In response to this threat sea walls have been built at several points including at Burnham-on-Sea, Berrow and Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast.

[14][15] The intertidal mud flats are, as a result, potentially dangerous and it is not uncommon for the emergency services to mount rescue operations on them.

Following the death of Lelaina Hall off Berrow in 2002, a local fund raising campaign succeeded in purchasing a Swedish-built BBV6 rescue hovercraft.

[21] Hinkley Point is a headland extending into Bridgwater Bay 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett.

By 1997, a combination of coastal erosion, sea level rise and wave action had made some of the defences distinctly fragile and at risk from failure.

As a result, in 2002 The Environment Agency produced the Stolford to Combwich Coastal Defence Strategy Study to examine options for the future.

[25] The foreshore at Watchet, which lies at the mouth of the Washford River, and on the edge of Exmoor National Park, is rocky, but has a small harbour.

[28] At Kilve are the remains of a red brick retort, built in 1924, when it was discovered that the shale found in the cliffs was rich in oil.

Along this coast the cliffs are layered with compressed strata of oil-bearing shale and blue, yellow and brown lias embedded with fossils.

[24] Catches include: Thinlip mullet,[30] plaice, dogfish, cuttlefish, skate, shrimp, prawns, sea bass, and sole.

[32] At low tide extensive areas of mudflats (the Steart and the Berrow Flats) are exposed, providing important feeding and overwintering grounds for waders (shorebirds).

[4] Brean Down, Berrow Dunes and Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) are included in the national nature reserve[2] which is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

Where the upper marsh is grazed by cattle red fescue (Festuca rubra) and creeping bent (Agrostis stolonifera) are found.

[2] The nationally scarce bulbous foxtail (Alopecurus bulbosus), slender hare's-ear (Bupleurum tenuissimum) and sea barley (Hordeum marinum) are grazed by sheep on the marshes around the bay.

[2] Brean Down is a site for the nationally rare white rock-rose (Helianthemum apenninum), which occurs in abundance on the upper reaches of the grassy south-facing slopes.

Nationally scarce species include the aquatic snail Gyraulus laevis, the hairy dragonfly (Brachytron pratense), and the ladybird Coccidula scutellata.

[3] Rare vagrant species spotted in the area include lesser yellowlegs, white-rumped sandpiper, Pallid Harrier (in spring) and Richard's pipit (in autumn).

[45][46][39][47][48][49][50][51] The birds seen on Brean Down include peregrine falcon, western jackdaw, kestrel, collared and stock doves, common whitethroat, linnet, stonechat, dunnock and rock pipit.