Introduction Description Military Leisure use Nature Industry Formation Transport Chesil Home

The formation of the Ferrybridge area has been influenced by many factors. Chesil Beach has been advancing from the west since the end of the last ice age. Current estimates suggest a mean advancement rate of 15 cm per year. This advancement has been modified in recent years by the building of the road to Portland and the building of the RE Bridging Camp at  the Narrows.

The east side of the area is Hamm Beach which was formed from stone debris falling from the east side of Portland and sand from Weymouth bay. The building of the Portland Harbour breakwaters stopped both of these supply routes and the shore line is now being eroded during easterly storms.

The shape of the mouth of the Fleet has been considerably altered by natural forces and, more recently, by the activities of man over the last 200 years. During severe storms a considerable amount of water comes through or over Chesil Beach and the level in the Fleet can rise considerably. This water has to drain out through the Ferrybridge channel and this can have a considerable impact on the channel and the surrounding sandbanks. The last big storm was in 1824 when the ferry and the ferryman’s house were washed away and the channel deepened.

The building of the road embankment and railway embankment have now stopped this storm impact and it is not clear what will happen if another ‘1824 storm’ happens.

The north shore of the Ferrybridge area is soft clay and this has suffered steady erosion as evidenced by the pillbox and exposed water pipeline below the caravan park. In 2024 the footpath through this area was closed due to subsidence caused by the shoreline erosion. The Bridging Camp with its concrete hards has effectively stopped erosion of the landshore through the Narrows. This means the landshore is now fixed while the beach continues its advance towards the east slowly causing The Narrows to get even narrower with a resulting increase in tidal currents through the area.

The Beach opposite the Bridging Camp is at its narrowest and it is possible that a future breach of the beach during a storm could occur in this area. In recent years the beach has been breached twice. Firstly near the Chiswell drainage channel in 1979 and then in 2023 at Cogden.