New coastal path at mercy of unrelenting march of erosion

FOR YORKSHIRE walkers the outstanding event of 2020 is certain to be the opening of a new footpath between the seaside resort of Filey and the village of Easington 59 miles to the south.

It will form one of the final stretches of the new 2,709mile England Coast Path when the ribbon is cut later this year. I am not going to hold my breath, though, because the cliffs of Holderness that it traverses are some of the most unstable in Europe, and creating a permanent path there is a difficult – some would say impossible – task.

To the north, bits of the Cleveland Way footpath above Whitby have collapsed in the last couple of years, and the right of way has had to be brought further inland by a legal process known as “rollback” which allows the local authority – in this case North Yorkshire County Council – to establish the path on the nearest practicable strip of land.

Beyond ramblers who live in East Yorkshire I don’t think there has ever been much of a clamour for public access to the Holderness coast. It is a pretty featureless place when compared to the likes of Flamborough Head and chocolate box favourites like Robin Hood’s Bay, Runswick Bay and Staithes.

The coastline between Bridlington and Spurn is not without merit, however. Visiting recently it struck me that the lack of scenic distraction such as a plunging headland or a peaceful cove makes it easier to appreciate the bleak beauty of the North Sea.

It is also helpful to have a good imagination when visiting, because what you are looking at are the watery graves of villages which have been lost to the hungry tides over the centuries. Around 30 have disappeared, some as far as three or four miles out from today’s shoreline. Settlements like Monkwike, Waxholme, Owthorne and Sand-le-Mere were consumed by waves in medieval times. Another one known as Ravenser Odd, just off the Spurn peninsular, was said to be a thriving port until it began to wash away in the 1300s. Others undoubtedly vanished before they could be recorded in the Domesday Book. Eerily, the tolling of a church bell from a submerged church in the now vanished village of Cleeton, off Skipsea, is said to be heard at certain states of the tide.

Walkers on the new Holderness path may hear a bell but it’s likely to be from an offshore buoy. And while they will look in vain for remnants of those lost villages, they will see plenty of evidence that the process of coastal erosion is unrelenting.

Between five and eight feet of these weak clay cliffs are washed away each year, and the problem is most graphically illustrated near the villages of Tunstall and Aldbrough. At the latter the Spa Inn, Talbot Hotel and Royal Hotel have already disappeared and the sea has recently taken great chunks out of a caravan park.

So when the new stretch of the England Coast Path opens, the initial route will almost certainly not last very long.