Winter Exposure Westward Ho!

Arrived at Westward Ho! amazed to find that the tide was still ebbing as we had been looking forward to a long bracing walk. It was another huge surge with the tide refusing to go out and stay out. The Go Kart Track and Adventure Centre is still in disarray so if ever there was a time for the legendary Potwalloping Festival, this is it. Fortunately the Links beyond are no longer flooded. Across the Bay in the direction of Kipling Tors I can see the spray from the wild “White Horses”. A grey day with sporadic sunshine, there was even another fleeting rainbow. When it was finally clear to walk down the beach it was quite other-worldly as the sand, in parts, had been completely washed away revealing mounds of soft grey clay, the rest resembling a shingle beach. In the midst of the normal grey pebbles strewn along the strandline were some quite beautiful marble white ones, washed in from some distant shore. As we walked on down to Sandymere I took a shot of the concrete slabs, the stepping stones over the ridge, now a little askew to say the least. Along the way I took note of the newly exposed Groins, weirdly wonderful clay formations, the outline of a previously unseen wreck and a line of pier posts or were they old WW2 sea defences? The surf although on its way out continued to rush in and I watched as four little Sanderlings skipped the waves then became marooned on their own little island. In 2012 the Pebbles abutting the Dunes at the far end had been washed away and now they were back and it was a relief to see that the missing sand had shifted towards the Spit. I was pleased not to see any rubbish on the beach, although there were pockets of marine litter amongst the pebbles. Here at the Spit of the Northam Burrows Country Park, the Ridge, although covered in pebbles seemed much flatter and even the big boulders were seemingly battered out of place. On a clear day you can look out to the Bideford Bar and over to the Biosphere across the Taw Torridge Estuary from here. It was hard going against the wind on the way back, I did, however stop to take a shot for the records of a dead seabird. Another sad sight was a 4x4 vehicle perched atop the Ridge, exposed and well and truly stuck. Photos and Article copyright Pat Adams 23rd February 2014

I reported the dead bird to the RSPB via Facebook and it was identified as a Guillemot. Guillemots, Razorbills and other seabirds have suffered terribly in the storms and have been washed up in numbers around the UK coast.See also BBC  'Record number' of dead seabirds washed up from storms
If you come across any dead sea birds please send full details to SWseabirds@rspb.org.uk
RSPB If members of the public find live seabirds that can be rescued it is recommended they should contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999. We would advise you not to attempt rescuing the seabirds yourself or to handle them.
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Westward Ho! Potwalloping Festival was traditionally held each year on May Bank Holiday, the last one was held in 2012. Potwalloping. An old tradition when, in return for grazing rights, the residents in the Borough of Northam would throw back the pebbles that had been washed down from the Pebble Ridge after Spring Tides.