The site used to be the furthest point along the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway that was constructed to provide a means of transporting sand from a series of quarries in the area.

[7] An application was made to designate the pit a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1988.

The application was made on the basis that it was the best accessible exposure to Lower Greensand and Gault in the Leighton Buzzard area.

This helps geologists study fossil and environmental changes in the area's history, particularly for the interval covering the Leymeriella tardefurcata and Douvilleiceras mammillatum ammonite zones.

[8] There is no access to the site but it can be viewed from the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway's Stonehenge Works on Mile Tree Road.