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In 1914, within just 12 hours of the outbreak of war, the quiet village of Kilnsea had become a garrison town to over 500 men posted to protect the Holderness coast line from the threat of German invasion by sea.

Signs of World War One all along the sandspit at Spurn are still prevalent today as large concrete gun emplacements slowly become victim to the elements forced upon them by the North Sea and this unique piece of land slowly shifts over time.

Andrew Gibson from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust at Spurn says plans and challenges for the future preservation of Spurn are firmly rooted in its past: 鈥淭he legacy of what was holding a line defending Britain may now be fixing something that shouldn鈥檛 be fixed. The very nature of what Spurn is means that it needs to be allowed to move. The fallen concrete could well be a barrier to that movement and that change. Big horizons, big skies and lots of challenges鈥︹��

Location: Spurn Natural Nature Reserve, Kilnsea, East Riding of Yorkshire HU12
Image of military hutments and a battery observation post near the Spurn Fort entrance
Photograph courtesy of Jan Crowther