There are cliffs of coloured sands, rolling dunes, salt flats, reefs, palm-lined beaches, beaches with freshwater lagoons, tiny traditional fishing villages and some larger settlements that are popular with local weekenders.
Surrounded by crumbling cliffs, this hidden cove of sand is tucked away from the tanned and tested Spanish costas.
For millenniums, the sea's waves have battered the coastlines of the world, here cutting back a cliff, there stripping away tons of sand from a beach, and somewhere else, in a reversal of their destructiveness, building up a bar or a small island.
At Abydos, the gorge is about fifteen miles wide, flanked on both sides by high cliffs that are the color of sand.
So what Mr. Evans refers to as "superhomes" in the enviable Bournemouth districts of Branksome Park, Canford Cliffs and Sandbanks (a spit of sand sticking into the sea that is among the most expensive acreage in the country) could be coveted by the same kind of overseas buyers who keep the central London market so buoyant.
Instead of high-rise hotels and golf courses you will find exhilarating sweeps of sand backed by cliffs, whitewashed fishing villages and some of the best surf in Europe.
Strewn with boulders, mounds of sand and even a cliff face, it's home to two full-scale mock-ups of Curiosity.
Starting from mapped volumes of sand incorporated in barriers, cliff retreat in the last 8000 years is calculated to total 2400 m at maximum.
A peaceful arc of sand cradled by chalky cliffs, this is a great place for kids to go rockpooling.
