Both sediments are markedly red, which indicates that they were formed in a desert in the hot dry climate of in the Triassic Period about 225 million years ago.

However, there is no safe access to the seaward shore on any of the stretch between the southern tip near Danger Point to Ladram Bay in the north.

It is possible to travel along the shore from the mouth of the Otter river to Ladram Bay near Otterton at very low tides but the beach is mostly covered with massive boulders of fallen sandstone, many very slippery because the more ferruginous nature of the rocks encourage algal growth.

The embayments mean that there is always a risk of being cut off between headlands by even a slight rise in local sea level or weather conditions such as a wind blowing on shore.

Although normally only fossil fragments are found, the sandstones at Danger Point have yielded excellent discoveries, such as the Beaked Lizard, known as Rhynchosaur.