Bridgwater Bay
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Bridgwater Bay is on the Bristol Channel, Template:Convert north of Bridgwater in Somerset, England at the mouth of the River Parrett and the end of the River Parrett Trail. It stretches from Minehead at the southwestern end of the bay to Brean Down in the north. The area consists of large areas of mudflats, saltmarsh, sandflats and shingle ridges, some of which are vegetated. It has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering an area of Template:Convert<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> since 1989,<ref name="sssicitation">Template:Cite web</ref> and is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.<ref name="NNR">Template:Cite web</ref> The risks to wildlife are highlighted in the local Oil Spill Contingency Plan.<ref name=contingencyplan>Template:Cite web</ref>
Several rivers, including the Parrett, Brue and Washford, drain into the bay. Man-made drainage ditches from the Somerset Levels, including the River Huntspill, also run into the bay. The mud flats provide a habitat for a wide range of flora and fauna. These include some nationally rare plants, beetles and snails. It is particularly important for overwintering waders and wildfowl, with approximately 190 species recorded including Eurasian whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus), black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), dunlin (Calidris alpina) and wigeon (Anas penelope). Fishing has taken place using shallow boats, known as flatners, and fixed wooden structures for hundreds of years. It was also the last site in England used for 'mudhorse fishing'. There are several small harbours along the coast.
The low-lying areas of the bay have been subject to flooding, including the Bristol Channel floods of 1607 and many times since particularly around the Steart Peninsula. In response to this threat sea walls have been built at several points including at Burnham-on-Sea, Berrow and Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast. The extensive mud flats and high tidal range have been the cause of several drownings and rescue services are now provided by the Burnham Area Rescue Boat.
Geography
Bridgwater Bay forms a portion of the coastline of Somerset on the southern side of the Bristol Channel stretching from the Quantock Hills at the south western end to Brean Down at the northern end. Around the coastline is a wave-cut platform of Jurassic Blue Lias. Several rivers flow into the bay, the main ones being the Parrett, Brue and Washford, along with the man-made River Huntspill. Major features and settlements along the coastline, running from north east to south west, include: Brean, Berrow, Burnham on Sea, the mouth of the River Parrett, the Steart Peninsula, Lilstock, East Quantoxhead and Watchet. Sand dunes at Berrow and a shingle ridge at Steart have been created by winds blowing from the west. On the beach near Stogursey are the remains of a submerged forest dated to 2500 BC.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> - 6500 BC.<ref name="coastasess">Template:Cite web</ref>
Brean Down is a promontory marking the eastern end of the bay. Made of carboniferous limestone, it is a continuation of the Mendip Hills, and two further continuations are the small islands of Steep Holm and Flat Holm. It is owned by the National Trust, and is rich in wildlife, history and archaeology, as well as being a Site of Special Scientific Interest in its own right.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is bounded by steep cliffs and, at its seaward point, Brean Down Fort built in 1865 and then re-armed in the Second World War. There is evidence of an Iron Age hill fort, prehistoric barrows, field systems<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and a pagan shrine. The shrine dating from pre-Roman times<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> was re-established as a Romano-Celtic style temple in the mid-4th century and probably succeeded by a small late-4th century Christian oratory.<ref name="AOS">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1897, following wireless transmissions from Lavernock Point in Wales to Flat Holm, Guglielmo Marconi moved his equipment to Brean Down and set a new distance record for wireless transmission.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
