Introduction Formation Recreation Designations Railway Chesil Beach

Hamm Beach has received two designations because of its ecological importance. It is part of the North Portland Harbour shoreline Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and is within the Chesil Beach and the Fleet Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and European Marine SIte.

The commercial and recreational pressures on the beach led to some discussion of whether Hamm Beach should have been included in the SAC designation, but an independant report commissioned by the DETR concluded that it was an important part of the continuum of shingle and marine species from the highly mobile shingle of Chesil Beach across to the sand flats of Portland Harbour..

The Hamm Beach is noted for its wide variety of species because of the varied niche habitats, including sand dunes, shingle, railway track bed, and drainage ditches. For a list of the plant species to be found on Hamm Beach click here.

Excerpt from OS map showing extent of Hamm Beach