Freshwater Bay is one of the most picturesque beaches in West Wight and lies just to the South of the town of Freshwater. The beach is covered in a mixture of grey flint and chalk pebbles that make a unique sound as the waves rise and fall onto the shore. There is sand below the low water mark and some sandy areas to sit if you walk to the more eastern side of the bay. The bay features a large chalk stack known as ‘Stag Rock’, supposedly due to the last stag on the island leaping onto the rock to escape the hunt. There was previously an arched stack next to Stag Rock but it collapsed during a storm during the winter of 1992.
The Bay has been hewn from the Chalk cliffs that surround it by thousands of years of exposure to the waves and the small river that runs from here to Yarmouth. Now dammed at this end, leaving a marsh in the hollow of the bay area, the river Yar flows northwards from here and the sea wall and coastal road prevent its egress to the sea.
Freshwater Bay forms a small semi-circular bay between relatively resistant Chalk headlands. Stacks and caves have formed on either side of the bay, which became a haven for smugglers in years gone by. Erosion has considerably altered the Chalk along the former valley side which, alongside the risks of flooding from the river Yar, has led to the construction of a sea-wall within the bay. The cliffs are formed mainly of Chalk, which dips steeply towards the north. Above the Chalk can be seen a layer of 'regolith'. Regolith is the layer of loose rock, which covers the much harder bedrock of the Earth.
Your tasks
To log this cache, you will need to complete the tasks below. Please message us with the info (rather than post it on your log). You can log a find once we have been sent a message. We may delete your log if your answer is way off the mark.
- Stand on the beach with your back to the Albion Hotel and look at the cliffs with the Stag Rock on the right hand side. Estimate the depth of the regolith at its deepest point.
- The presence of regolith is one of the important factors for most life on Earth. Why do you think this is?
- As an optional extra post a picture on your log of yourself and / or your GPSr with the bay in the background.