Bright and early on Sunday morning the VIB Geographers arrived at Badminton, ready for their three day fieldtrip to Slapton Sands in Devon. Our trip started eventfully as the bus driver struggled to negotiate the small roads through Slapton village. Eventually we had to abandon the bus and walk the last few metres to the centre, while the bus driver had to reverse five miles back down the country roads before he could turn around.
Keen to maximise all the time available we headed into the classroom for a briefing about the Start Bay coastline before heading out in the minibus for a day investigating coastal erosion and management. We began our fieldwork at Start Point, where we were able to see the whole of Start Bay and gain an insight into the processes affecting it. We then visited the main settlements along the coastline, Hallsand, Beesands, Torcross and Slapton where we evaluated the different approaches to coastal management, and completed some beach profiles to assess the impact that these approaches were having on the coast.
The following day our focus was on Human Geography as we journeyed to Plymouth to investigate rebranding. The girls soon decided that Plymouth was in desperate need of rebranding after completing their surveys at Frankfurt Gate in the city centre. As a contrast we then visited a new redevelopment project, Drake Circus, to evaluate if this had been a success. However, the girls proved to be discerning customers and were not won over by the project. We then visited two other areas of Plymouth that were attempting to rebrand themselves: the Barbican, followed by Royal William Yard.
Our final day was spent in Torquay looking at the development of a coastal resort and the impacts of tourism. As we drove into Torquay the sun was shining and it was almost possible to imagine what it would be like at the height of summer as a bustling tourist resort. However, moments later as we stepped off the coach for our briefing the illusion was shattered as we were buffeted by a hailstorm. The girls did not allow themselves to become dispirited and marched off into Torquay to complete their surveys, including a participant observation to create a picture of the average person in Torquay, the results of which were quite entertaining! We then climbed aboard the bus and headed back to Bristol but managed to maintain our high level of thinking by working together to complete the Take a Break crossword.
