Stevenston Beach

Ardeer Beach
Ardeer Beach
	Ardeer Beach LNR
Type	Local Nature Reserve
Location	Stevenston, North Ayrshire, Scotland
Coordinates	55°37′50″N4°45′33″W / 55.630581°N 4.759269°W
Area	12ha
Created	1999
Operated by	North Ayrshire Council
Open	All year

Last updated October 23, 2024

Ardeer Beach is a Local Nature Reserve (LNR),^[1] located between Stevenston and Saltcoats in Scotland. It is situated on the coast, west of the Stevenston Burn. The park covers an area of 12 ha (81.5 acres), and consists mostly of sand dunes, with an area of coal mining spoil derived from Auchenharvie Colliery No. 5 pit which produced Ladyha' coal.^[2]^[3] It is ranked as the fifth most important sand dune system in Ayrshire.^[4] The dunes are also designated as a wildlife site by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.

History

The sand dunes lay in the lands of Saltcoats Campbell, belonging to the Campbell's of Dovecothall and later to the Warner's of Ardeer House near Piperheugh on the outskirts of Stevenston.^[5] The early OS maps show that a magnesia works was present in the area from 1832. A dwelling known as Summerseat in 1856 extended into the northern part of the dunes, bisected by the railway that forms the present boundary. Railway tracks and tramways associated with the Auchenharvie Colliery pit and its bing or spoil heap extended into the dune slack area until lifted in the 1940s. A Trig Point was positioned on top of this bing. The promenade or sea defence for the railway forms the western boundary of the LNR and the Stevenston Burn forms the eastern boundary. In the 1970s a couple of small buildings were all that was left of the old colliery and satellite photographs show their foundations and the extent of the spoil heap.

Several 'stones' are recorded on the OS maps near the Stevenston Burn, representing permanent markers for the boundary of the Saltcoats Campbell and Saltcoats Cunninghame lands as the burn itself tends to change course. Such stones are also to be found for the same reason beside the Montfode Burn at Ardrossan North Bay between the lands of Montfode held by the Montfode family and those of Eglinton held by the Montgomeries.

The Stevenston Canal ran on the Sandylands side, parallel to where the railway is now located. The Stevenston Burn was dammed to supply the water for this shallow canal that carried coal from local pits to the harbour at Saltcoats.^[6]

James Clement records that the foreshore has taken on a very different look since the nine-hole golf course was abandoned in 1903 in favour of the 18-hole Ardeer Golf Links. The course was laid out in 1880, stretching from the old Auchenharvie Colliery No.5 pit bing as far as the perimeter of the old Ardeer Iron Works. Burnside House in George Street was the clubhouse and the first tee was on a site now occupied by Carmyle Place.^[2]

Many of the sand dunes at the Ardeer explosives works were covered with ash and then seeded with grass to stabilise them. It is not known if this was carried out at Stevenston, however very large quantities of ash were produced from coal used by the magnesia and salt works at Saltcoats.

The mine waste from the colliery has been integrated into the dune system and when exposed by wave action the shale waste often contains plant fossils such as species of Equisetum or horsetails.

The site is owned by North Ayrshire Council, including the beach below the high water mark.

Wildlife

The reserve represents the last fully forming sand dune system in North Ayrshire following the destruction and stabilisation of the Ardeer Hills sand dune system in the 19th century. Its sands are shifting and therefore changing the structure and position of the dunes.

Plants

Rarer sand dune vegetation such as Babington's Orache (Atriplex glabriuscula) and Isle of Man cabbage (Coincya monensis monensis) have been recorded,^[1] together with typical sand dune wild flowers, including European marram grass ( Ammophila arenaria ), lyme grass ( Leymus arenarius ), kidney vetch, tufted vetch, common restharrow ( Ononis repens ), European searocket ( Cakile maritima ), sea campion (Silene maritima), prickly saltwort ( Kali turgida ), Scottish bluebell ( Campanula rotundifolia ), bird's-foot trefoil, ragwort ( Senecio jacobaea ), sea mayweed ( Tripleurospermum maritimum ) and sea sandwort ( Honckenya peploides ). Plants such as lyme grass were so important in stabilising sand dunes that during the 17th-century reign of William III, the Scottish Parliament passed a law protecting it.^[7]

Insects

The sand dunes and shoreline plants support large numbers and a wide variety of insect species. Butterflies and moths present include common blues (Polyommatus icarus), small heaths (Coenonympha pamphilus), small coppers ( Lycaena phlaeas ), the sub-species caeruleopunctata, graylings (Hipparchia semele) and the six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae).^[8]

Birds

Waders found on the beach include sanderling (Calidris alba), dunlin (Calidris alpina), ringed plover, and oystercatchers are found on the neighbouring beach park. Brent goose, little stint, and golden plover are sometimes seen. The strandline on the shore contains marine invertebrates, which is a food source for flocks of twite (Carduelis flavirostris), linnet (Carduelis cannabina), pied wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii), and, occasionally, snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis).^[8] Eurasian skylark (Alauda arvensis) and meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) are likely sightings and ravens (Corvus corax) are sometimes seen. Common snipe and jack snipe were both recorded at the site in 2014. Rooks are common and great black-backed gulls are seen in addition to the black-headed and herring gulls.

