12 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF NORWICH AND DISTRICT 
226 ft. above the sea, and one of the finest view points for miles round, 
and as Mundesley is approached long narrow lagoons, called ‘ lows,’ 
visible at low tide become a characteristic feature. (5) Mundesley to 
Eccles. The coast stretches south-eastwards in a line almost straight, 
the cliffs becoming rapidly lower until Bacton is reached where they are 
as low as 4 ft. Afterwards they rise gradually to about 50 ft. on the north 
side of Happisburgh where they gradually lose height until they are lost 
under blown sand near the parish boundaries of Happisburgh and Eccles. 
In short this is a zone of low cliffs, alternating sections of rapid erosion 
and sand-dune formation, off-shore fishing and lows. (6) Eccles to 
Winterton—here marram hills protect the low-lying hinterland from 
inundation at high tide, a form of sea defence which has given cause for 
considerable anxiety. In the latter part of the eighteenth century ten 
rather serious breaches made by the sea are shown on Faden’s map 
published in 1797, the advance of the line of dunes is clearly illustrated by 
the fate of Eccles Church in the nineteenth century, when the sand dunes 
passed from the seaward to the landward side of the church, and the tower 
fell during a gale in 1895. The natural forms of the sand dunes stand 
out plainly above the level of the hinterland as a line of irregular hills, 
attaining in places to a height of 80 ft. The beauty of these natural dunes 
is being somewhat modified by man who is engaged in the task of con- 
verting them into a broad wall of a more or less uniform height, and 
further strengthening them by planting additional patches of marram 
grass. Winterton Ness is a point which marks a change from sea en- 
croachments to land gains, accompanied by a change in the design of the 
sand hills. ‘The area of blown sand widens to as much as half a mile, 
and, amid a medley of sand mounds at Flatgate Warren, two or more 
lines of dunes are traceable. (7) Winterton to Hemsby—the higher land 
of the Fleggs starts here, its seaward edge, at least half a mile from the 
present high tide line, is marked by a steep sided old sea cliff 50 ft. high. 
Parallel with the present shore line are two lines of sand hills, while 
between the inner line of hills and the old cliff a valley covered with sand 
sedge, marram, furze and brambles extends from Winterton to Hemsby. 
(8) Hemsby to Scratby—the inner line of sand hills reaches the old cliff 
line at Hemsby, where the land dips before it rises again at Scratby. The 
junction of the outer sand dunes with the higher ground at Newport 
Cottages is quickly followed by an exposure of cliff some 50 ft. in height 
at Scratby. (g) Scratby to Great Yarmouth—small but scattered patches 
of vegetation growing on the cliff face, and the presence of small mounds 
of sands, 1o ft. or so high, on the shore show a tendency for the formation 
of protective sand dunes here. On the other hand, the possibility of 
spring tides reinforced by a strong following wind reaching the base of 
the cliffs may be regarded as an indication that this part of the coast is not 
entirely safe from sea erosion. ‘The cliffs continue for a mile or so before 
they are again hidden by blown sand, and as we go southwards the land 
loses height and the protecting sands gain in width. East Caister marks 
the southern boundary of the higher Flegg country, the beginning of the 
marshes, and the northern limit of an old bay. From this point a spit 
of beach shingle and sand, four miles long and half a mile wide, stretches 
