The cliffs, which rise to 150 m at Berriedale, provide ideal nesting conditions for breeding seabirds,[3] and are protected by several overlapping conservation designations: The area is also protected by six separate Sites of Special Scientific Interest SSSI, which overlap wholly or partly with the other designations:[6] The cliffs are of particular importance for seabirds, hosting up to 300,000 individuals during the breeding season.

This is the most important area on the east coast of Scotland for black guillemot, with over 1,500 individuals breeding here each year.

The cliffs provide a range of habitats that are typical of northern Scotland, although lacking the extreme exposure of Cape Wrath or island locations.

In the southern parts of the area the climate is more moderate, and scrub has developed in gullies.

[7] The management strategy for the cliffs encourages light grazing of the grass and heathland in order to enable plants to flower and set seed whilst preventing bracken from becoming established.