The coastlines at Kilve and St Audries are great places to take photos, and just to scamper around in, if you take a little care.
I’d heard that Kilve beach was a bit boring. But I also knew it was bestrewn with rocks and what-not, so I thought it may be worth taking a look. Perhaps it might offer some opportunities for photography.
But I found that it’s not boring at all. (Well, you might say, a little bit, but in a good way: we don’t all want to be amongst herds of people standing or lying on the sand in Brighton, do we?) For one thing, the geology at Kilve is amazing. There’s no end to the patterns, shapes and colours in the rocks. There is literally something to surprise you everywhere you look.
This is a very stony beach, but the rocks form long natural pathways in many places, making it fairly easy to traverse—though you still need to be pretty able-bodied to do so, and caution is advised.
The freshwater stream from the entrance to the beach runs through a sort of culvert under the smooth rocks and pebbles, before filtering out, gradually, to the estuary.
Further along the coast at St Audries there are what appear to be the remains of putcher fishing frames, or perhaps they’re metal groynes.
In the photo below, you can see the waterfall which splashes onto the rocky beach at St Audries.
A serious word of caution: do take the utmost care to avoid going near the cliff edges, at both coastlines at Kilve and St Audries, as they regularly collapse—especially the latter. In the short time I was at St Audries I witnessed many tonnes of rock fall onto the rocks below. You can often spot where landslips have occurred by the accumulation of debris at the foot of the cliffs.
Another word of caution applies to the car park at Kilve: once you’ve paid, keep your ticket! Your vehicle will be photographed, unknown to you as you enter the car park, and after your visit you may be sent a frightening letter saying you haven’t paid, demanding a fine, even if you correctly bought a ticket. This appears to be a pernicious scam, so keep your parking ticket, and if you get a threatening letter despite having paid correctly, you can always produce a copy of it as proof.