In August 1962 the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald (15 August 1962) reported that a penguin was spotted on the rocks at 'Sandylands Beach.' The police were informed but failed to catch it and its fate is not known. In 1998 150 plant species and 60 bird species were recorded at the site.

Aliens

The dunes have suffered from non-native or inappropriate plantings such as alder, privet, hawthorn, michaelmas daisy, and in particular the Rugosa rose ( Rosa rugosa ). It is a suckering shrub which develops new plants from the roots and forms dense thickets 1–1.50 m tall. In late summer and early autumn the plants unusually often bear fruit and flowers at the same time. Planted nearby at the car park as an ornamental plant it has spread to the reserve and is now widespread and expanding. It is extremely tolerant of seaside salt spray and storms and is considered an invasive species. At Stevenston it is out-competing native flora, thereby threatening the biological diversity of this Local Nature Reserve.^[9] SNAPS (Scottish National Aerial Photography Scheme) has been used to map the areas of the Japanese rose domination. It is hoped that volunteers will be able to prevent its further spread by digging it out by hand and removing it from the site for appropriate disposal.

Sand dune structure

The area has various types of habitat starting from the mean high water springs where low growing plants form the first barrier to wind blow and start the process of sand deposition. Above this level and out of reach of all but the highest tides, dune grasses trap sand and cause a 'pioneer zone' of mobile fore-dunes to develop. At this stage the dunes are known as 'yellow dunes' due to the lack of vegetation. Other plants colonise the areas between the grasses and as soil, water and nutrients increase and the supply of fresh sand decreases, a more diverse flora becomes established in this area, referred to as 'grey dunes'. Behind these dunes an area of dune slack exists, protected from the winds, periodically drying out. a biodiverse dune grassland with an area of wetland and scrub extends from this zone.^[4]

Severe storms and flooding from the Stevenston Burn are two of the factors that periodically have a more or less dramatic effect upon the dune system and beach structure. The storms of the winter of 2014 resulted in the linear loss of several metres of the sea facing fore dunes, exposing previously buried old fencing and also eroding the coal mine spoil heap section with concomitant release of rocks and smaller shingle that was moved by long shore drift and covered relatively large areas of the previously sandy upper beach.

Dune systems are very susceptible to fire damage started as a result of barbecues and small fires or by deliberate actions.

Fossils

The spoil heap from the old mines contain a number of fossil tree fern and fossil horsetail plants and to date (2015) identified genera are Lepidodendron, Stigmaria and Calamites.

Management

The North Ayrshire Council Ranger Service patrols the site and works with groups to maintain and enhance the infrastructure and wildlife elements of the site.

Landfill tax credits collected by North Ayrshire Council provided funding to undertake environmental improvement projects within the LNR. ASH design + assessment was commissioned by the Environmental Trust for Scotland on behalf of North Ayrshire Council to undertake a project at Stevenston Beach. Construction for both projects was carried out by a local training organisation. The aim of this project was to conserve this locally scarce natural resource and reduce erosion by pedestrians and quad bikes randomlymoving through the dune area to access the beach. The completed scheme successfully resolved much of the dune erosion issues and has made Stevenston Beach LNR more easily accessible to the community and users of the nearby Sandylands Holiday Park, while helping to preserve the habitats within this important local nature reserve.^[10]

Management priorities in 2000 were sand trapping on the fore dunes, sowing new dune grasses, fencing off blow out areas, removing non-native or transplanted plants, litter clearance, signposting, and creating a network of dedicated paths.^[11]

In April 2015 a 'Friends of Stevenston Beach' was re-established and meetings held every second Sunday.

According to the Scottish Natural Heritage survey of 1998^[4] the site consists of: 1. Beach and strand-line communities 2. Mobile dune 3. Semi-fixed dune 4. Wet, neutral grassland communities. 5. Swamps, fen communities 6. Improved grassland communities (a small section at the Sandylands end).

