Coast
An island is defined by its boat and by its winter timetable
Everything about visiting an island — cost, availability, risk and atmosphere — is downstream of how often…
Coast
Shorelines, islands and the seasons that decide whether they are worth it.
20 articles · page 1 of 2
Coast
A resort coastline runs two economies and only one of them is visible in August
Somewhere built around a short season has to earn a year of costs in a few months, and almost every price and habit on that coast follows from the arithmetic.
Coast
The prevailing wind decides which side of a coast you want to be on
Wind is the most persistent variable on any shoreline, and it sorts beaches, harbours, vegetation and…
Coast
A beach is a moving thing and the sand arrived from somewhere
Shorelines are a running balance between sediment arriving and sediment leaving, which is why beaches…
Coast
The sea warms weeks behind the air, and that is why swimming improves after summer
Water has an enormous capacity to absorb heat slowly, so coastal seasons run late, and the best month for…
Coast
Tides are a timetable and most coasts run on it
The rise and fall of the sea is predictable years ahead, varies enormously from one coast to another, and…
Coast
A working harbour keeps different hours from the town behind it
Fishing ports run on landings, markets and weather windows rather than on the visitor day, which is why the…
Coast
Hard rock and soft rock make completely different coastlines
The geology behind a shore decides whether you get cliffs, bays, dunes or marsh, and reading it explains…
Coast
Rip currents form for structural reasons and look calm from the beach
Water pushed onto a beach by waves has to return seaward somewhere, and where it concentrates it produces…
Coast
An estuary is a negotiation between a river and the sea
Where fresh water meets salt, the mixing produces mud, enormous bird populations and the sheltered water…
Coast
A lighthouse is a message, and the message is its rhythm
What identifies a light to a navigator is not its brightness but the pattern of flashes and the sectors of…
Coast
Salt marsh is land the sea is still deciding about
The flat green ground behind many coasts is neither sea nor solid land but an intermittently flooded…