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Sizewell - a walk
to Dunwich Heath and back
30 May 2009
Sizewell 15 May 2005,
May 13 2001 & June 2000
Sizewell Feb 7 2007
Suffolk Surge
- 9 November 2007
Sizewell to Dunwich
Heath walk 30 May 2009
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Arrived at Sizewell
beach on a brilliant Saturday morning to see familiar scenes,
and an example of comparative technology, centre. |
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Sizewell 'A' on the
left and new dome of Sizewell 'B' on the right. |
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The loading gantry
in front of Sizewell 'A' and the similar structure in front of
Sizewell 'B' either side of centre. |
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The setting of
Sizewell 'B', with stabilised sand followed by a grassed valley
of beach material. |
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Assorted views of
Sizewell 'A' on the left and right, with Sizewell 'B' in the
centre. |
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Looking back to the
south at Sizewell 'A', left and centre and across to Sizewell
'B'. |
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Any new Sizewell
'C' will be built on land to the north of Sizewell 'B' ...
to the right of the domes structure. |
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The nature of the
coastal zone, a wide shingle beach backed by a narrow swathe of
dunes and its relationship with the Sizewell power stations. |
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To the north of the
power stations is the area of the Minsmere nature reserve. Known
for its RSPB wetlands, the reserve also contains this valuable
area of stabilised dunes and heathland. |
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Some views of the
power stations across the dune barrier. The centre shot was
taken to fit the caption 'The road to nuclear power'? |
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The wetlands to the
west of the beach and dune barrier, left and the Minsmere New
Cut from the sluice, centre. On the right is one of the lakes of
the RSPB reserve, with its artificial bunds and observation
hides. |
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Old anti-tank
obstacles still straddle the dune ridge, and were an
irresistible temptation to fit comments about the inadvisability
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... of leaving
concrete blocks on this stretch of coastline, and expecting them
to lie unmoved! O course, this is an allusion to the need to
encase the core of an old nuclear power plant and keep it intact
for several hundred years. |
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Dunwich Heath,
where the cliffs meet the Minsmere marshes, and an area subject
to some erosion from tourists. Here, the sea has encroached on
the cliff end, so it is being protected from further trampling
by a fence and brushwood. |
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A good marker for
the current height of the beach is this sunken telegraph pole,
that can be used as a datum for fieldwork surveys. However, it
must be mentioned that the beach is regularly re-worked by
machinery! Note how the wattle fence has been submerged! |
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Some views to the
south, on the return walk, of the power stations from the beach. |
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More beaches and
concrete blocks make the point about not leaving concrete on the
Suffolk coast unattended! |
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On the left some
Marram grass is doing its job of trapping wind-blown sand,
whilst on the right is a photo of a wider community of
vegetation developing. |
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Some final images
of the power stations, from the dunes and the foreshore. the
centre shot is the sweep of the bay northwards towards the
Coastguard Cottages at Dunwich Heath. |
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Suffolk Sizewell
Minsmere Dunwich Heath nuclear power stations beach coasts
shingle sand dunes vegetation succession WW 2 defences
cliffs erosion |
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