Name: _________________________ Class:
_______________
Aim
The Aim of this field trip is to enable students to learn and understand the main components of the erosive and depositive power of the coast.
We will also look at how we may be destroying this fragile environment.
Do NOT loose this booklet – You will not be provided with another
Safety Warnings
1.
You will be put into groups. You must stay in these groups.
2.
You must walk down to Ballintoy Harbour in single file and on the right side of the road.
3.
When at the beach – take care when walking over rocks and stones
4.
Do NOT go within 1 metre of any cliff edge – especially around bore holes
5.
Do NOT go into the water for any reason
6.
Do NOT go into the Caves
7.
When walking along the coast, stay together with your group.
8.
Do not go out of sight of the teachers at any time during the field trip
My Teacher Leader is:
The other people in my group are:
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When we come down the road towards Ballintoy Harbour we are going to turn right down to the ‘Sandy Harbour’ before we look around the main harbour.
In Geography you have studied erosion and how it wears away the river banks and bed. Today we will be looking at how the force of sea attacks the coastline. The material that is worn away by the waves is then deposited; this creates the beaches that we see around the North Coast. Today you will see erosional and depositional landforms.
There are 2 pieces of work that you must complete at this stop
1. Field Sketch
2. Beach Quality Survey Number 1
How to draw a Field Sketch
A Field sketch is a drawing made of a particular view when you are out on the field trip. To start this, find a place to sit and then start to sketch the main geographical features. It does not matter how good your artistic skill is – the key thing is to draw your impression of the area and then to ‘annotate’ or write down explanations of what you see around the picture. Look at the example below.
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Stop 1 – Sandy Harbour Beach at Ballintoy
Field Sketch 1 – Erosion of the Coast
Possible labels to use: basalt / limestone / igneous rock / sedimentary rock / cave / stack / stump / erosion / soft rock / hard rock / bedding planes / sea
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How to do the Beach Quality guide
At each place that we stop at today, we need to look at the quality of the beach. This will give us an idea about the cleanliness, pollution, shelter etc found at each site. It will help us to work out whether people would want to come and visit these beaches.
This beach quality should be completed with the other people in your group.
Take a good look around the beach site and then, as a group, decide on a score (out of 3) to give each of the different beach quality indicators.
Use this table to find out the beach quality at each of the sites –
Beach Quality Survey
Sand Quality
Clean, Golden Sand - 3
Dirty Sand - 2
Mud - 1
Games Space
Large area for games - 3
Some space for games - 2
Little space for games - 1
Water Quality
Clear, Clean Water - 3
Cloudy water - 2
Muddy or polluted water - 1
Condition of Cliffs
Stable cliffs - 3
Some instability - 2
Dangerous cliffs - 1
Beach Surface Quality
No pebbles - 3
Some pebbles - 2
Many pebbles - 1
Bathing Conditions
Safe Bathing - 3
Rocks/mud make bathing
Difficult or unpleasant - 2
Bathing dangerous or
Very unpleasant - 1
Noise
Peaceful and uncrowded - 3
Some people and/or noise – 2
Crowded and noisy - 1
Scenery
Attractive scenery - 3
Reasonable view - 2
Ugly surroundings - 1
Seaweed
No seaweed - 3
Some seaweed - 2
Much seaweed - 1
Natural Interest
Much natural interest
(eg rock pools, shells, birds) - 3
Some natural interest - 2
Little Natural interest - 1
Shelter
Sheltered from wind - 3
Open to some winds - 2
Very exposed and windy – 1
Litter
No litter - 3
Some litter - 2
Much litter - 1
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Recording Sheet for Beach Quality
Beach
Quality
Indicators
Site 1 –
‘The sandy harbour’
T O T A L
Site 2 –
‘The fossil beach’
Site 3 –
‘Elephant beach’
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Site 4 -
White
Park Bay

Stop 2
Human activity at Ballintoy Harbour
During the late nineteenth century the harbour was mainly used for the shipping of sett stones - a small rail track once existed for moving the piles of stones and limestone to the quayside. At Brockie Quarry near Larry Bane over one hundred men were employed chipping and shaping sett stones that went to pave the streets of cities such as Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Limerick and Glasgow. The well built lime kiln stands as a testament to the harbour's industrial past - burnt lime would have been drawn away by horse and cart to help build the numerous stone cottage and rural halls in the district.
Ballintoy is still a working harbour for local fishermen who continue a tradition that goes back to when man first arrived, it naturally produces good boatmen due to the dangerous waters which they and their father's have come to understand, respect and work upon - the large boat cave to the right of the car park would have been used to repair, lay over and build boats inside. Though the scores of basalt islands act to shelter the harbour from prevailing storms, it can still on occasions get battered.
The area of rocks nearer White Park Bay and overlooked by Dundriff is known locally as the Park End - this spot can pick up some of the biggest swell waves along the north coast. The harbour mouth looks out to Sheep Island and Rathlin. In October,
1906 the 'City of Bristol' a steam powered Fleetwood trawler homebound from
Iceland ran aground on the reef that runs between Larry Bane and Sheep Island - there was thick fog at the time and the Captain mistook Sheep Island for Bull Point on Rathlin.
