DEVON

Adrian was in charge of the camera while I went for a paddle. I wondered why I ran out of battery charge that evening.

A relatively quiet Devon town with a pebbly beach, and a lovely walk along the esplanade. This view is taken at the east end of the town overlooking the River Otter and the salt marshes beyond. A bird watcher's paradise at certain times of the year. The bench faces south towards the sea.

To the right of this photo is the lifeboat station, and the ramp is visible in the photo. Established over 200 years ago, Exmouth Lifeboat Station opened a new station and boathouse in 2010, which houses a Shannon class lifeboat and an inshore D class lifeboat. The lifeboat is called 'R and J Welburn' and was funded by a generous legacy from Mrs Joan Welburn who lived in Sidmouth and named in memory of her husband Raymond. The naming ceremony occurred on 9 May 2015.

Common names include Sea Fig, Western Iceplant, Coastal Iceplant, Baby Sun-Rose, Angled Pigface, I can't understand the 'Pigface' name. Carpobrotus edulis is a southern African plant. Introduced to Europe, the plant can be found entirely naturalised in some coastal habitats, particularly sea cliffs and sand-dunes in the south west of the UK. The plant tends be quite invasive, spreading and forming continuous mats over large areas. It does look stunning, but there may some problems with it. First of all it is not indigenous, and is colonising this area to the detriment of other natives such as thrift. Also it is a succulent and holds on to water, becoming heavy in wet weather. Whole mats of it can become dislocated from the cliffs causing rock falls.

Common names include Sea Fig, Western Iceplant, Coastal Iceplant, Baby Sun-Rose, Angled Pigface, I can't understand the 'Pigface' name. Carpobrotus edulis is a southern African plant. Introduced to Europe, the plant can be found entirely naturalised in some coastal habitats, particularly sea cliffs and sand-dunes in the south west of the UK. The plant tends be quite invasive, spreading and forming continuous mats over large areas. It does look stunning, but there may some problems with it. First of all it is not indigenous, and is colonising this area to the detriment of other natives such as thrift. Also it is a succulent and holds on to water, becoming heavy in wet weather. Whole mats of it can become dislocated from the cliffs causing rock falls. I'm not sure what the policy is in Budleigh. Maybe in certain areas the plants should be eradicated to allow indigenous species to thrive in order to prevent more coastal erosion.