At low tide large parts of the bay become mud flats Template:Convert wide, due to the tidal range of Template:Convert,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> second only to the Bay of Fundy in Eastern Canada.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The intertidal mud flats are, as a result, potentially dangerous and it is not uncommon for the emergency services to mount rescue operations on them. Following the death of Lelaina Hall off Berrow in 2002, a local fund raising campaign succeeded in purchasing a Swedish-built BBV6 rescue hovercraft.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The hovercraft is operated by Burnham Area Rescue Boat (BARB) in Burnham-on-Sea.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Much of the coastline within the western part of the reserve is accessible via a waymarked public footpath,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the South West Coast Path begins at Minehead at the western end of the bay. The tidal range holds potential for energy generation and plans for a tidal barrage in the bay have been considered.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hinkley Point is a headland extending into Bridgwater Bay Template:Convert west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett. The landscape of Hinkley Point is dominated by two nuclear power stations: Hinkley Point A - Magnox (now closed) and Hinkley Point B - AGR. A third, twin-unit European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) reactor is under construction, and will become Hinkley Point C.<ref name="new dawn for Uk nuclear power">Template:Cite web</ref>
Man-made sea defenses include a sea wall at Burnham-on-Sea and a Template:Convert section south from Brean Down. There are also sand dune belts which are managed for their protective function and as a wildlife habitat.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are some concerns that the proposed Severn Barrage could leave some sites high and dry, and others permanently under water.<ref name="opencountry"/> The Steart Peninsula has flooded many times during the last millennium. The most severe recent floods occurred in 1981. By 1997, a combination of coastal erosion, sea level rise and wave action had made some of the defences distinctly fragile and at risk from failure. As a result, in 2002 The Environment Agency produced the Stolford to Combwich Coastal Defence Strategy Study to examine options for the future.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The foreshore at Watchet, which lies at the mouth of the Washford River, and on the edge of Exmoor National Park, is rocky, but has a small harbour. The cliffs between Watchet and Blue Anchor show a distinct pale, greenish blue colour, resulting from the coloured alabaster found there. The name "Watchet" or "Watchet Blue" was used in the 16th century to denote this colour.<ref name="curio">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=ougs>Template:Cite web</ref>
East Quantoxhead used to have a small harbour which brought in limestone for local limekilns and exported alabaster. It is thought that it was also used for smuggling.<ref name="somharbours">Template:Cite book</ref>
At Kilve are the remains of a red brick retort, built in 1924, when it was discovered that the shale found in the cliffs was rich in oil. The beach is part of the Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). Along this coast the cliffs are layered with compressed strata of oil-bearing shale and blue, yellow and brown lias embedded with fossils. In 1924 Forbes-Leslie founded the Shaline Company to exploit them. This retort house is thought to be the first structure erected here for the conversion of shale to oil but the company was unable to raise sufficient capital and this is now all that remains of the anticipated Somerset oil boom.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Fishing
The intertidal mud flats of the bay have a long history of use for fishing, with structures on Stert Flats being dated by dendrochronological analysis to between 932 and 966.<ref name="coastasess"/> It is the last site in England used for 'mudhorse fishing' in which a wooden sledge is propelled across the mudflats to collect fish from nets.<ref name="opencountry">Template:Cite web</ref> Catches include: Thinlip mullet,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> plaice, dogfish, cuttlefish, skate, shrimp, prawns, sea bass, and sole.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Watchet Boat Museum displays the unusual local flatner boats which were used for fishing in the bay, along with associated artefacts.<ref name=wsrwa>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ecology
At low tide extensive areas of mudflats (the Steart and the Berrow Flats) are exposed, providing important feeding and overwintering grounds for waders (shorebirds). Invertebrate fauna including six nationally rare species and eighteen nationally scarce species can be found in the ditches and ponds around the shores.<ref name="sssicitation"/> Consequently, Bridgwater Bay is a national nature reserve, and is managed by Natural England.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some of the potential risks to wildlife are highlighted in the local Oil Spill Contingency Plan.<ref name=contingencyplan/>
Brean Down, Berrow Dunes and Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) are included in the national nature reserve<ref name="sssicitation"/> which is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is also a Nature Conservation Review Grade 1* site, meaning it is included in Derek Ratcliffe's book listing the most important places for nature conservation in Great Britain.<ref name="sssicitation"/>
Flora
