Chalk Places to Visit in Cambridgeshire

 

Brief notes about publicly-accessible Chalk-related sites and features of interest, including museums.
Information correct at time of publication, but you are are advised to check public accessibility and safety details before visiting these places.

 

 

Barnwell East Local Nature Reserve, Cambridge

Chalk grassland site on Lower Chalk; managed by Cambridge City Council.

OS Grid reference: TL479582

Barrington Chalk Pit footpath

View point over mega-quarry Barrington Chalk Pit, showing impressive exposure of Cenomanian Lower (Grey) Chalk overlying Cambridge Greensand of the Gault; a big active quarry owned by Rugby PLC cement company, but not publicly accessible; the pit is a geological SSSI.

OS Grid reference: TL393527

Cherry Hinton East Pit and West Pit

Disused pits used for lime and chalk extraction for building Cambridge; remains of old kilns; Cambs Wildlife Trust reserves; chalk grassland flora; former site of War Ditches Iron Age hillfort.

OS Grid reference: East Pit TL484557; West Pit TL482557
 

Cherry Hinton Limekiln Close Pit

Disused pit used for lime and chalk extraction for building Cambridge; a Cambs Wildlife Trust reserve.

OS Grid reference: TL486561


Coploe Hill Chalk Pit, Ickleton

Middle Chalk exposure; disused pit exploited since at least 1542; site used to store ammunition in World War Two; chalk grassland nature reserve maintained by Cambs Wildlife Trust.

OS Grid reference: TL493426

Coton Countryside Reserve

Lower Chalk knoll overlooking Gault Clay vale with panoramic views of Chalk escarpment and Cambridge; public access wildlife and farm reserve, managed by Cambridge Preservation Society.

OS Grid reference: TL415575

Devil’s Ditch earthwork, from Wooditton to Reach

Seven-mile long bank and ditch system dating from the Dark Ages; a chalk grassland SSSI; managed by restoration project.

OS Grid references: TL653583 Wooditton to TL568661 Reach

Fleam Dyke, from Balsham to Fulbourn

Chalk grassland SSSI; Dark Ages linear earthwork spanning Chalk outcrop from boulder clay at Balsham to lowlands at Fulbourn; passes Mutlow Hill Middle Chalk knoll with burial mound; water pumping station; conservation programme managed by Friend of Fleam Dyke and Roman Road.

OS Grid references: TL571524 Balsham to TL537556 Fulbourn

Fowlmere, near Royston

Chalk springline at Melbourn Rock horizon generating mere, wet fen and woodland; disused watercress beds; Fowlmere Watercress Beds SSSI designated for fenland and calcareous grassland; RSPB reserve with monthly guided walks programme and 3km circular trail accessible to wheelchairs in dry weather; local footpath to Foxton Chalk Hill.

OS Grid reference: TL406461

Fulbourn Fen

Biological SSSI designated for calcareous loam grassland and wetland habitat on site of spring-line on Lower Chalk Marl horizon; varied soils have led to varied habitats; periglacial hummocky ground at East Fen; managed by Cambs Wildlife Trust.

OS Grid reference: TL526557

Gog Magog Hills, Stapleford

Wandlebury Country Park owned by Cambridge Preservation Society; Wandlebury Ring Iron Age hillfort; site of possible turf-cut figure of mythical giants Gog and Magog; two chalk grassland SSSIs; Roman Road ancient tracks, with restoration work by Roman Road Enhancement Project; Beechwoods Wildlife Trust reserve with white helleborines in spring; associated with nearby publicly accessible Magog Down chalk grassland site.

OS Grid reference: TL494534


Litlington Chalk Pit

Disused chalk pit developed in Lower Chalk showing 8m section; chalk grassland County Wildlife Site under habitat restoration scheme managed and owned by South Cambs DC.

OS Grid reference: TL316418

Magog Down, Stapleford

Chalk grassland restoration project with public access and car park; managed by Magog Trust.

OS Grid reference: TL493528

Nine Wells, Great Shelford

Historically important area of Chalk springs feeding Hobson's Conduit (built 1610) which includes supply to Botanical Gardens; threats from nitrates and vegetation overgrowth; former SSSI originally notified for rare aquatic invertebrates lost after drought in 1976; Local Nature Reserve managed by Cambridge City Council and the University; Hobson’s Conduit watercourse managed by Hobson's Conduit Trust.

OS Grid reference: TL461541

Orwell Clunch Pit, near Barrington

Lower Chalk exposure; disused mediaeval pit used for clunch extraction; chalk grassland SSSI; managed by Natural England and Orwell Clunch Pit Management Trust.

OS Grid reference: TL364506

River Mel

Chalk stream with many stretches accessible by footpath between Melbourn and Meldreth.

OS Grid references: TL381449 to TL378468

River Shep

Chalk stream with many stretches accessible by footpath between Fowlmere and Barrington.

OS Grid reference: TL402460 to TL396494

Roman Road, from Fulbourn to West Wickham

15 km Roman road over Middle and Upper Chalk escarpment; chalk grassland SSSI; part of European Walking Route E2; managed by the Friends of the Roman Road and Fleam Dyke group.

OS Grid references: TL492545 Fulbourn to TL560498 West Wickham

Warren Hill, Cheveley

Upper Chalk outcrop in old chalk pit.

OS Grid reference: TL662634
 


Museums in the project area with geological displays and specimens including Chalk fossils: