Heritage Coast

A coastline waiting to be explored.....

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Home / Our coast

Our coast

Our coast

Covering the coastline from Sunderland to Hartlepool, the Durham Heritage Coast has emerged from its industrial heritage to being one of the finest coastlines in England. With sweeping views along the coastline and out to the North Sea, it has unique qualities which come from it’s underlying geology. This is no ordinary coastline – it is wonderfully varied, consisting of shallow bays and headlands with yellow limestone cliffs up to 30 metres high with occasional caves and stacks and coastal slopes which are home to a fabulous array of wild flowers.

Magnificent sweeps of magnesian limestone grassland along the cliffs support a unique mix of plants, insects and several colonies of rare northern brown argus butterfly; exposed rocky shores at low tide reveal returning marine life, sea urchins and anemones and birds along the coast include skylarks, sanderling, purple sandpipers and not forgetting our annual visitor from West Africa, the little tern which nests at Crimdon every year. Off shore, minke whales and harbour porpoises are often spotted – why not come and explore our fascinating and exhilarating coastline!

In this section

  • Things to do and see
    • Walking the coast
    • Events
    • Get involved
      • Surveying the shore
    • Our coast in pictures
      • Gallery
      • Videos
  • Caring for our coast
    • Coast watch
    • Beach cleans
    • Water quality
    • Beach care code
  • News
  • How to get here
    • Location map
    • Tourist information centres
  • Wildlife
    • Wildlife guide
    • Mammals on the beach
    • Further information
  • Facebook

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