Coastal Erosion

A walk along the north of the bay this week showed the erosion so far this winter.








A fresh collapse, by Sheps Hollow

Stay clear of the base of cliffs

In a coastal or maritime emergency 999 Coastguard.

The other side of the Landslip

Round the other end of the path at the Zig Zag. What is not known is what is happening at the top and underneath the slip and needs assessing before any possible clearance.

This is the main reason the path has been closed for the time being and the diversion of South West Coast Path put in place.

Please don't ignore the closures anywhere along the coastline. It is done to ensure the safety of the public and prevent incident like at Highcliffe yesterday.

Landslip warning

If you saw this sign , what would you do?

Turn back and follow the instructions or ask the Coastguard patrol if its safe to carry on ?

Then despite the warning sign and words of advice from the Coastguard you choose to ignore and carry on in the hope you and your family don't get hurt.

Of course it's only advice until an accident occurs and then...........







This is a recent fall and the Country Park wardens asked if the area could be taped off until another survey could be carried out on Monday.





We taped the area off at the request of the wardens , it's there for a reason not to be ignored. Whilst the slip has occurred there may be further movement which could put you and others at risk.





Please take notice of signs, tape and barriers - it's there to protect you ,not to spoil your day.

We can confirm this is in the Zig Zag area of Durlston.

In an Coastal or Maritime Emergency - 999 Coastguard

Stabilisation Work start

Walkers on Swanage Beach may have noticed some work started on the beach in the last few days.






This ramp is being built to allow access to the beach and allow stabilisation work under the Pines Hotel to start.

The Town Council have allowed contractors access on to the main beach to allow machinery access to carry out this important work.

There are more details on the Town Council website which gives the contact details of the contractors should the public have any questions or concerns.

A similar ramp will be built under the pines, today Coastguards visited the contractors to look at the site.




Machinery will be moving about during low tides and the public are being urged to observe the safety notices.

There will be occasions on certain tides that the beach will be cut off, please check the tide and stay off the ramps.

In an emergency call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

Be aware of cliff falls

After a few months of dry weather, a few small cliff falls were discovered today.







Please remember not to sit directly under a cliff.

Never try to climb a cliff

Don't dig into the cliff

Be aware of the tide

In an Emergency dial 999 ask for Coastguard and state clearly where you are .

Slipwatch

The beach has recently been cleared of the concrete, so we haven't seen the hut on the left for a while.

Cliff Movement

Another view of the movement of concrete up at the north end of the bay.

The Coastguard is working with the local councils monitoring the situation. There are plans to remove this concrete but not at the moment due to is not being stable.

Our advice is to keep off the concrete.

We have also had reports of a large rock fall near to Anvil Point, we will be investigating that as soon as we can.

Cliff update

North Beach Swanage yesterday, advice on land slides and cliff falls can be found on the Dorset For You website.

In an emergency dial 999 and ask for the COASTGUARD.

Heavy rain

Picture kindly sent in by Jackie Lane showing the steps at Sheps Hollow during recent heavy rain.

Land slip area monitored

With water levels rising and stormy conditions, Coastguard patrols are monitoring the cliffs which suffered from major slips last year.




The risk of being cut off by the tide remains high.

The landslips - nearly a year on

Its hard to believe the landslips at the north end of the bay were nearly a year ago.





Thankfully we haven't had the heavy rain we saw last year however it doesn't mean things have stopped.

After the incident we sat down with several partner agencies to ensure a clear understanding of everyone's roles if and when these types of incidents happen again.
Move on 11 months and after several meetings and workshops with the public a lot has happened.

Warning signs,
Gyones numbered to identify areas quicker,
Part of the gyones removed to ensure safer access,
Emergency policy covering the whole county in place,
Emergency sign storage set up, one in Swanage,
Partnership working with Dorset Fire and Rescue,
Long term signage designed,
Monitoring system in place,
Expert reports on the cliffs from Ocean Bay to Sheps Hollow,
Clearance plan,
Study on Japanese Knot Weed,
Owners of beach huts identified and groups formed to work together for the future.

Last week there was a meeting of the Swanage Coastal Forum which some of the above points where highlighted.

A few reports are well worth reading

Instability report by the Environment Agency engineer.

An experts report, Professor Roger Moore

The following Agencies have been working together to ensure a safer beach.

Maritime & Coastguard Agency, Environment Agency, Dorset County Council, Purbeck District Council, Swanage Town Council, LiCCo, National Trust and the Swanage Coastal Forum.

Landslip drop in meeting

Poole Team play in our mud

The chaps from Poole popped over yesterday to have a look at our mud and Landslip.

The last few days weather has again changed things down on the cliff with more washed down. The beach has also changed shape due to the easterly winds we have had for a few weeks.

The Poole team are a full mud rescue team and in theory would be tasked to assist us with anyone trapped until the Agency has reviewed our status in this area.

