The living coast - Richard Offen

British coastline has experienced dramatic changes in its long history, through both natural and human influence. This book examines how different coastal formations, from the volcanic basalt of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland to the chalk cliffs of Dover, have been affected by natural phenomena such as erosion and climate change, and by human activity, as different invaders alighted on our shores and built castles, forts, batteries and lighthouses, and as farming and fishing developed and changed. Industry, the two World Wars and communications technology have more recently left their mark.;The third in a series of photographic books capturing the dramatic beauty of Britain's coast and countryside, "The Living Coast" explores the history and development of maritime landscapes and the rich life they now support. Today the coast provides a wealth of natural history habitats, sometimes threatened, and home to specific mammals, birds, insects and flowers. Saltmarsh, mudflats, dunes, estuaries and coastal woodland support seals, puffins, gannets and waders, salmon fisheries, toads, lichens, exotic plants and more. Natural Trust-owned land, such as Blakeney Point in Norfolk, the Farne Islands in Northumberland, Formby in Merseyside and the Lizard in Cornwall, represent havens for some of our most rare plants and animals.;The coast, of course, is also a haven for people. The Earl of Cawdor built his elegant mansion at the Stackpole Estate on the South Wales coast, facing the Atlantic, in the early 1700s, and today people continue to be drawn to the particular beauties of coastal landscapes. This brings some pressures but also opportunities for education and conservation, as visitors become increasingly aware of the particular characteristics of maritime habitats and interested in how they might help to preserve the coastline they love so much.