Description: This huge arc of pebbles and shingle stretches for well over 20 miles, from Portland Bill in the south, around the majestic sweep of Lyme Bay to Lyme Regis in the west and has to be one of the UK’s foremost natural wonders. In places the bank is in excess of 12 meters high and is never less than 50 meters wide. At the Portland end, the pebbles are huge, many the size of a large ham and weighing several kilos. Gradually, the stones lessen in size the further west you travel until at West Bay, they vary from smallish pebbles of an inch or so to fine shingle. This huge expanse of beach, coupled with the jaw dropping cliffs of the Jurassic coastline here, make this an unforgettable sight and of course, with the on-going natural cliff erosion, one that is forever changing.
The composition of the beach is predominantly flint, chert, quartzite, granite, porphyry, and limestone and all the pebbles, regardless of size are beautifully rounded. These all sit on top of the original sand beach that now lies beneath low water mark. The origins of the beach have caused argument and controversy over the centuries. In 1853, it was suggested that it had been built from gravel driven alongshore by waves originating to the west of Lyme Bay. The grading of pebbles suggested some form of motion along the shoreline but neither of these theories could satisfactorily explain the phenomenon. The waves and winds that hit the beach do so at right angles and the pebbles could only be moved by by exceptionally strong waves breaking upon the beach.
The generally accepted theory today is that since the last Ice Age, some 10,000 years ago, the sea level has risen during which time, ancient beaches and gravels were driven by the waves which resulted in all the finer sands and silts being washed out and causing the pebbles to round off. Chesil beach is the accumulation of this action, with the existing materials too heavy to be moved by anything other than wave action.
Chesil Beach has always presented hazards for sailing ships. Even on fine days, there is always a strong south-westerly wind that would drive a sailing ship onto the shore, should it venture too close. The immediate offshore area is littered with wrecks, many caused deliberately by so called “wreckers” who would light fires or lamps in bad weather to trick passing ships into believing a safe haven beckoned in times of heavy weather. The ships would founder on the beach and the wreckers would reap their reward by way of salvage rights.
Due to the steep shelf all the way along the beach and the extraordinarily strong undertow which is exacerbated by the large pebbles, many swimmers have also met their fate along this coastline and few summer seasons pass without a tragic tale to tell when they disregard the warning flags and take to the water. Caution is advised…
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