So we decided to have a little practice, wearing a dry suit and special boots, our man from Poole had a walk around the slip to show us how it all works. Yes it's still very soft and if we get more rain the risk of getting trapped increases.

Please stay out of the mud and certainly do not carry out your own tests on the mud, leave that one to us.

Leave footprints in the sand......not the mud!

A recent patrol found these worrying footprints.   Despite warnings people are ignoring our advice and risking themselves and others.

 

These are not footpaths but mud slips

 

 

We now have the new warning signs in place thanks to the Town Council, these replace the paper signs that have been up since Christmas.

THE BEACH IS OPEN but please take care around the landslips and stay clear.  We are about to have Spring tides (Higher Tides) and add in an Easterly wind and the risk of being cut off increases.

Enjoy the area but we would prefer you did it without your local Coastguard having to come and dig you out.

North Beach Landslip drop in session

"It's why it's taped off sir"

The words of our new recruit Kyle this afternoon when out with the Station Officer looking at the Landslip.

Just as we got down on the beach by Sheps Hollow, there further up the beach was a gent walking towards the taped off area, surely not we thought as we quickened the pace.

Too late, over the tape, ignoring the warning signs he tries to walk up over the mud slip and.........sinks.

A member of public in front of us rushes to help the male and just as we arrived we help a rather muddy gent back onto the beach.

"It's why it's taped off sir", says Kyle looking at the man covered just short of his knees in mud as the Station Officer is on the phone to the Operations Room in Weymouth.

Looking rather shocked at his near miss the 80 year old male from Middlesex realises he stepped over Police tape and missed the highly visible warning signs.

Thankfully yet again the out come was just one pair of very muddy boots and embarrassment that he had become another Government Statistic.

Not quite what Kyle was expecting on his 1st trip out either, this is the second person in just over a week to get stuck at the same location.

More Mud Incidents

Sadly our incident on Friday was not the only one, with incidents at Lulworth and Chapmans Pool over the weekend.

Dorset mud incidents

With the weather slightly drier, it appears people have been going out but sadly ignoring the safety signs or just not paying attention to their surroundings.

We make no apology for repeating the safety advice as incidents are still occurring, we want visitors and the community to enjoy our beach but stay safe.

Mud Rescue Coastguard and Fire Service Joint Rescue

The team were this afternoon tasked to the landslip to the north of Swanage Bay to rescue a man who was stuck waist deep in the mud. Rather than climb over the groynes he took it upon himself to walk across the mud.

Dorset Fire and Rescue (Swanage Station) provided some of expertise and muscle whilst the man was pulled to safety. We are advised that 7, yes 7 fire appliances were initially tasked to this call out. The Police also attended.

... work out for yourself the cost of this rescue! 7 fire trucks, a Coastguard Team and 3 police officers all for the rescue of a person.  Whilst it seems a lot of people, each are required to provide a level of safety to each other and the public looking on.

Whilst in might look safe, the mud is actually really deep in places 4-6ft+ and there is a VERY real risk to life, especially to children. Often the slips dry and form a crust this allows people to walk a certain way across the mud until they fall through the crust.

Please, please stay away from the slips.

Check out Dorset Fire and Rescue on Facebook.



The team were later called to an incident on the pier which was successfully resolved, thanks to Swanage Lifeboat for being ready to assist.

Location:Swanage Bay

Eric what's that in the sand

Whilst checking the Landslip on Saturday, Eric and I had a heart stopping moment when we suddenly spotted this in the mud.

Over the years we have dealt with a few incidents of ordnance found on the beach and with the history of the north end of the beach there could always be the chance of an item turning up.

Thankfully on a slightly closer inspection it turned out to be an old pipe but we urge anyone who finds any suspicious to dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

Fresh Falls

 

Yesterdays patrol went and checked the latest on the beach.  We haven't been aware (until this week) how many people and organisations have been using the site to monitor events so to ensure the  safety of others we will be continuing to post photos so others don't put themselves at risk. 

 

We normally try and go down at low water, and stay away from the piles of mud and concrete that are falling.  Its all very active still with a lot of water pouring our the bottom. 

 

A snap shot of an active slip in progress.  Questions being asked what can be done and this is where it gets tricky.  This is private property, the councils have an obligation for sea defences, these are still in place and its not the sea that has caused the landslip.  This is a failure in the cliff caused by land drainage issues over many years.

 

Another question is when will this be cleared up, well at the moment there are no plans, we understand this is a natural process and removing this "toe" would just bring more of the cliff down above. 

 

 

The mud slick is getting larger and there is evidence that in the last couple of days someone has tried walking on this and got stuck.

 

Someone phoned Portland Coastguard yesterday and stated that at certain states of the tide its very hazardous down there and their partner had nearly got stuck, whether this was related to the footprints we don't know.

 

Please do take the advice we have been giving from December, keep clear of the slump,