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Stevenston Beach is a Local Nature Reserve (LNR),〔(SNH ) Retrieved : 2012-08-29〕 located between Stevenston and Saltcoats in Scotland. It is situated on the coast, west of the Stevenston Burn. The park covers an area of 12 ha (81.5 acres), and consists mostly of sand dunes, with an area of coal mining spoil derived from Auchenharvie Colliery No. 5 pit which produced Ladyha' coal.〔Clements, Page 85〕〔(6 inch OS Map ) Retrieved : 2013-05-10〕 It is ranked as the fifth most important sand dune system in Ayrshire.〔Stevenston Beach LNR Conservation Management Plan〕 The dunes are also designated as a wildlife site by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. ==History== The sand dunes lay in the lands of Saltcoats Campbell, belonging to the Campbell's of Dovecothall and later to the Warner's of Ardeer House near Piperheugh on the outskirts of Stevenston.〔Clement, Page 26〕 The early OS maps show that a magnesia works was present in the area from 1832. A dwelling known as Summerseat in 1856 extended into the northern part of the dunes, bisected by the railway that forms the present boundary. Railway tracks and tramways associated with the Auchenharvie Colliery pit and its bing or spoil heap extended into the dune slack area until lifted in the 1940s. A Trig Point was positioned on top of this bing. The promenade or sea defence for the railway forms the western boundary of the LNR and the Stevenston Burn forms the eastern boundary. In the 1970s a couple of small buildings were all that was left of the old colliery and satellite photographs show their foundations and the extent of the spoil heap. Several 'stones' are recorded on the OS maps near the Stevenston Burn, representing permanent markers for the boundary of the Saltcoats Campbell and Saltcoats Cunninghame lands as the burn itself tends to change course. Such stones are also to be found for the same reason beside the Montfode Burn at Ardrossan North Bay between the lands of Montfode held by the Montfode family and those of Eglinton held by the Montgomeries. The Stevenston Canal ran on the Sandylands side, parallel to where the railway is now located. The Stevenston Burn was damed to supply the water for this shallow canal that carried coal from local pits to the harbour at Saltcoats.〔(Photobucket ) Retrieved : 2013-04-23〕 James Clement records that the foreshore has taken on a very different look since the nine-hole golf course was abandoned in 1903 in favour of the 18-hole Ardeer Golf Links. The course was laid out in 1880, stretching from the old Auchenharvie Colliery No.5 pit bing as far as the perimeter of the old Ardeer Iron Works. Burnside House in George Street was the clubhouse and the first tee was on a site now occupied by Carmyle Place.〔 Many of the sand dunes at the Ardeer explosives works were covered with ash and then seeded with grass to stabilise them. It is not known if this was carried out at Stevenston, however very large quantities of ash were produced from coal used by the magnesia and salt works at Saltcoats. The mine waste from the colliery has been integrated into the dune system and when exposed by wave action the shale waste often contains plant fossils such as species of Equisetum or horsetails. The site is owned by North Ayrshire Council, including the beach below the high water mark. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stevenston Beach」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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