Showing posts with label East Coast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label East Coast. Show all posts

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Photo Post: Adventures on the east coast - smugglers, caves and tunnels!

My explorations and adventures along the east coast continue. This time, we explored Cove, which is a teeny tiny hamlet of about ten or fifteen houses perched on the cliff edge. This part of the coast consists of very high sandstone and mudstone cliffs which drop sheer down to the rocks and sea below. In places, rivers have cut down through the sandstone, creating a valley which opens up to the sea. Pease Bay is one such place, with a beautiful strip of white sand. Once a small village, it's now overrun with caravans, and is frightfully Butlins-esque, complete with the "Recreation Hall", where they have shows, songs and dances every night, with a disco for the kids and karaoke for the teenagers. I admit, I was a bit intimidated when we stopped there for a bathroom break before heading home.

In contrast to places like Pease Bay (which is still very beautiful and you should still visit it), there are places like Cove. At Cove, there's no river to cut down through the sandstone. Instead, part of the cliff has slumped down, leaving a half-moon bay, bounded on one side by the continuing line of cliffs, while on the other a line of harder sandstone extends into the sea, parallel with the cliffs. The whole bay has been enclosed by walls, creating a very secluded harbour:

Cove from above

Cove is not the sort of place one could possibly find caravans.