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Seaford, East Sussex
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==Geography== The town lies on the coast near [[Seaford Head]], roughly equidistant between the mouths of the [[River Ouse, Sussex|River Ouse]] and the [[Cuckmere]]. The Ouse valley was a wide tidal [[estuary]] with its mouth nearly closed by a [[Baymouth bar|shingle bar]], but the tidal [[mudflat]]s and [[salt marsh]]es have been "inned" (protected from the tidal river by [[Dike (construction)|dyke]]s) to form grassy freshwater marshes ([[grazing marsh]]). To the north the town faces the chalk [[downland]] of the [[South Downs]], and along the coast to the east are the [[Seven Sisters, Sussex|Seven Sisters]] chalk cliffs, and [[Beachy Head]]. This stretch of coast is notified for its geological and ecological features as [[List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex|Seaford to Beachy Head]] [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=SSSI Citation β Seaford to Beachy Head |publisher=Natural England |url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002008.pdf |access-date=13 October 2008 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629014630/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002008.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The River Ouse used to run parallel to the shore behind the shingle bar, entering the sea close to Seaford. However, a major storm in the 16th century broke through the bar at its western end, creating a new river mouth close to the village called Meeching, which was later renamed to [[Newhaven, East Sussex|Newhaven]]. Part of the former channel of the river remains as a [[brackish]] lagoon. The town formerly had excellent beaches, which were supplied by [[longshore drift]] constantly moving sand along the coast from west to east. However, in the early 20th century a large [[Breakwater (structure)|breakwater]] was constructed at Newhaven Harbour and the harbour entrance was regularly dredged. These works cut off the supply of fresh sand to the beach. By the 1980s the beach at Seaford had all but vanished, the shoreline becoming steep, narrow and largely composed of small boulders. This made Seaford attractive to watersports enthusiasts (since water visibility was good and there was a rapid drop-off into deep water) but it discouraged more general seaside visitors. So in 1987 a massive [[Beach nourishment|beach replenishment]] operation was carried out, in which around 1 million tonnes of material was dredged from sandbanks out to sea and deposited on the shore. During a [[Great Storm of 1987|severe storm]] that October a substantial amount of the deposited material on the upper part of the beach was washed out past low tide level, leading to questions in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. The beach has been topped up several times since then, giving the town a broad beach of sand and shingle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geog.sussex.ac.uk/BAR/publish/Interim%20Report.pdf|title=Sand management|access-date=9 August 2010|archive-date=27 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727015722/http://www.geog.sussex.ac.uk/BAR/publish/Interim%20Report.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040823043516/http://ross.urs-tally.com/CompleteAnBib.asp Sand management]</ref> The town's publicity website<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seaford.co.uk/visit.html|title=Welcome to Seaford - Sussex.|access-date=23 June 2009|archive-date=5 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205200415/http://seaford.co.uk/visit.html|url-status=live}}</ref> states: "For many, the main attraction in Seaford is the beach", which draws visitors, particularly during the summer months when sea temperatures can reach up to 20Β°C (68Β°F).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sea water temperature Seaford (East Sussex) today {{!}} United Kingdom |url=https://seatemperature.info/united-kingdom/seaford-water-temperature.html |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=SeaTemperature.info |language=en}}</ref> To the east of Seaford, below chalk cliffs, is a beach called Hope Gap.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/local/hope-gap-lewes|title=Ordnance Survey|accessdate=7 February 2021}}</ref> It is a location in the film ''[[Hope Gap]]''. [[File:Seaford beach, East Sussex (2003).jpg|320px|thumb|right|Seaford Beach with Seaford Head in the background.]]
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