On Friday, P and I took a boat trip (another birthday present); but this wasn’t any old boat trip – it was a boat trip around the spectacular Jurassic coastline, which is a unique and special place. We walked down to the sea front (just four minutes from home) to catch the boat and then we travelled through time – through 185 million years of the Earth’s history to be exact.

The rocks have been tilted under the sea in places so the rocks are resting on progressively older strata (250 million years in age) – this made the boat trip a journey through time as we observed the constantly changing coastline of England’s only Natural World Heritage Site.

From Sidmouth we sailed past Weston Mouth, then Branscombe – and around the wreck of the Napoli, then on to the Beer Quarry Caves and Hooken landslide towards Beer itself. We then continued on to Seaton, we passed the Bindon landslide and sailed along the National Nature reserve beach, past Pinhay Bay and ended up at the coastline of Lyme Regis, before returning to Sidmouth.  It was utterly spectacular. It was a bit cloudy on the way so most of the pics were taken on the return trip when the sun had come out to play with us!

Take a look at a few of the pics (the add image button has been playing up so some of the photos had to be medium sized before the system would let me display them! Grrrr!):

A nice cool drink while waiting for the boat to arrive at our favourite sea-front watering hole.

What’ll you have to drink?

A 30 second stroll down to the sea-front for 12.30 midday

 

Just a few minutes to study the map before the boat arrives

 Here it comes:

Ready to embark? Helpful staff and refreshments on board!

 

This is the coastline we’re sailing round: Triassic rocks formed in baking deserts 250 million years ago.

 

Do you remember that walk we did a few weeks back? It was along the coastal path at the top of these same cliffs! We walked over the 3 hills you can see here (no wonder we were tired!!!)

 Below: Where two tides meet – the line of colour in the water is created by one tide going one way and another tide going a different way.

Approaching the Chalk cliffs at Beer, a mere 90 million years old. The chalk cliffs appear to be in the wrong place because a landslide caused them to drop down a level. The combination of impermeable clays and porous sandstones and chalk gives rise to the landslides.

The underlying Triassic rocks soon re-appear:

Below: Colourful beach huts at Seaton

Below: Beer Head 

Towards Branscombe (on the way back) 

 

The bay at Beer on the left: 

Below: Hooken landslide 

 

 Below: Branscombe beach huts

 

 

 

 Notice how the rock face slopes down below? The thin grey/blue lines in the rock face are layers of fossilised water.

 

Approaching Sidmouth again:

The Esplanade, Sidmouth 

Disembarking:

Home for Earl Grey tea and cakes!