Southern Sandstone

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Steps and rocks at High Rocks outside Tunbridge Wells Tunbridge Wells High Rocks climber.jpg
Steps and rocks at High Rocks outside Tunbridge Wells

Southern Sandstone is a local name for the Ardingly Sandstone of southeast England, a soft sandstone of Cretaceous age separating the Tunbridge Wells Sands from the overlying Grinstead Clay. The outcrops in the Weald of Kent are the rock climbing crags closest to London and are probably the most heavily climbed in the UK. [1]

Contents

Geology

The horizon of thick, cross-bedded, fine-to-medium grained quartz sandstone separating the Tunbridge Wells Sands from the overlying Grinstead Clay is known as Ardingly Sandstone. It is particularly well exposed throughout the region between East Grinstead, West Sussex, and Tunbridge Wells, Kent. [1]

Climbing

Stone Farm and Harrisons Rocks are managed by the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). The rock is particularly soft and care needs to be taken to prevent erosion. It is climbed either solo or on a top-rope. Many bolts have been placed at the top of the crags. Soloing requires no more equipment than bouldering. [2]

Locations

Southern Sandstone is outcrops of sandstone situated in the Weald of Kent, on the borders of Kent and East Sussex. [3]

Major Outcrops

Minor Outcrops

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weald</span> Area of South East England

The Weald is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High Weald" in the centre, the clay "Low Weald" periphery and the Greensand Ridge, which stretches around the north and west of the Weald and includes its highest points. The Weald once was covered with forest and its name, Old English in origin, signifies "woodland". The term is still used, as scattered farms and villages sometimes refer to the Weald in their names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Tunbridge Wells</span> Town in Kent, England

Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, 30 miles southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. The town was a spa in the Restoration and a fashionable resort in the mid-1700s under Beau Nash when the Pantiles, and its chalybeate spring, attracted visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity as a spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town still derives much of its income from tourism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Tunbridge Wells</span> Borough and non-metropolitan district in England

The Borough of Tunbridge Wells is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It takes its name from its main town, Royal Tunbridge Wells. The borough also contains the towns of Paddock Wood and Southborough, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Large parts of the borough fall within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowfell</span> Mountain in the English Lake District, Cumbria, England

Bowfell is a pyramid-shaped mountain lying at the heart of the English Lake District, in the Southern Fells area. It is the sixth-highest mountain in the Lake District and one of the most popular of the Lake District fells for walkers. It is listed in Alfred Wainwright's 'best half dozen' Lake District fells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spa Valley Railway</span> Heritage railway in southeast England

The Spa Valley Railway (SVR) is a standard gauge heritage railway in the United Kingdom that runs from Tunbridge Wells West railway station in Royal Tunbridge Wells to High Rocks, Groombridge, and Eridge, where it links with the Oxted Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Hoathly</span> Village and parish in West Sussex, England

West Hoathly is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England, located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south west of East Grinstead. In the 2001 census 2,121 people, of whom 1,150 were economically active, lived in 813 households. At the 2011 Census the population increased to 2,181. The parish, which has a land area of 2,139 hectares, includes the hamlets of Highbrook, Selsfield Common and Sharpthorne. The mostly rural parish is centred on West Hoathly village, an ancient hilltop settlement in the High Weald between the North and South Downs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotherfield</span> Village in East Sussex, England

Rotherfield is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. It is one of the largest parishes in East Sussex. There are three villages in the parish: Rotherfield, Mark Cross and Eridge. The River Rother, which drains much of the county and discharges at Rye Harbour, has its source on the south side of the hill on which Rotherfield village is built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frant</span> Village in East Sussex, England

Frant is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England, on the Kentish border about three miles (5 km) south of Royal Tunbridge Wells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunbridge Wells West railway station</span> Station in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England

Tunbridge Wells West is a railway station located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. It is one of two railway stations in Tunbridge Wells constructed by rival companies. The other, Tunbridge Wells Central was opened in 1845 by the South Eastern Railway (SER). Tunbridge Wells West was closed to mainline passenger services in 1985. A new station on part of the site has been opened as a heritage railway line opened in 1996. It stands next to the original engine shed which has been restored to use. The line is called the Spa Valley Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrison's Rocks</span> Sandstone crag in England

Harrison's Rocks is a series of sandstone crags approximately 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) south of the village of Groombridge in the county of East Sussex. The site is a notable example of a periglacial tor landform developed in rocks of the Ardingly Sandstone Member of the Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation. It is popular with rock climbers, and is the largest of the cluster of local outcrops known by climbers as Southern Sandstone.