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Types of Economic Activity (jobs) along the North Coast
1. What different types of economic activity (or jobs) have you seen evidence of along the coast? (Either present or past)
2. For each of the five different jobs above – think of a reason why you think the industry was located here (an advantage) and also think of a reason why the industry might have struggled here (a disadvantage).
Job 1:
Advantage
Job 2:
Advantage
Job 3:
Advantage
Job 4:
Advantage
Job 5:
Disadvantage
Disadvantage
Disadvantage
Disadvantage
Advantage Disadvantage
You might not be able to get 5 jobs at this stage in the coursework – but keep thinking as we make our way through the fieldwork. We will discuss other jobs as we go!
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Stop 3
The Fossil Beach
There are 2 pieces of work that you must complete at this stop. In addition you will be allowed some time to look at both the erosive and deposition features in this area. Can you see the Limestone arch?
1. Field Sketch
2. Beach Quality Survey Number 2
The beach that you are standing on is a famous place where 2 types of fossil can be found. You can sometimes find parts of the Ammonite
(which is a grey spiralled creature) or the much thinner – cigar shaped
Bellamite (this is usually like a black worm in white limestone rock).
A walk between Ballintoy and Whitepark Bay or vice versa will take you along an ancient pathway trodden since man first set foot here some 10,000 years ago. The bay in geological terms is known as a 'raised beach', the ocean would have once washed into the curved cliff face and both Portbraddon and Ballintoy harbour would have been submerged - as the ice age came to a close the land mass gradually rose leaving us with this exceptional bay. The ancient sand dune system is rich in flora and fauna, it also contains several carbon dated Neolithic sites and arrow heads are occasionally found by the observant walker. Along the shoreline, if your lucky, you can still find the odd fossilized ammonites or brachiopods washed out of the layer of
Jurassic clay which underlies the extreme low tide zone. In the dune system there is also an ancient mound known as a Tumulus which may be a burial site, another word for Tumulus would be Si - in Irish mythology the fairies are said to have been the people of the Si. One prominent volcanic stack is aptly named the 'Elephant Rock' - as a young boy I was told by an uncle that it was an elephant which had the misfortune to be caught as it tried to flee from an erupting volcano - it certainly fired my imagination to the wondrous cliff shapes and rock outcrops that surround the north Antrim coast. Close to the elephant rock is a nicely eroded limestone arch which at high tide is surrounded by water, overlooking these rocks is a cave which when excavated by archeologists revealed Iron Age artifacts. The whole area round to Ballintoy has an amazing number of basalt islet and is quite unique, it is also one of the finest locations to view the power of Atlantic storms as they pound into the natural defences that protect Ballintoy harbour.
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Stop 3
The Fossil Beach
Field Sketch 2 – Erosion and Deposition at the Coast
Possible labels to use: basalt / limestone / igneous rock / sedimentary rock / arch / stack / erosion / soft rock / hard rock / sea / rock pools / deposition
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Stop 4
Elephant Rock Beach
There are 3 pieces of work that you must complete at this stop. In addition you will be allowed some time to look at both the erosive and deposition features in this area. Can you see the Limestone arch?
1. Field Sketch
2. Beach Quality Survey
3. Extended beach quality survey
Field Sketch 3 - Erosion and Deposition at Elephant Rock Beach
Possible labels to use: arch / stack / basalt / limestone / igneous rock / sedimentary rock /erosion / soft rock / hard rock / sea / deposition / elephant rock
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Extended Beach Quality Exercise
Unfortunately there is often a lot of pollution found along the coast.
With your group, your task is to record all the different types of pollution found in the area. Record the information using a tally chart – we will add the results up back in the classroom. Remember that pollution is often described as being something man made in a natural environment.
Types of Pollution Number
Plastic Bottles
Glass Bottles
Bricks/Concrete
Wood/Driftwood
Fisherman waste – nets etc
General House litter (wrappers etc)
Total
Please list below any other types of pollution that you can identify that are not listed above.
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Stop 5
Whitepark Bay
There are 2 pieces of work that you must complete at this stop. In addition you will be allowed some time to look at both the erosive and deposition features in this area.
1. Field Sketch
2. Beach Quality Survey Number 4
This is a famous beach – often used in TV commercials and for adverts about
Northern Ireland.
At one end of this beautiful bay, sheltered below the cliffs lies the small fishing hamlet of Portbraddon and at the other end the basalt islands that surround Ballintoy harbour. Whitepark Bay was one of the first settlements in Ireland. It is known that the manufacturing and exporting of axes and arrow heads took place from here - the limestone cliffs being a rich source of flint nodules. Three passage tombs stand on the high points of surrounding hills overlooking the bay, the most striking being the dolmen known as the Druid's Altar which was placed on the highest point above the bay.
Field Sketch 4 – Deposition at the Coast
Possible labels to use: basalt / limestone / bedding planes / Portbraddon / igneous rock / sedimentary rock / arch /soft rock / hard rock / headland / bay / beach
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