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Connections With The Edge
Tunstall, The road that disappeared, (21st July, 5 am)
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August 12, 2022
6:56 pm
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The Yorkshire Post reported in March 2022 that coastal erosion at Withernsea is placing property, including homes, and lives at risk as the damage relentlessly progresses inland. I am up at 4am on Thursday to follow up a lead relating to a road that disappeared just North of Withernsea! These photos were taken at 5am onwards, I like the light at this time of day.

Facebook comment

Morning ... great idea to 'catch up' with your past ... Several years ago we found a road going into the sea, and a local told us about the land erosion, and that there is a phone box under the sea. Bit further south from you, but we can't remember if Norfolk or Suffolk đź¤”... enjoy your trip xx.
- Annette


 

I found this reporting in Examiner Live (July 2022) poignant

Between 2017 and 2018, Tunstall was one of the worst affected villages in terms of erosion - it saw five metres of cliff losses in that year alone. Keith, then 82 but who has since passed away, said at the time: “Never in all the world did I ever think the road would disappear but now it has gone. There used to be a breakwater here which protected the coast and kept the sand which ensured we had a lovely beach. About 20 years it broke up and we pleaded for the Government to rebuild it but it said it was too expensive. That has left this area unprotected”.
- Examiner Live, July 2022


Facebook comment

Tunstall had the best beaches when I was growing up. Grandpa would take us kids up there and we'd sometimes go to Hornsea pottery too. Long summer days. Yes this area is full of new energy source ideas, it's a perfect location. This is interesting. You may know the story of the sound of church bells from a church underwater, lost to erosion long ago. Probably myth but who knows? Maybe its a fisherman's tale? I always found Holderness quite eerie, a place that time has forgotten. https://tinyurl.com/2p8n6h3s 
- Pen
Villages Lost to Erosion

The lost East Yorkshire villages (Image: East Riding Council)

The debate about flood defences is loaded and one that has been going on for years if not centuries. The above map from the link provided by Pen above is fascinating, showing villages lost since Roman times. Nevertheless, my view is that we must cut emissions to halt climate catastrophe and reduce the rate of rise in the sea level. I saw a lot of off-shore and land based wind farms, plus lots of large electrical stations to receive the wind power, when driving from Spurn to Withernsea. The East Coast is doing a lot for us in terms of renewable energy.


Comment via email July 2022 on a first draft of this diary/blog/newsletter:

I have seen the effects of coastal erosion and witnessed many discussions amongst the experts about how to respond. Approaches have changed as views about conservation have evolved. While once we may have thought that conservation was about keeping things as they are, now we’re much clearer that - because change will happen - good conservation is about the careful management of change. Adopting this approach has meant now old-fashion, often concrete sea defences are less favoured (the sea will go round them somehow).
- Paul


Indeed, Paul’s view seems borne out by this Examiner Live (July 2022) article 

In March 2022, Holderness and North Norfolk will get help from a ÂŁ36m programme to help communities living on eroding coastlines. The money is aimed to help residents plan for needed changes in areas where stopping erosion may be unsustainable. 
- Examiner Live, July 2022

I wonder what “plan for needed changes” means and how locals feel about it?

CC BY-NC Attribution-NonCommercial

Category : Early morning light, Lost Settlements, Management of change, My favorite photo stories, Part 1 - Old photos and stories, Road to nowhere / Lost roads,
3 Comments
  1. John Cook
    January 31, 2026

    “In Somerset, that means contemplating the previously unthinkable. “It may be that in the next 50 years, perhaps in the next 20, some homes around here will have to be abandoned,” said Mike Stanton, the chair of the Somerset Rivers Authority.” https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/31/climate-crisis-flood-risk-britain

    Reply
  2. John Cook
    February 4, 2026

    “A section of the A379 Slapton Line connecting Torcross and Slapton in Devon broke apart overnight after sea defences were destroyed in last month’s storms.” https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/a-road-collapse-sea-torcross-slapton-devon-b2912979.html

    Reply
  3. John Cook
    February 18, 2026

    “One in nine new homes in England built between 2022 and 2024 were constructed in areas that could now be at risk of flooding, according to new data.

    The figures show the number of homes being built in risky areas is on the rise – a previous analysis showed that between 2013 and 2022, one in 13 new homes were in potential flooding zones.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/18/one-in-nine-new-homes-in-england-built-in-areas-of-flood-risk-study-shows

    Reply

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