HELPING TO CLEAN UP OUR COAST AND COUNTRYSIDE
At the weekend, the change in the weather coincided with some high tides which is always good for the sea to throw some plastic back onto our beaches. I saw posts on social media from lots of people who managed to get down to the coast and collect lots of rubbish. I was back at Blue Anchor on Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours to collect what I could find and that was plenty! 23 plastic bottles washed up along with other things including a large tyre inner tube which was full of sea water so I had to make a hole in it and leave it to drain and would pick it up on my walk back. Now that summer is here, another popular thing to find is items of clothing where people have left them below the tide line and gone for a swim only to find when they come out of the water, the tide has washed their clothes away. Towels are a bit of a nightmare as they are so heavy to carry with the weight of salt water on them. I usually have to put all wet clothing in a separate bag to make it easier to carry.
After I finished at Blue Anchor, I decided to drive over to Bossington Beach where I expected to find plenty washed up but I'm sure somebody must have cleaned up already which was great. I still did a 90 minute walk with my bag and collected a few things and on the way back along the beach, a large beach ball washed up which I picked up before the waves could carry it away again.
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Yesterday evening during the current heatwave, I went down to Blue Anchor Beach for my latest beach clean. The first three items I found within a short distance on the afternoon tide line was a broken tennis ball (early stages of breaking up) and two separate pieces of tennis ball covering. While picking these up, a group of people at the chalets called down to thank me for what I was doing which is always appreciated! Most of what I collected during my walk along to Dunster Beach and back was plastic apart from a few drink cans which had obviously been in the sea for a long time. The face mask I found was as shown in the picture with stones left on it. It would be nice to think somebody had spotted it and put the stones on it to prevent it ending up in the sea. The wristband from the Grand Pier in Weston Super Mare must have washed down the channel to this point. I have found similar pieces of plastic before but not identified them as there was no print left on it. They may well have come from a different location. I have looked at the Grand Pier twitter account and pleased to see they have an active litter picking group which is good to know. It would be even better to aim for a reduction in plastic use. The other photo shows an empty dog poo bag which claims to help the environment more than it does. After finding four bags of dog poo on the beach before that, it was one poo bag too many! The bag has a Facebook page link but on searching, the page no longer exists. Anyway, that section of beach is now clear of plastic. Well, until the next high tide.
I've been asked if I just litter pick locally or if I cover other areas. Yes, most of my litter picking is local to Exmoor and West Somerset. When I go on holiday, my litter picking equipment is in the car for me to spend a bit of time improving the local environment there as well. The photos above include some litter info displayed in coastal locations in Ireland plus a #2minutebeachclean 'A' board. I spent a bit of time collecting plastics on the coast near Malin Head. On another occasion, I had a week on the Isle of Jura where there are more deer than humans on the island which is a beautiful place and is kept very clean. However, I hired a bike while I was there and, on a cycle ride between the car ferry and the small village of Craighouse (home of Jura Distillery), I spotted litter which had probably been thrown from visiting vehicles. Towards the end of my week there, I went and collected all the litter (in the above photo) I could find knowing that I had left this lovely island tidier than I found it. This summer, I am spending 2 weeks on the Isle of Islay which is also in the Inner Hebrides with seas coming from the Atlantic so again, I will be taking my litter picking equipment to collect anything I find which shouldn't be there.
Today I was back at Porlock Weir for another beach clean and was fortunate enough to meet up with Roy Beal who is Kayaking all the way from John O'Groats to Lands End. He left Brean on this morning's tide and arrived at Porlock Weir on low tide so it was luck I was there to help him carry his belongings and more importantly his kayak up the beach so that it didn't get damaged. After a pint in The Bottom Ship, I interviewed Roy about his adventure on Day 48.
So Roy, congratulations on getting this far! What made you decide to take part in this challenge? Mainly to raise awareness that littering, especially plastics can have in the marine environment. When did you start planning this trip? The idea first came to me around two years ago and initially, I was going to start at Lands End to John O'Groats but the pandemic occurred so earlier this year once Covid restrictions started lifting, I decided to do John O'Groats to Lands End instead and be a bit different. You're doing this for charity I understand. Which charities are they? Yes, I'm doing this for two charities which are 'Keep Britain Tidy' for the litter, plastics and environment side of things but I'm also supporting paddle sport safety and safety on the water so I'm raising money for 'Plan B' charity as well. So where can people find out more about this? If you go to www.kayakingforcharity.co.uk that also has the links for the donation pages and also links for social media. So Roy, tell me the route you've been on. So from John 'O'Groats, I paddled down the east coast of Scotland to Inverness, down through the Caledonian Canal, through the Inner Hebrides, across the Crinan Canal and the rest of Scotland to England, down the Irish Sea until I reached the River Dee and headed to Chester and took the canal network and River Severn to Sharpness and then down the Bristol Channel. What is the best part or highlight of your trip so far? The first thing that comes to mind is on the second day when a pod of dolphins came and swam next to me and stayed with me for about three minutes before they disappeared which was amazing. I got to see my first Puffin, a beautiful little bird and along the way I've met everything from beautiful seals and other wildlife to the amazing people who have been generous and supportive along the way. What about the worst part? When I got caught at low tide on some sandbanks and I couldn't find a way through and ended up having to back track a couple of miles through surf, wind, rain and fog which is probably one of the lowest points and hardest parts. The sandbanks were around ten feet high and I just couldn't see where I was going. So, what about litter and plastics. Have you seen much of that on your journey? Yes, unfortunately I've seen a lot of that and some beaches having a quite lot of plastic just washed up and I've not been able to remove it as I've only got a kayak which is fully loaded. I've found quite a lot of stuff in the water. Balloons have been the main thing I've noticed as well as tennis balls which presumably are dog owners throwing them in. Also crisp packets sweet wrappers and food packaging. So, you're leaving Porlock Weir tomorrow morning about 9? Yes, about 9 o'clock on the tide. Well, good luck on the rest of your journey Roy. Just let us know your social media details before we go. On Facebook it's Kayaking For Charity which is all on the website kayakingforcharity.co.uk and if you're an Instagammer you can look for Top Down Kayak Challenge. Well thanks Roy, it's been lovely talking and again, the best of luck. END. Some litter I find is a little more unusual be it very old, amusing or sometimes part of a news story. The pictures show a pair of glasses and some false teeth I found on the same day at different locations! The Rowntree Smarties tube lid is something which has been in the sea for a long time (it had the letter L on it for those of you who remember the lids!) and the Tip Top ice pop was in the sea even longer as it has the price of 2d still printed on it which puts it pre 1971 when our currency went decimal. The Quatro drink can which I found rusting away in woodland ceased production in the mid 1980's. The car keys I found at Dunster Beach belonged to a hire car company in Lincolnshire. The driver had spent hours looking for them 2 days earlier and had to get the RAC to unlock his car and start it so that he could get back to Taunton. He was grateful that I found them so that he didn't have to pay £200 to the hire company for them! The paint found on North Hill was a fly tipping incident was annoying but I did remove them and dispose of. The memorial plaque is the most interesting of all as I discovered it on Porlock Weir beach and was part of a memorial bench washed away fro Arley Arboretum and Estate in Worcestershire and made it's way down the River Severn to where I found it. This story made many news items so if you Google 'Keith Hunt Memorial Bench' you can read all about it!
