Geographers Weather the Elements on Hurst Spit

On a Thursday in mid-June, 78 Fourth Year geographers and 8 staff from Churcher’s College set off for Milford on Sea, located at the eastern end of Christchurch Bay, to survey the impressive 2.5km stretch of sand and shingle known as Hurst Spit.

The students were tasked with collecting data to investigate how the landform’s size, shape, and composition changed from the landward to the seaward end. Unfortunately, the morning weather was far from ideal—heavy rain, occasionally turning torrential, made data collection a real challenge. Despite the downpour, the two classes working in the morning persevered, managing to salvage a few soggy but partially legible data booklets. As everyone munched on damp sandwiches outside Hurst Castle, the weather took a turn for the better: the clouds cleared, the rain stopped, and the sun emerged.

The afternoon classes enjoyed much-improved conditions as they worked their way back down the spit. By the time the group boarded the coach in the afternoon, clothes had dried, spirits were high, and the ice-cream stand was doing brisk business.