What could be better on a sunny summer's day than a sand-dune safari? The extensive network of paths at Upton Towans means that one minute you may feel lost amongst the undulating dunes but then you turn a corner and before you is a stunning, shimmering vista of St Ives Bay. Towans is the Cornish name for sand hill and Upton lies within the extensive dune system that makes up the Gwithian to Mexico Towans Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Sand dunes develop when deep-rooting marram grass traps the wind-blown seashell sand, which is rich in calcium. If you approach the dunes from the beach you will

first encounter strand-line vegetation, closely followed by near-vertical cliffs which in places have slipped to reveal interesting geological features. The cliffs merge with more mobile dunes in which bare sand is abundant. Further inland, the sand is more fixed in the large areas of dune grassland which in places is dominated by scrub.

The dunes in this area are thought to have been created some 5,000 years ago and over time humans have probably had the greatest influence on their changing form. Mining and the National Explosives Factory at Upton Towans would have greatly altered

this landscape; the latter giving rise to the local name of Dynamite Towans. Today the site is managed as a nature reserve on a long lease from Cornwall County Council.

Visitors are encouraged to use the footpaths; from these, all that is wonderful about Upton Towans can be accessed and enjoyed. At different times of year you will see skylarks, orchids, butterflies and adders. If you enjoy a summer's evening stroll, perhaps to watch the sun set across the bay, be sure on your way back through the dunes to look out for the lights of the female glow-worm.

Callum Deveney