Yorkshire's East Coast

Spurn Point

It is interesting to note that the GPS position of the above photograph appears be in the Humber Estuary.....the nose of the headland is extending.

There is a lot to see on Spurn that relates to coastal erosion and military history - all the areas are well signposted and there are an extensive number of information boards.

Our visit took almost six hours and covered 15km. Although much of the journey is on an old concrete road, the "Wash-Over" area, which comes early on the journey, is over loose sand and quite heavy going. With certain high tides, this area is covered by the sea and Spurn becomes an island.

We found tide information (a little out of date) in the Tide Shelter but the RNLI station at the point confirmed that the day of our visit wasn't a problem.
However, this link takes you to a page which contains the download of a tide timetable which advises on times when you shouldn't cross.


The 2013 'Wash-Over' area viewed looking north.
Crossing this area involves trekking over almost 1km of loose sand.
It is much easier if you use the water's edge where the sand is wet.

When the tides are high then Spurn Point becomes an island........this is the 1km 'wash-over' section.
This image is courtesy of the Easington Parish Council website (opens in a new window).


Across the narrow neck of Spurn, tank traps have been removed and pushed to the side.

The keen observer might spot these heavy anti-aircraft gun mountings.....thanks to the eDoB website (opens in a new window).

Remains of the standard guage railway used to transport building materials and military supplies can still be seen.

However, with the erosion of the land, the railway track often heads into the sea.

The remains of a WW2 road block with one of the two lighthouses in the background.
Click this link to read more about the history of the two lighthouses (opens in a new window)

The RNLI station and accommodation at Spurn Point.....with the old Low Lighthouse and the decommissioned Spurn Head Lighthouse in the background. I forgot to take a photograph so this image is © Mat Fascione (cc-by-sa/2.0).

The now automated Coastguard Station stands at the side of the old military parade ground.

Past the RNLI station, on your way to 'The Point', you can explore one the impressive Spurn Point gun batteries.

An unknown senior officer visits the Spurn battery.

Closer to the beach there are three WW2 searchlight bunkers.

A coastal searchlight in its protective bunker (this example not from Spurn Point).

During the war, the army had stripped the point of all vegetation and these lights had a clear view of the estuary.
This area has been returned to the wild and the land, in places, is now 5m higher than during the war.

A (hopefully) temporary image showing the location of the searchlights with a clear view to the estuary.

Once at the very tip of Spurn Point you have a commanding view of the Humber Estuary.

It is interesting to note that the military positions on Spurn were never attacked or fired their guns in action.


A very detailed PDF geological report on Spurn Point can be downloaded by clicking the image above or this link.