Geographers Visit The Isle of Wight
Writes James S. (L6) and Nishil M. (L6)
We spent three days on the Isle of Wight for our NEA fieldwork, exploring a variety of coastal environments at Totland Beach, Freshwater Bay, and Compton Bay 鈥� each offering completely different geology, cliff profiles, and beach characteristics. On Day One, straight off the ferry, we got stuck into learning how to use new field equipment including clinometers, anemometers, ranging poles, and digital data collection through ArcGIS Survey123.
The second day was all about hands-on data collection: we carried out beach profile transects, measured sediment size, counted waves, and assessed cliff profiles using real techniques we'd only studied in theory before. We also visited key coastal landforms like The Needles and Hurst Castle Spit, giving us a clear insight into erosion, deposition, and coastal management strategies in action. On the final day, we wrapped things up with a session on secondary data and adjusted our NEA questions based on what we had observed.
Throughout the trip, we saw how the theory we've studied in class translates directly into fieldwork 鈥� whether that was understanding how wave energy impacts cliff shape, how geology influences erosion, or how to adapt methods when the landscape demands it.
In between, we had time to relax, play football and card games, and enjoy surprisingly amazing food 鈥� from morning pastries to Korean fried chicken with sweet potato fries.It was a tiring few days, but a genuinely amazing trip that none of us will ever forget.
