The South West Wind

Situated on the south coast Brighton is well-placed to experience all the effects of the prevailing south-west wind and it shows up in different ways. 

This row of trees in Gloucester Place planted about 10 years ago gradually increase in height as they gain more and more shelter from the salt-laden gales.  The second tree from the right appears to spoil this theory but this may be due to it getting an extra blast from wind funnelled down Blenheim Place.

At the Museum entrance in the Pavilion Grounds, the south-east and therefore most exposed column is badly eroded while the detailing on the more sheltered columns remains intact.  

I do not know to what extent this is due to salt or other pollutants carried on the wind. The English Channel is the busiest shipping lanes in the world and commercial shipping is one of the greatest polluters. A doctor friend told me some years ago that he thought Brighton a particularly bad place for asthma sufferers because of air-borne pollutants.