Geology and topography of the Kent Downs National Landscape in the British Isles.
These notes originated as a COVID lockdown project. The idea was prompted by the developers of a new Long Distance footpath in east Kent called the Royal Saxon Way. Diana and Rob Baldwin suggested that a geological commentary to accompany their route might be of interest to walkers (this, over a flask of coffee on West Runton beach, Norfolk, during a break from hunting the Giant Paramoudra….). But it soon became clear that confining the commentary to the Royal Saxon Way (RSW) would exclude topics of wider interest in east Kent. So, the text comprises two sections:
· The geological commentary on the landscape along the RSW.
· A more in-depth review of some chalk landscape features found in the Kent Downs National Landscape.* (These features are also found throughout the chalk outcrop in England from Wiltshire to North Yorkshire).
*One of 46 National Landscapes formerly known as, and still legally designated as, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The second section is relevant to the campaign to achieve UNESCO Global Geopark status for a new international, cross-border, Geopark. You can find out what a Global Geopark is, what its objectives are, and a full list of Global Geoparks at the UNESCO web page: https://www.unesco.org/en/iggp/geoparks/about The British Geological Survey provides the following summary:
“UNESCO’s Global Geoparks are areas with internationally important rocks and landscapes, all of which are managed responsibly for conservation, education and sustainable development. Whilst geology may be their foundation, UNESCO Global Geoparks build upon it by bringing together other aspects of heritage such as archaeology, history, culture and biodiversity. All of this is achieved in collaboration with local people to make UNESCO Global Geoparks better places to work, live and visit”.
The proposed Geopark is centred on the chalk cliffs and downland on both sides of The Channel incorporating the Kent Downs National Landscape and the Parc Naturel Regional des Caps et Marais d’Opal. The international Geopark bid was launched in October 2024. You can follow progress towards achieving UNESCO Global Geopark status here, https://kentdowns.org.uk/geopark/
The latest timeline is:
End of November 2025 – formal submission.
Summer 2026 – Appraisal visit by UNESCO representatives.
Autumn 2026 – informal indication of decision.
If successful:
Spring 2027 UNESCO Geopark status awarded.
I am a retired geologist and have spent most of my working life in the civil engineering industry. Part of the role of an engineering geologist is to interpret geology in a way which is of use to civil engineers. It seemed to me that it should be possible to interpret geology in a way which could be understood by those non-specialists who were interested in landscape and how it is formed.
I appreciate that anyone who is interested in such things will have by now acquired some understanding of the geological processes, either through formal education or self-directed enquiry, and so any interest is likely to come from younger readers or people starting out on their geological journey later in life. I have tried to keep the writing style accessible by keeping it informal and avoiding technical jargon. But it’s all too easy to fall back into the formal style – laziness encourages the use of familiar technical phrasing and idioms (there may be lapses). When a technical term is used, it is to provide a convenient shorthand to describe a process, in such cases the term is explained on first use.
But there is one concept, geological time, which many find too vast to comprehend and which some may walk away from. It may help to read the section Dealing with geological time before proceeding. If you want to get an idea of why some people find Chalk Downland landscape so interesting, go to A history of ideas on the origin of Chalk Downland landscape to learn about the arguments that it has spawned through time.
The site is updated to include corrections, clarifications, suggested new topics or simply when the geomuse inspires! If you can offer additional information, topics, or correct errors, please get in touch using the form at the foot of this page.
Disclaimers:
As with most information obtained from the Internet, you should be cautious about the content you find in these pages. I could be one of those ill-informed people whose natural forum is the pub bar (although references have been provided in the hope of assuring some veracity). So, do not believe everything you read in these pages without question. This is important if you are studying for exams, check any information in these pages with your educator before using it.
Hypertext links are used as short cuts to sections which provide ancillary information. Some lead to external sites which may not be secure or provide outdated links.
Andrew Coleman
Rev. 07/11/2025
https://geoparktransmanche.org/en/
Geomusings 