Should Hengistbury Head Be Saved From Erosion Or Not?

The aim of this essay is to find out whether Hengistbury Head is eroding or not. Many people want it to be saved and many do not. I shall look at some of the main reasons.

One might argue that Hengistbury Head should be saved for its scientific value alone. It has been awarded a “site of specific scientific interest” by the government and contains rare wildlife. Upon my arrival at the head, I observed many rare birds and plants.

If we do not stop Hengistbury Head eroding, then the Sea will erode it and keep on eroding the land. This means that eventually, the Sea will erode Hengistbury Head and then the town of Christchurch and Poole. If Hengistbury Head falls, then people will try to save Poole anyway so they might as well start defending Pool now by protecting Hengistbury Head. If Hengistbury Head erodes, then Poole Harbour and Christchurch Harbour will merge and become one.

Password

Confirm Password

I agree to the terms of service and privacy policy

Hengistbury Head is an area of much tourism – it has an attractive coastal landscape. As it is on the South coast, the weather is generally good and so there are many overpriced beach huts available to rent. There is also a water activity centre (where we had our lesson) where water sports such as sailing can be done can be done. There is a golf course and walking is popular at the Head. This means that Hengistbury Head makes a lot of money due to tourism.

Christchurch is a town just next to Hengistbury Head and if Hengistbury Head ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Christchurch is a town just next to Hengistbury Head and if Hengistbury Head is eroded away, then Christchurch will be vulnerable to floods. This means that house prices will drop and that fewer people will want to buy houses in the area. Flood insurance prices will soar through the roof – losing very much money.

Hengistbury Head is very important archaeologically. People can trace back finds from up to 10,000 years ago, as it has many ancient monuments. Almost from every period there have been archaeological finds (see “History of Hengistbury Head” and “Archaeological Evidence”).

One of the main arguments for protection of the head is the fact that we eroded Hengistbury Head in the first place – we should mend our mistake instead of simply learning from it. 1.5 million people and 0.5 million dogs walk on the head every year. The Hengistbury mining co. was the real culprit as it removed the Head’s natural defence – ironstone.

Many people however, do not want to save the Headland. Erosion is a natural process and humans should not stop it – Hengistbury Head was possibly two headlands and one probably eroded. The millions of pounds that are “wasted” could be used for something else. Better schooling, building the economy, reducing poverty could all be achieved with such a large amount of money that we are spending on the land.

This is not the case however, as erosion of Hengistbury Head is not all natural. In the last hundred years, Hengistbury Head has more than halved –the rate of erosion has accelerated to light speed – all because of humans. Moreover, Hengistbury probably earned the U.K. more than it cost, due to tourism and ironstone mining.

In conclusion, I myself believe that Hengistbury Head should be protected. If we do not then eventually Christchurch shall be no more. Hengistbury Head earns a large amount of money due to tourism. It is a scientific and archaeological gem that needs to be preserved.