Southerndown Coast

Southerndown Coast is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in St Brides Major community, in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.

The SSSI extends over 5 kilometres (3 miles) of south-west facing coastline, with rocky limestone cliffs, broad beaches and deeply fissured wave-cut platforms.

[1] The 153 hectares (380 acres) stretch of shore, cliff, cliff-top, and several short, steep valleys, are designated an SSSI for their geological and botanical value.

[2] The cliffs expose the Jurassic geological strata and some of the underlying Carboniferous Limestone, the latter dating from between 359 to c. 330 million years ago.

[2] A new deposition phase created more sedimentary rocks, including a red Triassic conglomerate, and a creamy white Jurassic limestone known as Sutton Stone, a freestone much sought-after for carved stonework, and so widely quarried where it occurs.

Cliffs on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast south of Dunraven Park.
A map of the Southerndown Coast indicating the areas of Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
Southerndown Coast
The Southerndown Coast, from the foreshore south of Ogmore, looking south east.
Southerndown coast looking west-northwest, with the limestone pavement to the right
Part of the limestone pavement near Ogmore, and the foreshore beyond
A mineralised rugose coral fossil on the foreshore just south of Ogmore
A rugose coral fossil embedded in a rock pool, showing mineralised internal structure, on the foreshore just south of Ogmore