Her forthcoming book is “Endlings: A Journey into the Last of Things.” She has held fellowships and positions at numerous academic institutions including the Institute for Advanced Study and Oxford University. She is currently the creative director of Upland Arts Development in Scotland. White is a photographer living on the Isle of Skye.
He is a recipient of the Royal Photographic Society Environmental Bursary and is the 2026 Ampersand Foundation/Photoworks Fellow. HAPPISBURGH, England — Off the coast of Norfolk on edge of the North Sea, the ocean can seem calm, but the waters are deceptive. Beneath the marbled brown lie sand banks and submerged mountains waiting to ensnare unsuspecting ships.
Happisburgh (pronounced Hays-burro) is a small, pretty town, its narrow roads lined by houses with walls made of flint pressed into mortar. The beach roads all have names like Stone’s Throw or Cliff Top, and the sea has always been present in people’s lives. But inching ever closer for years, now its incursions are rapid and frightening.
The light changed suddenly. Over my shoulder the sky was dark with rain that towered in hazy columns against a thunderous glow. It rolled over the beach, over the houses, falling into the sea, billowing over the crumbling cliff edge.
Lightning split the blackness and the clouds rumbled. Gulls soared like scraps of loose paper and sand martins wheeled in a frenzy, seeking refuge. For a moment, the world had ended.
Then it was clear again: sun shining, birds calling, people laughing. I was looking out to submerged places, out to the infamous Doggerland. Places with names and identities that no longer exist here.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
