Earls Dyke Beach Photo

Fraisthorpe Sands

Eroded anti-tank blocks on the beach east of The Earl's Dike at Fraisthorpe. Some of the land around Fraisthorpe and Barmston is barely above sea level and this area which is now constantly threatened by the North Sea was thought extremely vulnerable to enemy attack during World War 2, and was heavily fortified as a result. Many major defensive installations have been destroyed by erosion and some pillboxes now close to the beach would once have been in supporting positions further inland. More of this concrete was removed in the 1970s and local farmers complained that this increased the rate at which farmland was washed away by the sea. Two nearby settlements called Hartburn and Winkton were abandoned in around the 15th century and have long since been lost to coastal erosion. Fraisthorpe beach has long been popular with naturists but the use of the beach for nude bathing is now the cause of a dispute between naturist groups and the county council.

© Paul Glazzard and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence