Geograph - photograph every grid square

The grassland cliff-tops here are now owned by the National Trust (as are the beaches below). Grassland on magnesian limestone is a nationally rare habitat and supports several rare species. Rockrose provides a food plant for the Northern Brown Argus butterfly and the grassland is home to ground nesting skylarks.
The dip in the land in the middle distance is formed by a small stream valley which provides access to Blast Beach via Frenchman's Cove.
A mineral railway branched off the main line near this point at Hawthorn Junction, providing rail access to Dawdon Colliery from the south. Its line is now followed by the Durham coast path.