Glamorgan Heritage Coast

Cliffs and beach near Southerndown

The Glamorgan Heritage Coast is a 14-mile (23 km) stretch of coastline in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, UK.

Glamorgan Heritage Coast location
View from Nash Point cliff

The Glamorgan Heritage Coast lies between Ogmore-by-Sea and St Athan (with Nash Point at its midpoint) on the South Wales coast. There is a Heritage Coast Centre located at Dunraven Park, Southerndown, at the western end of the coast, providing an information point and education centre.[1]

The coast includes the Southerndown Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest at its heart, a 3.1-mile (5.0 km) section from Ogmore-by-Sea, particularly interesting for its exposed Triassic alluvial fan deposits of carboniferous limestone.[2] There is an Iron Age promontory fort (as well as a 19th-century lighthouse) at Nash Point and an ancient cairn or cromlech at Cwm Marcross.[3]

The stretch of coast made the news in 2014 when coastal erosion left a towering stack of limestone "about five times the height of a house" separated from the main cliffs near Dunraven Bay.[4]

In 2016 four large sculptures were to be created by artist Howard Bowcott, to be placed at strategic points along the coastline.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Glamorgan Heritage Coast". Vale of Glamorgan Council. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  2. ^ "Site Of Special Scientific Interest Citation: Southerndown Coast" (PDF). Countryside Council for Wales. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  3. ^ Terry Breverton (2013), "Nash Point–Iron Age Ditches, Lighthouses and Yr Hen Eglwys", Wales' 1000 Best Heritage Sites, Amberley Publishing, p. 24, ISBN 978-1-4456-2013-8
  4. ^ Peter Collins (6 May 2014). "Watch: Spectacular fly-by video reveals startling emergence of beautiful rock stack on Welsh coast". Wales Online. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
  5. ^ Dominic Jones (30 December 2015). "Help design new sculptures destined for St Athan". Barry & District News. Retrieved 2016-04-05.
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