It wasn’t all bad

A German First World War U-boat has emerged from the sands off a beach near Calais, a century after it ran aground. Historians say the UC-61 sank at least 11 Allied ships before getting stranded in July 1917, en route to Boulogne-sur-mer. Its 26 crew surrendered and the sub was gradually covered over by the shifting sand. Now, the wreck is becoming a tourist attraction – but locals have advised visitors to come soon: one strong gust of wind, and it could vanish again.

A woman who spent 2018 clearing the litter from the coast of Devon and Cornwall has vowed to carry on her mission. To fulfil a New Year’s resolution, Pat Smith cleared 52 sandy beaches, at a rate of one a week, last year. She even went out on Christmas Day. The 70-year-old, who runs a b&b in St Austell and founded the environmental group Final Straw Cornwall, began by filling two black bin bags in two hours on Fistral beach near Newquay. She says much of what she collects is fishing industry waste. Often joined by volunteers, she says she has no intention of stopping, despite sometimes being mistaken for someone completing a community service order.

The residents of a Welsh coastal town have laid a bold claim to a coveted title: world’s steepest street. Last week, locals and experts spent a day taking measurements on Ffordd Pen Llech in Harlech, which they think has a gradient of 36% at its steepest. The title is currently held by Dunedin, in New Zealand: its Baldwin Street only hits 35%, and residents are worried that losing their title could damage the tourist industry they have created around it. Some have suggested resurfacing the top of the street to make it steeper.