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Sunday, 6 October 2019

Druidston then and now

The plug of Devensian till which fills the valley at Druidston (on the west-facing shore of St Bride's Bay) is famous as one of the key Quaternary sites of West Wales.  I was down there today, taking a look to see if there is anything new.  Indeed there is, of which more anon.  But this is how the "drift cliff" has changed between 1963 and the present day:


A monochrome photo of the cliff, taken while I was doing my doctorate research in field season 1963.  The cliff face is quite steep, with little surface vegetation.


The same cliff as it appears today.  The surface gradient has lessened, and there has been a great deal of slumping.  In turn, the reduced slopes have allowed vegetation to take hold 
across much of the face.

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2 comments:

  1. Chris-Manawydan7 October 2019 at 07:46

    Think it's a fascinating example of how nature naturally creates a state of equilibrium.
    I recently experienced same, in a similar Geomorphological environment at Porth Neigwl in Pen Llyn.

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  2. BRIAN JOHN7 October 2019 at 09:47

    Yes, there is an approximation to a state of equilibrium. But in some cases therev are dramatic changes -- for example, the Abermawr cliff (also made of Irish Sea till and associated meltout till) has retreated by between 30 and 50m in a single lifetime, completely destroying an old trackway that used to run down onto the beach and along the storm beach ridge. And then there are the catastrophic slope failures that can lead to dramatic changes in an instant....... one day the Green Bridge of Wales will collapse,,,,

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