamp stonecrop cause damage to buildings and other also holding a ‘day of action’ across helmsii Service (NBIS). was first introduced to Britain in 1911 hard structures; the plant has fre- the county on July 5. Groups of vol- It was just one of the many from Tasmania as an oxygenating pond pieces of information that the quently been observed growing unteers will be working at sites plant. The plant grows throughout the through tarmac! The cost of eradicat- throughout Norfolk, cutting, pulling service receives as it works to year and if left un-checked forms a dense collect, manage and interpret ing Japanese knotweed nationally has and digging to help remove these in- mat of vegetation, choking out native recently been estimated to be £1.56 vaders from the worst affected sites. wildlife data, providing a biodiversity plants and making the habitat unsuitable information service for Norfolk. billion. Invasive animals are also hav- For more information on the event, for invertebrates and fish. This species is With their species and habitat ing significant impacts. Populations of invasive non-native species and the Luxford Keith extremely difficult to control. Mechanical databases and comprehensive hi-tech the native water vole have plummeted work of the Norfolk non-native control is almost impossible as tiny fragments produced by cutting and mapping capability, the service over recent decades. Much of this re- species initiative, please visit tearing can re-grow, making the infestation even worse. Herbicides are operates through a partnership of duction in population size has been www.norfolkbiodiversity.org/nonna- effective but are costly and cause considerable damage to other species. organisations and is hosted by attributed to predation by the Amer- tivespecies or e-mail me – North American signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus (pictured above) – Norfolk County Council. ican mink, which was introduced to [email protected]. NBIS Biological Records Officer Pat Britain to farm for fur in the 1920s. The signal crayfish was introduced to Britain for food in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Similar in appearance to a small lobster, this species has pushed Lorber was delighted with the bumble Things are not likely to get any populations of our native white-clawed crayfish to the brink of extinction in bee record as this species has been easier in the future. Increased global Mike Sutton-Croft is Norfolk many areas. It carries a fungal disease called crayfish plague which is fatal to seen very infrequently in Norfolk in non-native species initiative trade and travel mean that non-native the white-clawed crayfish but has no effect on the American signal crayfish. recent times. The queen cuckoo species are being introduced at an un- coordinator, Norfolk Biodiversity There is a growing consensus that the only effective way to conserve the bumblebee kills the queen of the host precedented rate. Climate change will Partnership. The initiative is backed white-clawed crayfish is to move it to, or preserve it in, ‘ark’ sites and prevent bumblebee nest, depositing her own also have an effect; it is expected that by Natural England, Broads the introduction of signal crayfish to these areas. The abundant chalk stream eggs there instead, which are tended some non-native species already living Authority, Norfolk County Council, habitats found in the Norfolk Coast area are considered to be ideal candidate by the host worker bees. in Britain, which have not been prob- Environment Agency and the Water areas for the preservation of the white-clawed crayfish. Although abundant in Victorian lematic in the past, will expand their Management Alliance. times, like many other bumblebee species pressures from intensive agriculture have led to wholesale habitat features that wild trout declines over the past 70 years. need to fulfil their life cycle re- Habitat restoration at Dersingham, Incredible journey thanks to many volunteers, has re- quirements. Often this habitat sup- established large areas of flower-rich ports a wide range of other species Like salmon, trout are capable of moving from salt to fresh water. But the sea trout heathland habitat which is good news some of which are important in of north Norfolk have all but disappeared from its rivers. Simon Johnson explains for all bumblebees. terms of their contribution to local Find out more about NBIS at how things are set to change. biodiversity. www.nbis.org.uk These include otter, watervole, Su Waldron, NBIS In December 2008 an ambitious thusiasm behind the project. These bullhead, lamprey and native cray- project partnership was include the River Glaven Conserva- fish. The project is also working Cetacean call formed with the aim of tion Group, Lord Coke of the with Natural England Catchment seeing this iconic fish Holkham Estate, Lord Buxton on the Sensitive Farming Officers to A survey into porpoises, dolphins and return to the Glaven, through to individual ripar- tackle siltation problems. Excessive whales along the coast is still going Stiffkey, and Burn ian owners and fishermen. amounts of silt can smother gravel on - so keep your eyes peeled when you're looking out to sea or aboard rivers of north Nor- At this stage there are thought to shallows used as spawning areas, a boat. folk. be two major factors limiting sea which in-turn leads to poor sur- Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership The partnership trout populations in north Norfolk vival of juvenile trout. are seeking recordings of includes representa- Rivers: barriers to migration and WTT will be the co-ordinating sightings to give them a better tives from the Wild habitat quality. Barriers include tidal project partner and has produced a understanding of the status and Trout Trust, Envi- sluices, mills and weirs. On many draft implementation plan. distribution of marine mammals here, ronment Agency, rivers habitat is in a less than perfect Updates at www.wildtrout.org and help plan conservation action. Natural England and state. Survey cards are available at Norfolk Wildlife For many decades unsustainable the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Cley Trust. But most importantly local in- land drainage and maintenance oper- Simon Johnson is director of the centre, the Norfolk Coast Partnership terests are really throwing their en- ations have removed many of the Wild Trout Trust office in Fakenham, or online from norfolkbiodiversity.org 18 OUT & ABOUT NORFOLK COAST GUARDIAN 2009