The Three Bridges–Tunbridge Wells line is a mostly disused railway line running from Three Bridges in West Sussex to Tunbridge Wells Central in Kent via East Grinstead in West Sussex, a distance of 20 miles 74 chains (33.7 km). Opened in 1855, the main section of the line was a casualty of the Beeching Axe – the last train ran on 1 January 1967. The remaining section to Tunbridge Wells closed on 6 July 1985, although the section between Groombridge and Tunbridge Wells West was reopened in 1997 under the auspices of the Spa Valley Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Rocks</span> Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in England

High Rocks is a 3.2-hectare (7.9-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Tunbridge Wells in East Sussex and Kent. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Weald Landscape Trail</span> Footpath in southern England

The High Weald Landscape Trail (HWLT) is a 145-kilometre (90 mi) route in England between Horsham, West Sussex and Rye, East Sussex, designed to pass through the main landscape types of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It does not follow the highest ground, and the eastern section is only a few feet above sea level. It keeps to the northern edge of the High Weald except in the west where it runs close to the southern edge for a short distance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stone Farm Rocks</span>

Stone Farm Rocks or Stone Hill Rocks is a 0.6-hectare (1.5-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of East Grinstead in West Sussex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowles Rocks</span> Climbing areas of England

Bowles Rocks is a sandstone crag in the county of East Sussex, on the border with Kent, approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells. It is popular with rock climbers due to the excellent, south-facing, quick-drying rock, the range of climbs and the ease of access. It is one of the cluster of local outcrops known as Southern Sandstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Higher Common Ground</span>

Higher Common Ground is a cricket ground on Tunbridge Wells Common in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent. It was used as a ground by Kent County Cricket Club in the 19th century and is the home ground of Linden Park Cricket Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of East Sussex</span> Overview of the geology of East Sussex

The geology of East Sussex is defined by the Weald–Artois anticline, a 60 kilometres (37 mi) wide and 100 kilometres (62 mi) long fold within which caused the arching up of the chalk into a broad dome within the middle Miocene, which has subsequently been eroded to reveal a lower Cretaceous to Upper Jurassic stratigraphy. East Sussex is best known geologically for the identification of the first dinosaur by Gideon Mantell, near Cuckfield, to the famous hoax of the Piltdown man near Uckfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation</span> Stratigraphic Unit in England

The Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation is a geological unit which forms part of the Wealden Group and the uppermost and youngest part of the unofficial Hastings Beds. These geological units make up the core of the geology of the Weald in the English counties of West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent.

The geology of Kent in southeast England largely consists of a succession of northward dipping late Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks overlain by a suite of unconsolidated deposits of more recent origin.

The geology of West Sussex in southeast England comprises a succession of sedimentary rocks of Cretaceous age overlain in the south by sediments of Palaeogene age. The sequence of strata from both periods consists of a variety of sandstones, mudstones, siltstones and limestones. These sediments were deposited within the Hampshire and Weald basins. Erosion subsequent to large scale but gentle folding associated with the Alpine Orogeny has resulted in the present outcrop pattern across the county, dominated by the north facing chalk scarp of the South Downs. The bedrock is overlain by a suite of Quaternary deposits of varied origin. Parts of both the bedrock and these superficial deposits have been worked for a variety of minerals for use in construction, industry and agriculture.

References

  1. 1 2 Messenger, Alex (9 July 2011). "Southern Sandstone: guidelines". The British Mountaineering Council.
  2. "Southern Sandstone rock climbing near london". TryClimbing. 16 September 2012. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014.
  3. Southern Sandstone Climbs - Climbing Areas

Further reading

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