Hornsea

Location
Hornsea is a small coastal town located between Bridlington and Withernsea along the Holderness Coast. A 2.9km stretch of shoreline fronts the town of Hornsea. A high density urban development containing residential and various tourist related properties, Hornsea's local economy is dependent on tourism and recreation as well as incorporating a small fishing industry.

Geology
Hornsea lies upon unconsolidated till. This material was deposited by glaciers during the last ice age 18,000 years ago.

Coastal Features
The groynes on Hornsea beach ensure wide and relatively steep beaches. The beach material is made up of sand and shingle.

Coastal Management
The position of the coastline at Hornsea has been artificially fixed since existing coastal defences were erected in the early 1900s. Hard defences in the form of a concrete seawall and timber groynes afford protection and an on going refurbishment programme ensure this has continued.

The videos below shows the importance of the sea wall at Hornsea, particularly during a spring high tide combined with strong winds!.

More recently a stone gabion and steel reventment has been erected to the south of Hornsea. This helps protect the caravan park.

The video below shows the steel reventment during storm conditions. Notice how the steel reventment in the foreground and the stone gabion in the background help absorb the energy of the waves. However, they are not enough to stop the sea from reaching the base of the soft boulder clay cliffs.

Beach material is being transported south along the Holderness Coast by longshore drift. In Hornsea sand has accumulated where protection exists. This is because the groynes provide a barrier to sediment transportation. This has reduced erosion along the front of the town but increased rates are evident further south where the defences stop. The video below demonstrates this.