Sea safety tips Enjoy the sea and beach, but stay safe, says the RNLI Sea • Wear a lifejacket • Check your engine and fuel • Tell others where you’re going • Carry some means of calling for help • Keep an eye on weather and tides • For more info visit www.rnli.org.uk/seasafety Beach • Always swim at a lifeguarded beach, between the red and yellow flags • Never use inflatables in strong winds or rough seas • Check tide times before you go • If you get into trouble, stick your hand in the air and shout

© Natural England. Andy Tryner © Natural for help Enjoying the Norfolk Coast Path near Thornham. • If you see someone else in trouble, tell a lifeguard. If you you will probably need to factor in can’t see a lifeguard, call 999 stopping to go “wow look at that or 112 and ask for the Coast view!” So the walk plan could look guard. There and back again • For more info visit something like this: 09.00 Leave Wells Quay. www.rnli.org.uk/beachsafety Tim Lidstone-Scott with a step-by-step guide to 1 Choose your destination Follow the Norfolk Coast Path to The Royal National Lifeboat using the bus to tailor-make your own circular walk Select your favourite bit of the coast Staithe Institution (RNLI) charity provides or your favourite pub and base your 12.00 Arrive at The Hero pub for a 24-hour search and rescue service he Norfolk Coast fantastic way of getting about; trip around this. a much needed lunch around the coast, thanks to donations. RNLI lifeboats are crewed by highly- Path National Trail is a combining the two gives an Catch the Coasthopper back to trained volunteers, most of whom brilliant way of enjoying experience par excellence. So, 2 Calculate your speed Wells at 13.35 (but check the latest have a full-time job but give up their the area and the how do you put together a day To plan your trip you do need to times either at the bus stop or better time to help save lives at sea. T RNLI lifeboat stations in North Coasthopper bus service is a out on the coast? know how fast you walk. Everyone still the timetables booklet which you will have a slightly different walking carry with you!) Norfolk are based at Hunstanton, speed. However most recreational If you fancy making a full day of Wells, Sheringham, Cromer and Hunstanton Happisburgh. Come rain or shine, on Norfolk Coast Path walking will vary between two and it why not add on the 3.9 miles to every day of the year, the charity’s 2.7 Holme Beach three miles per hour so if to start Burnham Deepdale. This will take volunteer crews are ready to launch 6.0 3.3 Thornham with you work on 2.5 miles per about 1.5 hours (distance of 3.9 lifeboats in response to emergencies 10.0 7.3 4.0 Brancaster hour on the gentle landscape of the divided by walk speed of 2.5). If you at sea. RNLI lifeguards are on duty at Sheringham, Cromer East, Cromer 12.2 9.5 6.2 2.2 Burnham Deepdale coast it is not going to be far out. leave the Hero at 13.30 you should be at Deepdale Café in time for af- West, Mundesley and 16.1 13.4 10.1 6.1 3.9 Burnham Overy Staithe 3 Calculate your distance ternoon tea! Then catch the bus back beaches. 19.9 17.2 13.9 9.9 7.7 3.8 Holkham Gap With the mileage chart (left). to Wells. 22.7 20.0 16.7 12.7 10.5 6.6 2.8 Wells 25.9 23.2 19.9 15.9 13.7 9.8 6.0 3.2 Stiffkey 4 Calculate your time 5 Enjoy your day! 28.7 26.0 22.7 18.7 16.5 12.6 8.8 6.0 2.8 Divide the distance by 2.5 and you And let us know how you got on… get the time it takes to walk. Nationaltrail.org.uk 30.2 27.5 24.2 20.2 18.0 14.1 10.3 7.5 4.3 1.5 Blakeney For example, to walk the 7 (6.6 to 32.8 30.1 26.8 22.8 20.6 16.7 12.9 10.1 6.9 4.1 2.6 Cley be exact) miles between Wells and Tim Lidstone-Scott is the Norfolk 38.4 35.7 32.4 28.4 26.2 22.3 18.5 15.7 12.5 9.7 8.2 5.6 Weybourne Burnham Overy Staithe, for exam- Coast Path and Peddars Way 41.5 38.8 35.5 31.5 29.3 25.4 21.6 18.8 15.6 12.8 11.3 8.7 3.1 Sheringham ple, will take 2.8 hours. 2.8 or 2 hours National Trail manager 44.1 41.4 38.1 34.1 31.9 28.0 24.2 21.4 18.2 15.4 13.9 11.3 5.7 2.6 Roman Camp (Runton) 48 minutes can be rounded up to 3 47.0 44.3 41.0 37.0 34.8 30.9 27.1 24.3 21.1 18.3 16.8 14.2 8.6 5.5 2.9 Cromer hours. This gives about ten minutes Coasthopper information from

of stopping time and on this coast 01553 776980 or coasthopper.co.uk Nicolas Leach