Further clifftop areas in Studland are now roped off due to new landslips, caused by the recent storms and heavy rain that have accelerated the extent of the coastal erosion.
Photos taken this month at Middle Beach in 2020, compared to June 2017 show the dramatic change to the land, which is owned and managed by the National Trust.
Middle Beach in Studland, March 2020
Middle Beach in Studland, June 2017
Coastguard hut
In January this year, as a precautionary measure, the coastguard hut was removed from the edge. Part of the land that it was perched on, is now on the beach, along with the shrubs and daffodils that once surrounded the hut.
Coastal Change Engagement Officer for the National Trust in Purbeck, Dr Sarah Coggins said:
“At Middle Beach we’ve had some quite severe coastal erosion, particularly this winter because of the relentless storms that we’ve had and the rain.
“This end of the peninsula is eroding a lot faster than it is at the northern end at Shell Bay and actually up there we’re actually accreting sediment – we’re gaining new sand dunes, so it’s different in different places. But down here at the end where we’ve got our facilities and cafes and things, we are losing sediment at about a metre a year.”
National Trust plans to demolish the Middle Beach Cafe due to the coastal erosion, caused an outcry of opposition in 2016 but since then the conservation charity has been working with locals to relocate the cafe further back, in a way that preserves the much loved character of the current facility.
