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The Steart Peninsula () is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England. At its outermost tip is Fenning Island (now joined to the mainland), at the tip of which is Stert Point (sometimes spelt Steart Point) which is the eastern end of the West Somerset Coast Path. North of Stert Point lies Stert Island, which was joined to the peninsula until about 1798. The peninsula consists largely of low-lying flat farmland, and projects northwards on the west side of Stockland Reach, the lower stretches of the estuary of the

River Parrett The River Parrett is a river that flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the So ...

. The main settlement on the peninsula is the village of Steart, but two other villages, Stockland Bristol and Otterhampton sit at the peninsula's base. A single minor road links the village of Steart to these other villages. The River Parrett Trail runs along the peninsula. West of the peninsula are the villages of Stolford and

Hinkley Point Hinkley Point is a headland on the Bristol Channel coast of Somerset, England, north of Bridgwater and west of Burnham-on-Sea, close to the mouth of the River Parrett. Excavations in 2014 and 2015, carried out by Cotswold Archaeology and fun ...

, and to the south is the village of Combwich. From 1927 to the 1950s, Stert Flats, the mudflats north-west of the peninsula, were used as a RAF

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

, the Stert Flats Air Gunnery and Bombing Range. A few structures from this time remain.

Nature reserves

There are two nature reserves on the peninsula. A third reserve is being developed by the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

Bridgwater Bay National Nature Reserve

Bridgwater Bay, a national nature reserve, lies on the northern side of the peninsula. The reserve includes the largest area of

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

in Somerset, and large expanses of

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s exposed at low tide, important feeding and roosting sites for waterfowl and wading birds. There are four bird hides in the north of the reserve, near the tip of the peninsula. Adjoining the reserve are three coastal commons — from west to east these are Catsford Common, Wall Common and Steart Common.

Steart Marshes

The Steart Marshes are a major wetland reserve on the south side of the peninsula, completed in 2014 and managed by the

Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. History The trust was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist and artist Sir Peter Scott as the Severn Wildfowl Trust. ...

. The reserve is the result of a flood management project, which involved a breach in the sea wall to permit seawater to enter the salt marsh from the tidal River Parrett. The Steart peninsula has flooded many times during the last millennium. The most severe recent floods occurred in 1981. By 1997, a combination of

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

current sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

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. In July 2010, the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

presented a plan to convert the peninsula into wetland habitat, costing £17–20 million, which included land purchase costs of £5–7 million. It was the largest wetland habitat creation scheme in England. Work began on the programme in May 2012 and was completed in September 2014. An Environment Agency spokesman said "The Steart project will directly protect homes, businesses and the surrounding infrastructure. Salt marsh is a natural flood risk management scheme. Like coral reefs or mangroves in the tropics, salt marsh takes energy out of the tide and reduces wave height."

References

External links

Archaeology of the Steart Peninsula
Wessex Archaeology, 2019 {{Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Sedgemoor Peninsulas of England Landforms of Somerset