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Spurn

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	Topics Spurn Topic Home Spurn Point (or Spurn Head as it is also known) is a narrow sand spitSpit (landform) In geography, a spit is a deposition landform found off coasts.... on the tip of the coast of the East Riding of YorkshireEast Riding of Yorkshire East Riding of Yorkshire\|-\| colspan=2 style="text-align: center; background: white;" \| \|-... , EnglandEngland England is the largest and most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom.... that reaches into the North SeaNorth Sea Overview he North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between Norway and Denmark in the east, Scotland and England in the we... and forms the north bank of the mouth of the HumberHumber The Humber is a large tidal estuary forming part of the boundary between northern and southern England.... estuary. It is over long, almost half the width of the estuary at that point, and as little as wide in places. The southernmost tip is known as Spurn Head or Spurn Point and is the home to an RNLI lifeboatLifeboat (rescue) A lifeboat is a boat designed to save the lives of people in trouble at sea.... station and disused lighthouse. It forms part of the civil parishCivil parish A civil parish in England is a subnational entity forming the lowest unit of local government, lower than districts or count... of EasingtonEasington, East Riding of Yorkshire Easington is a small village situated between the Humber estuary and the North Sea at the south-eastern corner of the East R... . Spurn Head covers above high water and of foreshore. It has been owned since 1960 by the Yorkshire Wildlife TrustYorkshire Wildlife Trust The Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the traditional county of Yorkshire, England.... and is a designated National Nature ReserveNational Nature Reserve Overview National Nature Reserve is a United Kingdom government conservation designation for a nature reserve of national significanc... , Heritage CoastHeritage Coast A Heritage Coast is a strip of coastline designated by the Countryside Agency in England and the Countryside Council for Wal... and is part of the Humber Flats, Marshes and Coast Special Protection AreaSpecial Protection Area A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds... . History In the Middle Ages, Spurn Head was home to the port of RavenspurnRavenspurn Overview Ravenspurn was an old East Riding of Yorkshire town, in England, which was lost due to coastal erosion.... (aka Ravenspur or Ravensburgh), which was the site of Edward IV's landing on March 14, 1471, when he returned from his six months' exile in the Netherlands. An earlier village, closer to the point of Spurn Head, was Ravenser OddRavenser odd Ravenser Odd, also spelt Ravensrodd, was a port in the East Riding of Yorkshire during the medieval period, built on t... . Along with many other villages on the HoldernessHolderness Summary Holderness is an area of England on the coast of Yorkshire.... coast, Ravenspurn and Ravenser Odd were lost to the encroachments of the sea, as Spurn Head, due to erosion and deposition of its sand, migrated westward. The lifeboat station at Spurn Head was built in 1810. Owing to the remote location, houses for the lifeboat crew and their families were added a few years later. The station is now the only one in the UK which has full-time paid staff. In World War IWorld War I World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War and "The War to End All Wars" was a global m... two coastal artilleryCoastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of armed forces concerned with operating mobile anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries i... batteriesArtillery battery In military science, a battery is a unit of artillery guns or rockets, so grouped in order to facilitate battlefield communi... were added at either end of Spurn Head, with and quick firing guns in between. The emplacements can be clearly seen, and the northern ones are particularly interesting as coastal erosion has partly toppled them onto the beach, revealing the size of the concrete foundations very well. The Information Centre has a leaflet describing the defences. As well as a road, the peninsula also used to have a railway, parts of which can still be seen. Unusual 'sail bogies' were used as well as more conventional light railway equipment. Geography The peninsula is made up from sand and shingle eroded from the HoldernessHolderness Holderness is an area of England on the coast of Yorkshire.... coastline washed down the coastline from Flamborough HeadFlamborough Head Flamborough Head is a seven mile long promontory on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays o... . Material is washed down the coast by longshore driftLongshore drift Overview egory:Physical oceanography]]... and accumulates to form the long, narrow embankment in the sheltered waters inside the mouth of the Humber estuary. It is maintained by plants, especially Marram grassMarram grass Marram Grass or Beach Grass is a genus of two species of grass growing almost exclusively on coastal sand dunes, where... (Ammophila arenaria). Waves carry material along the peninsula to the tip, continually extending it; as this action stretches the peninsula it also narrows it to the extent that the sea can cut across it in severe weather. When the sea cuts across it permanently, everything beyond the breach is swept away, only to eventually reform as a new spit pointing further south. This cycle of destruction and reconstruction occurs approximately every 250 years. The second of the Six Studies in English Folk Song for Cello composed in 1926 by Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, OM was an... , the Andante sostenuto in E flat "Spurn Point" celebrates this peninsula. It was featured on the television programme Seven Natural WondersSeven Natural Wonders *Seven Natural Wonders* is a television programme that aired on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005.... as one of the wonders of Yorkshire. Ecology The mud flats are an important feeding ground for wading birdsWader Waders, called Shorebirds in North America, are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-fo... , and the area has a bird observatoryFacts About Bird observatory A bird observatory is a centre for the study of bird migration and bird populations.... , for monitoring migratingFacts About Bird migration Long-distance land bird migrationMany species of land migratory birds migrate very long distances, the most common pattern being ... birdBird Birds are bipedal, warm-blooded, oviparous vertebrate animals characterized primarily by feathers, forelimbs modified as win... s and providing accommodation to visiting birdwatchers. Their migration is assisted by east winds in autumn, resulting in drift migrationDrift migration Drift migration is the phenomenon in which migrating birds are blown off course by the winds at the time they are in flight.... of ScandinaviaScandinavia Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe.... n migrants, sometimes leading to a spectacular "fall" of thousands of birds. Many uncommon species have been sighted there, including a Cliff SwallowCliff Swallow The Cliff Swallow is a member of the passerine bird family Hirundinidae, the swallows and martins.... from North America, a Lanceolated WarblerLanceolated Warbler The Lanceolated Warbler is an Old World warbler in the grass warbler genus Locustella.... from Siberia and a Black-browed AlbatrossBlack-browed Albatross The Black-browed Albatross, Thalassarche melanophris, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae.... from the Southern Ocean. More commonly, birds such as WheatearWheatear The wheatears, genus *Oenanthe, were formerly considered to be members of the thrush family Turdidae.... s, WhinchatWhinchat The Whinchat, Saxicola rubetra, is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Tur... s, Common RedstartCommon Redstart The Redstart* or Common Redstart is a small passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family, ... s and flycatcherOld World flycatcher The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World.... s alight at Spurn on their way between breeding and wintering grounds elsewhere. When the wind is in the right direction migrants are funnelled down Spurn Point and are counted at the Narrows Watchpoint, more than 15000 birds can fly past on a good morning in autumn with 3000 quite normal. See also Humber FortsHumber Forts The Humber Forts are two large fortifications in the mouth of the river Humber in northern England: Haile Sand Fort a... Spurn LightshipSpurn Lightship The Spurn Lightship is a lightvessel currently anchored in Hull Marina in the British city of Kingston-upon-Hull.... External links , showing an excellent aerial photograph