Natural England - Hunstanton Cliffs (SSSI)
Hunstanton Cliffs (SSSI)
Location and Access Information
Grid Reference: TF 672413 to TF 679424
Seaweed covered Upper Cretaceous Carstone in front of red and white Chalk cliff at Hunstanton
This cliff section is located at the northern end of Hunstanton, in north-east Norfolk. Car parking is available at St. Edmunds Point, to the north of the town, from where access to the beach and the cliff section can be gained.
View the site map on Nature on the Map.
Geological Interest
This classic cliff section provides exposure through the Lower Cretaceous Red Chalk and the underlying Carstone. These shallow marine rocks contain a rich fossil fauna including several species of ammonites. These rocks are normally poorly exposed, so the section at Hunstanton is of importance in determining the environmental conditions in which these 110 million year old sediments were laid down. Overlying the Red Chalk, is the white Chalk of Upper Cretaceous age (approximately 95 million years ago) indicating a period of erosion between the two units.