Heritage coasts - Hamstead/Tennyson
Within a small island, the contrasting landscapes of two very different Heritage Coasts.
Hamstead Coast is dominated by the shallow, drowned estuary of Newtown River. The haunt of terns and curlews, many birds overwinter on the salt marsh and mudflats' remote expanses. The coasts' low clay and limestone cliffs are remarkably rich in fossils of an age found nowhere else in Britian.
Much of Hamstead Heritage Coast is a nature reserve, which visitors are encouraged to explore using natural trails. Disturbance by pleasure craft is monitored. Tennyson Coast includes the famous spectacular chalk stacks of 'The Needles', high chalk cliffs, deep wooded 'chines' and landslip areas cut in the clay and sand beds below the chalk. With its changing rock and landforms, a coast not only of varied beauty but also one of great scientific interest, protected by SSSIs (www.english-nature.org.uk/special/sssi/).