The pictures above show the type of litter I find when on my 'Rubbish Walks' but of course, I find many other things including crisp and sweet packets, glass bottles, foil, tins, the list is endless. One of the most frustrating things to find is bags of dog poo! I know some people do take their dog for a walk then leave the bag to pick up on the way back and forget it but it's worse still when they do bag it up then throw the bag into the hedge only for it to end up hanging from a branch. If you're out with your dog/s in the countryside, don't worry about bagging up dog poo but, get a stick and flick it into the undergrowth well away from the path. Also, some bags have a scent which make it attractive to livestock and animals have died through having the bag trapped in their stomach. Just because the bag might say it's biodegradable doesn't mean it's ok to leave it. It's still littering!
This evening, I was pleased to chat with Trish Campbell on BBC Somerset about my litter picking antics and my new blog. Trish asked about how I started doing this, how long I've been doing it for and the different things I've found over the years. Great fun chatting which you can listen to on BBC Sounds.
In 2018, Keep Britain Tidy contacted people across the country who spend time litter picking their local areas inviting them to apply to become an Ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy. I was selected along with 99 others across Britain. Some of us were also invited to The Palace of Westminster for lunch and to meet up with the organisers of the charity and environmental politicians as well as Celebrity Ambassador Julia Bradbury. Pre-covid, an annual conference is held (which should resume in 2022) where Litter Heroes Ambassadors meet up and tell of success stories and share ideas. It is a title I am proud of but most of all, I just like to 'Make a Difference'. Here I am with Julia Bradbury, Celebrity Ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy. As part of Keep Britain Tidy's 'Power Hour' event at the weekend, on Sunday evening, I decided I was going to spend an hour on Exmoor's North Hill but on the way there, I decided to head to Bossington Beach as it had been a couple of weeks since I'd been there and had already been to Porlock Weir and Lynmouth over the past couple of days. I'm so glad that I did as on my arrival, I was greeted by the remains of a large disposable barbecue, wet wipes and fishing bait bags spread around the pebbles in front of me. I walked the section between the old Pill box and Hurlestone Point and over 90% of what I collected was beach litter rather than items washed up on the tide. I collected 2 more disposable barbecues, more bait bags (note the message at the bottom of the bag) some with bait still left in them, more wet wipes, drinks cans and plastic bottles. I was so disappointed to find all of this as I normally just find a couple of littered items left on the beach and can spend my time collecting what the sea has washed up before it ends up going out on the next tide. I posted a photo and message on Facebook hoping that it will help discourage people from littering. I know it will always be a problem but the more it's talked about, some people will realise it's not acceptable. You'll notice in the top photo, there is another item I collected which at first I thought from a distance was a piece of stone or concrete but when I went down to it, I recognised it as the remains of a polystyrene body board which has obviously been in the sea for a long time with the rest of it ending up somewhere else or even smaller pieces being consumed by sea life. Broken body boards are a real problem further down the coast with hundreds collected each season during beach cleans.
After an hour, I had plenty to carry back to the car and still enough time to drive up on North Hill and spend another hour litter picking there. I found a few drinks cans, bottles and the usual fast food packaging. I also found what looked like the lining of a car boot which I was able to drag back to the car and dispose of along with everything else on today's collection. I'm always grateful to all the people who come up and thank me for helping to tidy up and make a difference to where they enjoy walking. I know when I go out for a walk, I enjoy it so much more if I don't see any litter! This weekend saw the first of a regular meet of Beach Clean events at Lynmouth in North Devon. Meeting at 10am, we were lucky with the weather for the first 90 minutes but could see some very threatening storm clouds all around us. Most of what we found was small amounts of plastic as well as some old pieces of metal which had been in the sea for a very long time. Plenty of cigarette butts were picked up along the top of the beach before they could end up in the sea as well as a couple of disposable face masks. Organiser Dave (in the hi-viz vest) was very pleased with the turnout of helpers who all enjoyed 'making a difference' and said they will be helping again. The next Beach Clean takes place on Saturday 31st July at 10am until midday.
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AuthorBorn in West Somerset, I have always been proud of where I live and want everyone else to enjoy it too! Archives
September 2022
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