Common cord-grass (Spartina anglica) was planted in the area in the 1990s. It can now be found on surrounding marshes where it has invaded the fronting mudflats.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Spartina is generally shorter in the bay than at other sites due to the high tides and the turbidity of the water, reaching around Template:Convert as opposed to Template:Convert elsewhere.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> On higher ground common saltmarsh-grass (Puccinellia maritima) can be found along with sea aster (Aster tripolium). Where the land is ungrazed, common reed (Phragmites australis) often forms a zone above the sea aster. Where the upper marsh is grazed by cattle red fescue (Festuca rubra) and creeping bent (Agrostis stolonifera) are found. The area of marsh furthest from the sea supports Sea couch (Agropyron pungens) and sea club-rush (Scirpus maritimus).<ref name="sssicitation"/>
The nationally scarce bulbous foxtail (Alopecurus bulbosus), slender hare's-ear (Bupleurum tenuissimum) and sea barley (Hordeum marinum) are grazed by sheep on the marshes around the bay. Around Stert Island the nationally rare compact brome (Bromus madritensis) and nationally scarce Ray's knotgrass (Polygonum oxyspermum) can be found.<ref name="sssicitation"/><ref name="NNR"/>
The ditches are populated with aquatic and bankside plant species. These include the nationally restricted rootless duckweed (Wolffia arrhiza). Other uncommon species such as frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae) and water fern (Azolla filiculoides) can also be found. The nationally restricted brackish water-crowfoot (Ranunculus baudotii) and sea clubrush (Scirpus maritimus) indicate the slightly brackish nature of the water.<ref name="sssicitation"/>
Brean Down is a site for the nationally rare white rock-rose (Helianthemum apenninum), which occurs in abundance on the upper reaches of the grassy south-facing slopes.<ref name="Twist">Twist, Colin, Rare Plants in Great Britain - a site guide</ref> Some of the broomrapes growing near Bridgwater Bay, which were originally thought to be oxtongue broomrape (Orobanche artemisiae-campestriae), are now no longer believed to be this species, but atypical specimens of ivy broomrape (Orobanche hederae)<ref name=green>Green, Ian, Peter Green and Geraldine Crouch The Atlas Flora of Somerset</ref> Other plants on the southern slopes include the Somerset hair grass, wild thyme, horseshoe vetch and birds-foot-trefoil.<ref name=green/> The northern side is dominated by bracken, bramble, privet, hawthorn, cowslips and bell heather.<ref name=green/>
Fauna
Five Red Data Book invertebrate species have been recorded in the area. These include: soldier flies Odontomyia ornata and Stratiomys singularior, hover fly Lejops vittata, the great silver water beetle (Hydrophilus piceus), and the water beetle Hydrovatus clypealis. Nationally scarce species include the aquatic snail Gyraulus laevis, the hairy dragonfly (Brachytron pratense), and the ladybird Coccidula scutellata.<ref name="sssicitation"/>
Over 190 species of birds have been identified near the bay, some of which use it as a feeding ground during their migrations. Waders and wildfowl often over-winter on the reserve.<ref name="NNR"/> The populations of Eurasian whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) and black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa) are internationally important. Significant populations of dunlin (Calidris alpina) and wigeon (Anas penelope) also frequent the bay.<ref name=steartnnr/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="sssicitation"/><ref name="NNR"/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In early winter the wigeon select Puccinellia maritima in preference to Agrostis stolonifera and Festuca rubra.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Avocets have become regular autumn and winter visitors to the area in recent years, favouring the lower reaches of the River Parrett,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=steartnnr/> and, for the first time in over 50 years, bred on the reserve in 2012.<ref name="NNR"/>
Rare vagrant species spotted in the area include lesser yellowlegs, white-rumped sandpiper, Pallid Harrier (in spring) and Richard's pipit (in autumn).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=steartnnr>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The birds seen on Brean Down include peregrine falcon, western jackdaw, kestrel, collared and stock doves, common whitethroat, linnet, stonechat, dunnock and rock pipit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There are also several species of butterfly, including chalkhill blue, dark green fritillary, meadow brown, marbled white, small heath, and common blue.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
References
External links
- Pages with broken file links
- Bays of Somerset
- National nature reserves in Somerset
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset
- Ramsar sites in England
- Nature Conservation Review sites
- Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1989
- Wetland Sites of Special Scientific Interest
- Natural regions of England
- Birdwatching sites in England