On the 4th June at 5am, the orange flashing lights on a Devon Highways JCB could be seen in the first glimmer of dawn, working its way slowly and inexorably along Marine Parade, removing the thousands of tons of sand which had built up on the pavement and road over the last few weeks, the great clean-up had begun even though the elements were against them, with strong winds tossing the sand disdainfully back onto the road in great flurries.
.jpeg)
By 8am work on the beach began in earnest, spear-headed by Chris Hopkins, member of the Sand Action Group and Instow Parish Council. A hired JCB with Josh Hooper and his dog at the helm delicately cajoled and lifted the sand away from the sea wall depositing it in Chris’s blue tractor trailer to be carted off to the foot of the dunes.
At 08.15am the throaty sound of large, fast-moving machines could be heard, and two camouflage-green bucket loaders and an army jeep came roaring along the seashore, Chris had successfully organised for the Royal Marines to come to our aid once again.
The work continued throughout the day and further down the beach a local farmer, scraped and harried sand away from the wall for the Marines to pick up in their buckets before pouring their spoils into the waiting dumper trucks. Once laden, the trucks took off at a sprint down the beach to unload their cargo, it was like a well-orchestrated ballet that seemed never-ending. Meanwhile, the Sand Action Group rallied round, providing beach marshals and The Instow Arms fed and watered the workers with bacon rolls and hot drinks.
After three gruelling days and a heroic endeavour by all, the sand levels beach-side had been reduced in some places by some six feet. Once-buried drain outlets in the wall had been uncovered and six stone steps, long-buried by the elements, had miraculously been revealed midway along the beach wall, where only recently just one step remained. Thousands of tons of sand were re-sited from the beach wall to the foot of the sand dunes creating a significant drop from pavement level to the surface of the sand. It is hoped that this will mitigate the amount of sand that can blow over onto the roads and pavements, but nature never rests…
