Day 2 – Thursday

 

Group 2 spent their day splashing and splodging in the River Derwent – more details to follow tomorrow…

 

Group 1 spent their day well wrapped up on the Yorkshire coastline. The morning was spent at Flamborough Head. The first part of the morning involved looking at the rocks and cliff faces in a bay located around Flamborough Head. We looked at how the bay was formed and some of the features formed through erosion. As it was low tide we were able to walk into a hollowed out area which a few hours later would be filled with swirling sea water! The second part of the morning involved scavenging in the rock pools in the bay looking for all manner of creatures. This was a particular favourite for many despite the lovely combination of cold sea water and slippery surfaces! Rupert found a large shore crab and when turned it over found a sack full of orange eggs under its stomach. Other interesting finds included a scorpion fish (whose name sounds a lot fiercer than it actually is) and a squat lobster… The star find was ‘Dead Man’s Finger’; thankfully not taken from a corpse, but in fact a piece of pink ‘rubberlike’ coral washed in shore. After much searching, our own crustaceans from 6B & 6H enjoyed their lunch on the top of Flamborough head.

 

The afternoon began with a short minibus ride along the coast to Bemton cliffs which is the location for a RSPB nature reserve. We were handed out binoculars and were taken for a walk along the cliff edge (fenced off of course…). With the help the Cranedale staff we have now become expert birdwatchers and were able to spot many birds including, Gannets, Razorbills, Killywakes, Guillemots, Herron Gulls and the big draw…a Puffin. Despite some initial scepticism about the interest of bird watching we came back buzzing with the sights we had seen. The North Sea mist rolled in from the east as we climbed back on the minibus to return to Cranedale for a much needed shower and a change of socks!

 

More tomorrow…