Photo 25 (Return)

Reeth Bay, southern Undercliff, 2001. Marine erosion has cut into insitu soft Lower Greensand Sandrock mantled by landslide debris causing some 20-40m of retreat over the past 130 years. The removal of toe support has been sufficient to destabilise the landslides of the slope above and a zone of instability has migrated inland controlled by groundwater conditions, especially since severe winter rainfall in 1994 and 1995 when the unstable upper scarp migrated some 95m inland over an 18 month period. These reactivations have threatened properties within the Castlehaven area of Niton and have led to a cliff drainage scheme initiated in Autumn 2003.