Transport

The LNR is situated on the coast beside the B714. Access by rail is from Stevenston railway station. Regular bus routes from Greenock/Ayr/Kilmarnock and Glasgow pass the beach. The Ardrossan to Kilwinning Sustrans cyclepath runs along the edge of the reserve and joins up with National Cyclepath 7 at Kilwinning.

Nudist beach

Stevenston beach is also labed as a clothing optional beach

Related Research Articles

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North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and south respectively. The local authority is North Ayrshire Council, formed in 1996 with the same boundaries as the district of Cunninghame which existed from 1975 to 1996.

Saltcoats is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages along the shore. It is part of the 'Three Towns' conurbation along with Ardrossan and Stevenston and is the third largest town in North Ayrshire.

Ardrossan is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore of the Firth of Clyde.

Stevenston is a town and parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats it is one of the "Three Towns", all of similar size, on the Firth of Clyde coast; the easternmost parts of Stevenston are about 1⁄2 mile from western parts of Kilwinning, the A78 trunk road runs between the settlements.

The Lanarkshire and Ayrshire Railway (L&AR) was an independent railway company built to provide the Caledonian Railway with a shorter route for mineral traffic from the coalfields of Lanarkshire to Ardrossan Harbour, in Scotland.

Auchenharvie Colliery was a colliery formerly located in the Auchenharvie area of Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland that was devastated by a pit disaster on 2 August 1895 in which nine people died.

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Piperheugh, Piper's-Heugh, or even Piperhaugh was a hamlet in North Ayrshire, Parish of Stevenston, Scotland. The inhabitants were recorded as famous manufacturers of trumps, or Jew's harps. The village only survived as ruins by 1837 and no remnants are now visible, not even the plantation that bore its name. 'Pyperheugh' and 'Pypersheugh' are both recorded in the 18th century.

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The Stevenston Canal was a waterway in North Ayrshire, Scotland, built for Robert Reid Cunningham of Seabank and Patrick Warner of the Ardeer Estate, which ran to the port of Saltcoats from Ardeer, and Stevenston with a number of short branches to coal pits along the length of the cut. The canal opened on 19 September 1772, the first commercial canal in Scotland. It closed in the 1830s, when it was abandoned following the exhaustion of the coal mines and the rise of importance of Ardrossan as a harbour. At the time of its construction it was said to be the "most complete water system of colliery transport ever devised in Britain."

Africa House is a Category B listed building in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was designed by James Miller, or his son George, for the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Glasgow. It was originally a temporary structure built to house an exhibit of South African goods but after the exhibition was purchased by ICI Nobel. The company transported the structure to their explosives manufacturing plant in Ardeer, North Ayrshire. The structure was re-erected, though some decorative features were omitted, and, as Africa House, served as a kitchen and canteen for the company's staff. A two-storey concrete-framed extension was added to the structure in the 1960s.

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References

Notes

1 2 SNH Retrieved : 2012-08-29
1 2 Clements, Page 85
↑ 6 inch OS Map Retrieved : 2013-05-10
1 2 3 Stevenston Beach LNR Conservation Management Plan
↑ Clement, Page 26
↑ Photobucket Retrieved : 2013-04-23
↑ Lyme Grass Retrieved : 2012-08-31
1 2 Stevenston Conservation Retrieved : 2012-08-29
↑ Weidema, I. (2006). "NOBANIS — Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet — Rosa rugosa" (PDF). Online Database of the European Network on Invasive Alien Species — NOBANIS www.nobanis.org . Retrieved 29 August 2012.{{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
↑ ASH Design Retrieved : 2012-08-29
↑ Management Group

Sources

Clements, James (1974). Stevenston. The Kernel of Cunninghame. Stevenston: Burgh of Stevenston.
Stvevenston Beach Management Group. 2000.
Stevenston Beach LNR Conservation Management Plan. 2004. North Ayrshire Council.

External links

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[snh-1] 1 2 SNH Retrieved : 2012-08-29

[c-2] 1 2 Clements, Page 85

[3] 6 inch OS Map Retrieved : 2013-05-10

[sbl-4] 1 2 3 Stevenston Beach LNR Conservation Management Plan

[5] Clement, Page 26

[6] Photobucket Retrieved : 2013-04-23

[7] Lyme Grass Retrieved : 2012-08-31

[sc-8] 1 2 Stevenston Conservation Retrieved : 2012-08-29

[9] Weidema, I. (2006). "NOBANIS — Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet — Rosa rugosa" (PDF). Online Database of the European Network on Invasive Alien Species — NOBANIS www.nobanis.org . Retrieved 29 August 2012.{{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)

[10] ASH Design Retrieved : 2012-08-29

[11] Management Group

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