Monday, March 17, 2014

Winter Storms

We had a bad (ie cold and snowy and unrelenting) winter in the US, but the UK had its own kind of terrible winter.  From mid December until at least the end of February, there were terrific storms - high winds, torrential rains, heavy seas and catastrophic coastal flooding.  Brighton is built mostly on hills and much of the beach is divided from the town by cliffs, so flooding wasn't as bad in Brighton and Hove as in towns to the east and west.  However....

A day or two after we arrived, the COG and I did our usual walk from our flat to Rottingdean along the Under Cliff walk.   You can see in the first picture that there is a 20 foot or so sea wall between the beach and the walkway. And then another chalk cliff as high or higher above the walkway.



Here's a picture of how the walkway looks now.  Usually it's completely clear - all those dark rocks on the walk and on the side, were cast up by high wind and heavy seas. It's amazing to think of the power of a storm (or repeated storms) that could do that. 


Finally, for no reason other than that I love it, here is another picture of the plant growth on the chalk cliffs that forms a nice picture of a happy terrier. Do you see it?




1 comment:

Kate said...

I've read about the huge waves hitting the coasts of Ireland and England. Quite astonishing to see the evidence of just how big!

Yes, I see the happy terrier.