Chit Rocks, Sidmouth

Chit Rocks are a fragile honeycombed reef found below the town of Sidmouth in south Devon. The rocks are the remains of a sea stack, destroyed in the violent storms of 1824.

The red in Chit Rocks

The striking reddish colour comes not from pollution* but from iron oxide in the local sandstone, formed from the movement of a howling prehistoric desert. I’ve not noticed signs of any marine worms there – perhaps they don’t care for the rust.

Sidmouth is described as the gateway to the Jurassic Coast. Regency houses, cottages ornés and grand hotels rub shoulders with more modest buildings. The hoi polloi, eating ice creams on the wide esplanade, warily eye the patrolling herring gulls. Turnstones run frantically after invisible scraps.

Giant squid on Chit Rocks

H. G. Wells set his short story ‘The Sea Raiders’ on Chit Rocks. In the story, giant squid with a taste for human flesh invaded the area, before mysteriously disappearing.

It was hard to achieve the diffuse light on the almost still water (if I had any, I might have pained this scene in oils). The eerie stillness augmented the feeling of being somewhere of great antiquity and power.

If you’re looking for seascapes, you might like this view of Hannaine Bay, Alderney. Or perhaps this view of Langstone Harbour or this glittering Alderney sea. Maybe you might like this beach with stranded marine life.

*plenty of that in neighbouring Exmouth thanks to South West Water.