Old Hunstanton
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk District, Norfolk, England
Old Hunstanton refers to a settlement near the newer resort of Hunstanton, in Norfolk, UK.
The chalk cliffs of Old Hunstanton are famous in the UK as the distinct red and white striped sandstone are well known from posters and postcards.
Hunstanton is a public beach and a SSSI, and the cliffs are highly fossiliferous.
Many sites list a variety of fossils, including ammonites, belemnites, brachiopods, bivalves and sponges – during my visits I have never even seen an ammonite there, but perhaps I’m looking in the wrong place!
The cliffs are a striking combination of colours, white and reddy-brown. If you’re there on a hot day, I highly recommend renting a sit-on canoe and going on a paddle out to sea; the view is gorgeous.
The cliffs themselves start, at the base, with a red-brown carstone, a mix of sandstone and glauconite. The second layer is the Hunstanton red sequence – iron stained chalk which often includes marine fossils, especially belemnites.
The white chalk above forms several distinctive beds.
Collecting is allowed on the beach but should be done purely from the beaches and from cliff falls; an eye should always be kept on the cliffs above as some areas are ready to fall.
Further reading:
If you are interested in other minerals from nearby locales, we may have stock from the following locations.
Norfolk- Castle Acre quarry, Newton by Castle Acre, Breckland, Norfolk
- Crimplesham Quarry, Crimplesham, Norfolk
- Old Hunstanton, Hunstanton, Norfolk
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