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glish RnarkpEoeeGhltaO GlobUNESCO Global Geopark status is awarded
to special places with internationally
important geology and outstanding naturaland cultural value.

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UNESCO Global Geoparks highlightthe relationship between the geological
heritage and all other aspects of thenatural and cultural heritage. GlobalGeoparks use their heritage to promoteawareness of key issues facing society
in the context of the dynamic planet weall live on. Global Geoparks promoterespect for the environment alongsidesustainable economic development.

Fundamentally,
UNESCO Global Geoparks
are about people and about
exploring and celebrating
the links between ourcommunities andthe Earth.

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Devonian

Carboniferous

400 million years ago…

310 million years ago…

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This is a really important time forus as this is when our grey and pinklimestone rocks were formed intropical seas south of the Equator.
When the creatures that lived there
died they sank to the sea floor andlayer upon layer they were changed
into rock.

e

In a time when giant dragonflies took
to the air our limestone rocks wereso crumpled up that they formed
part of a massive mountain range.

©DLark

The mountains have all gone now
but If you go exploring at Hopes
Nose, look across to the island called
the Orestone, the rock here wasfolded over.

inNext time you are on the beach look
for patterns in the limestone pebbles,
you might find some fossils.

lyHuge forces deep below your feetcan make the rocks move, creating
folds as they crunch together.

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The big headland called Berry Headis made of limestone.

SquasheBerry d rocks atHead!

The rocks at Berry Head are also
folded but you can only see them
if you go on a boat trip.

Hopes Nose is also made of limestone.
Carefully explore the rocky shore at
the end of Hopes Nose and you
might see some fossilised corals.

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The Global Geopark Timeline

PRECAMBRIANCAMBRIANORDOVICIANSILURIAN

DEVONIAN

CARBONIFEROUS

PERMIANTRIASSICJURASSICCRETACEOUS PALAEOGENE

NEOGENEQUATERNARY

Geological timescale in millions of years
The beginning... 4600

542

488

443

416

359

299

251

199

145

65

23

2.6

To d a y . . .

but they are the important starting point of our story...
MammothPermian

270 million years ago…

QuaternarypedeMilli

500,000 years ago…

In a time when giant millipedes andreptiles roamed all of our red rocks
were formed in a desert, roughly
where the Sahara desert is today.

By this time the dinosaurs had
appeared and disappeared and now
it was the time of mammals.
Rainwater and underground streams
carved out caves in the limestonerocks in Torquay and Brixham. This
is when Kents Cavern was created.

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Ancient bones and tools have beenfound in the caves and you can see
them at Torquay Museum.

CompOur red rocks are much softer thanlimestone. The sandstone has beenworn away by the sea to create thesand on the beach and that is why it
is a pale red colour.

© English

Mammoth and woolly rhinoceroses
lived here and the caves became
home to wild animals like sabretoothed tigers, hyenas, cave bears
and real cavemen.

© Eng

Sometimes storms created floodsin the desert which carried and thendumped a mixed up jumble of rocks.
This rock is called breccia it has bitsof broken limestone in it. Other
times wind blew sand into dunes andthis formed a rock called sandstone.

The giant millipedes could grow toover 2 metres long! At low tide,
explore the rocky shore between
Goodrington Sands and Saltern
Cove and you might find one of theancient millipede burrows.

The Global Geopark Timeline

SabreToothed
Tigerston.

Exploring where
the cave
lived atmen
Kents C
avern

Hyenat Pre

cks aian roPerm

PRECAMBRIANCAMBRIANORDOVICIANSILURIAN

DEVONIAN

CARBONIFEROUS

PERMIANTRIASSICJURASSICCRETACEOUS PALAEOGENE

NEOGENEQUATERNARY

Geological timescale in millions of years
The beginning... 4600

542

488443416359

299

251

199

145

65

23

2.6

To d a y . . .

fose
irot
S
Thekr
apoe
Geth

1
2
3

BAB B A COMB E

4Rare smon kidne all blue butterflies
y vetch©SMurdoch

14
15

TORQUAY

711

12

about rocks but they
Geoparks are not justything sincehave influenced ever

5

13

6

8

Formation of the bay

10 6 916

It is only in relatively recent times,
7000 years ago, that sea levels roseat the end of the last ice-age andthe soft red sandstones and breccias
eroded away to form the bay.

17
PAI GNTON

A sheltered bay
Protected from the prevailing winds
the Geopark has a micro-climate andan array of important habitats withina small area; from caves to ancient
woodland and sandy shore torare limestone grassland.

18
19
mland

are farting, a r
Cirl bunanike Langm
bird © M

20
21
22

B RI XHAM

2324

25

26

River Dart

sehoreadsutenout-s se Trustoh
Sorhea©SGuillemot
Head © Colony at BerryDreamstimel
Speciavessea ca12

3

4

5

Petitor Marble Urns

Oddicombe Rock Fall

Babbacombe Cliff Railway

Long Quarry Point

Hopes Nose© Torquay Museum© Torbay Council Beaches Team

Just north of Babbacombe, during
Victorian times, local limestone
was quarried and polished tocreate Petitor Marble and clay
was extracted to the terracotta
industry. Examples of both canbe seen at Torquay Museum.

The unstable Permian rocks here
have led to both landslips and rockfalls over many years. The largest fallin recent years (April 2013) saw thecollapse of the house from the top.

Built in 1926, the cliff railway
engineer utilised a gap in the rocks
created by a geological fault line,
this created easy access up anddown to the beach.
Tel: 01803 324025
Postcode: TQ1 3LF

In the past quarrying dramaticallychanged the face of many sectionsof the coastline. The limestone wasused for building stone or aggregate
dependant on it’s quality.

