Why living on the edge?

I have always been fascinated by the sea, and living by the sea has always held a special appeal. Waking up and looking out over the ever changing sea must be an incredible experience. I’ve been fortunate to always live close to the sea, first in Dorset and now on the Isle of Wight. But those places where the houses are right on the seafront always appeal to me.

Bonchurch

But, there is a downside to these communities. There is a cost to protecting them, both in terms of the cost of building sea defences but also to the natural environment of the coast. In addition, changes made at one part of the coast can have unintended or unforeseen consequences to another part of the coast.

The Sea defences at Steephill Cove

It is this that I want to capture and highlight through this project, yes these places are beautiful, but there are also to a certain extent destroying the natural beauty of these locations. Bonchurch and Steephill Cove are two examples of areas where the natural coastline is now replaced with sea defences in order to protect the houses built there.