Saunton Sands

Saunton Sands
A RAF C-130K Hercules landing at Saunton Sands

Saunton Sands is a beach in the English village of Saunton on the North Devon coast near Braunton, popular as a longboard surfing location.[1] Its southern end, Crow Point, lies at the mouth of the River Taw estuary.[2] It is part of the Taw-Torridge estuary Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is at the centre of the UNESCO-designated North Devon's Biosphere Reserve, where Braunton Burrows lies at the heart.

Saunton Sands Hotel overlooks the beach at the northern end. This is cordoned off a few times a year and the beach used as an air strip for military transport planes, usually Lockheed C-130 Hercules of the Royal Air Force, to practice STOL beach landings and take offs.[3] There are permanent restrictions in some areas for flying kites on this part of the beach.[4]

Saunton Sands is popular with surfers because the beach is long and provides space for large groups.

On 3 August 1990, a temperature of 35.4 °C (95.7 °F) was recorded at Saunton Sands, which is the highest temperature recorded in the England's south-west.[5]

Saunton Sands was used as a location for the 1946 Powell and Pressburger film A Matter of Life and Death (sometimes called Stairway to Heaven)[6], and can be seen where David Niven's character is washed up on the beach after he jumps from his plane without a parachute – and survives.

It was a major location for the 1978 horror film The Shout, along with the adjacent Braunton Burrows.[7]

The beach was used as a location for the Second World War Anzio landings scenes in the 1982 Pink Floyd film The Wall[8] and as the backdrop for over 700 wrought iron hospital beds on the cover of the band's 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason.[9] Saunton Sands also doubled for the Normandy beaches in 2014's movie Edge of Tomorrow.[10]

In the late 1990s the beach was used for the video for the Robbie Williams song "Angels".[11] In 2013 it was used again for the video for the Olly Murs song "Hand on Heart".[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Saunton Sands Beach | Saunton Beach". Saunton Beach. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  2. ↑ Guide, Copyright The Beach. "Saunton Sands Beach | Devon | UK Beach Guide". UK Beach Guide. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  3. ↑ Mark Fowler (2014-04-03), C130 J HERCULES SAUNTON SANDS TACTICAL OPERATIONS, retrieved 2017-10-13
  4. ↑ "Kitesurfing at Saunton Sands - Blue Chip Holidays". www.bluechipholidays.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  5. ↑ "South-west England: Temperature". The Met Office. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  6. ↑ "Reviews of "A Matter of Life and Death (1946)"". www.powell-pressburger.org. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  7. ↑ The Shout (1978), retrieved 2017-10-13
  8. ↑ "Lily James films in WWII aircraft replica for new flick Guernsey". Mail Online. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  9. ↑ "1987 – Pink Floyd – A Momentary Lapse of Reason". Neptune Pink Floyd. 2000-12-28. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  10. ↑ Reeves, Tony. "Filming Locations for Edge Of Tomorrow: Live Die Repeat (2014), in London and the UK". The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  11. ↑ "Robbie Williams". www.robbiewilliams.com. Retrieved 2017-10-13.
  12. ↑ Howells, Sarah. "VIDEO: Olly Murs releases Hand on Heart video shot on Saunton". North Devon Gazette. Retrieved 2017-10-13.


Coordinates: 51°06′0″N 4°13′33″W / 51.10000°N 4.22583°W / 51.10000; -4.22583

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