With exceptional marine Devonian
fossils, structural evidence of ourtectonic journey northwards, raremineralogy and a raised beach 8
metres above today’s sea level thissite is recognised a Site of Special
Scientific Interest.

678910Folded rocks

Kents Cavern

Hesketh Crescent

Triangle Point

London Bridge© M Border© Kents Cavern© M Border© Chris Slack

Between Ansteys Cove andDaddyhole Plain, and on the islandof Orestone the limestone rocks
are hugely folded and faulted.

The caves, formed 2.5 million years ago,
provide an incredible record of early
man stretching back 500,000 years.

www.kents-cavern.co.uk
Tel: 01803 215136
Postcode: TQ1 2JF

The Victorians recognised theresort, in particular “the waters”,
as beneficial for health. Even Charles
Darwin resided here at Hesketh
Crescent now the Osbourne Hotelwhilst his daughter was ill.

The flat surface of the point iscovered with 400 million year oldmarine Devonian fossils.

Formed by the sea this natural arch
is probably one of the most iconic
geological features in the Geopark

111213

14

15

Jawbone at Torquay
Museum © Oxford University

Royal Terrace Gardens

Agatha Christie

Torre Abbey

Cockington Court

The most important find from Kents
Cavern, a human jawbone is currently
on display at the museum. Themuseum was set up by Pengelly tohouse the artefacts from the caves.
www.torquaymuseum.org
Tel: 01803 293975
Postcode: TQ1 1HG

The sheer cliff is the face of a major
faultline, the Sticklepath fault, thatruns across Devon. Here it emerges
and heads out to sea.
Postcode: TQ2 5EZ

16

Occombe Farm

17

Bishops Tower

World famous crime writer Agatha
Christie was born in Torquay andspent many of the most important
chapters of her life here, as wellas using real places in the area assettings for her renowned murder
mysteries.

18

Built using considerable amountsof stone from the very headland
it overlooks, the historic Abbey’s
story began in 1196 when thesheltered aspect, rich fertile landand proximity to the sea provided
all the Premonstratensian Canonsneeded.
www.torre-abbey.org.uk
Tel: 01803 293593
Postcode: TQ2 5JX

Safely out of sight from invaders,the ancient Saxon settlement ofCockington developed in a fertile
valley set back from the sea. The
traditional thatched village andmanor house today reflect rural
traditions and creative crafts
www.cockingtoncourt.org
Tel: 01803 607230
Postcode: TQ2 6XA

1920

Reach Outdoors at
the Seashore Centre

Oyster Cove

Roundham Head© Chris Proctor

The mineral rich Permian rocks haveprovided a legacy of rich, fertile redsoil. Open to the public Occombe
remains a working organic farm today.
www.occombe.org.uk
Tel: 01803 520022
Postcode: TQ3 1RN

Separated from the sea by salt
marsh and dunes the oldest Saxon
parts of Paignton developed 1.5km
inland. Salt works made the town
the most prosperous in the area.

The diagonal patterns in thesandstone here are evidence of270 million year old sand dunes.

Information centre and home of
fantastic outdoor adventure company
Reach Outdoors.
www.reach-outdoors.com
Tel: 01626 873625
Postcode: TQ4 6LP

A special geological feature isfound here that geologists call anunconformity. Permian age rocks
sit directly on top of Devonian age
rocks but a huge chunk of time is
missing from the middle!

21

22

23

Saltern Cove

Steam Train on
Brunel’s viaduct

Heritage Fishing Fleet andBrixham Heritage Museum

The cove’s incredibly diverse
marine life led to its designation asa marine local nature reserve.

The arrival of Brunel’s railway in1859 led to the development ofPaignton as a popular seaside town.
www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk
Tel: 01803 555872
Postcode: TQ4 6AF

Brixham fisherman used iron ochre
produced from local iron ore to help
waterproof their sails which gave themthe distinctive red colour. Brixham
Heritage Museum provides an insight
into the history of the town
www.brixhammuseum.org.uk
Tel: 01803 856267
Postcode: TQ5 8LZ

242526

Brixham Harbour

Berry Head Quarry

Berry Head National Nature
Reserve and Napoleonic Forts© M Border

The sheltered natural harbour leadto the development of the town asa fishing port which today boasts
the highest value catch in England.
Locals affectionately know this partof town as Fish Town.

From the sea it is possible toappreciate the extent to which theheadland was quarried in the pastand some of the stone was used tocreate the Napoleonic forts above.

This 60m high headland has
long protected the bay from theelements and from invasion
creating a safe anchorage.
www.berryhead.org.uk
Tel: 01803 882619
Postcode: TQ5 9AP

s puts thetutaSkrapoeGla
UNESCO Glob n the International Stage!
English Riviera o
The number of UNESCO Global Geoparks continues to riseyear on year and despite a concentration within Europe andChina the Geopark initiative continues to spread worldwide
so that there are existing UNESCO Global Geoparks, or active
applications on all continents. To see the current list visit
www.unesco.org/geoparks

Why not start your adventure in theGeoplay Park, Paignton and follow
our geological story...… TrekRide on
Swing
across theDevonianSeaClimb
the ancientmountains

There’s plenvisit and t ty of places tohings to see and do.

throughsandydesert
ora sabre
toothedtiger

Remember,the geology of theGeopark is special andprotected. Please help
us care for it and takeonly memories.

k up
more pic k books.
nr
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T
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the Geopcopies ofPaign
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Esplanade R lay Park,d, Paignton,TQ4

www.englishrivierageopark.org.uk

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Find out more about otheramazing UNESCO GlobalGeoparks in the networkwww.unesco.org/geoparks
www.globalgeopark.org

Visit www.unesco.org/geoparks
and www.globalgeopark.org
to find out more about all of the excitingUNESCO Global Geoparks around the world.