University of Hull

The coast line of Holderness, East Yorkshire, is one of the fastest eroding in the world. The soft boulder clay cliffs, left after the retreat of the Devensian ice sheets about 12 000 years ago, are rapidly being eaten away by the sea. This web site brings together data collected by the Ordnance Survey of Great Britain almost 150 years ago with the most recent aerial photographs, courtesy of Getmapping plc. By examining this data-set it is possible to calculate the rate at which the cliffs are receding and how effective the sea defences have been at combating this loss.

This website presents 60 images, each showing a one kilometre strip of coastline. Click on the index map to the right for a more detailed view of the coastal change over the last 150 years.

The links to the left give more information on how to navigate the site and some background to the history of, and the processes involved in, coastal erosion