Tayside Biodiversity Partnership Local Action Plan

Maritime Cliff and Slope

DEFINITION
Seacliffs form at the junction between the land and the sea where slippage or erosion by the sea causes a break in slope. Gradient varies between 150 and vertical, and in height and geology. Hard rock cliffs are eroded slowly by the sea and are often near vertical, accumulating soil and supporting vegetation on ledges. Soft rock cliffs are more unstable and often form a vegetated coastal slope. The habitat contains an important range of natural features with
extensive areas of natural and semi-natural vegetation types - hard cliff with rock face vegetation, cliff crevice and cave, rock exposures, coastal boulders, boulder clay cliffs, scree and vegetated undercliff.

KEY SITES
There are two main areas of maritime cliff and slope in Tayside. Both of these areas are largely designated sites:
Whiting Ness (next to Victoria Park in Arbroath) to Ethie Haven – most of this is covered by Whiting Ness to Ethie Haven SSSI.
Rickle Craig (at the north end of Lunan Bay) to Scurdie Ness (just south of Montrose at Ferryden) which is all designated as an SSSI.

CURRENT STATUS AND EXTENT OF HABITAT
Over 50% of the cliffs in Britain are found in Scotland, but Tayside has less than 1% of the Scottish total. More than half the Tayside coast is fringed by sandy beaches with only two significant lengths of rock or degraded boulder clay cliffs between Arbroath and Ethie Haven and between the South River Esk and Lunan Bay.

The high diversity of species and plant communities relates to the considerable habitat diversity and to the action and interaction of various ecological gradients. These include variation in geology and soil types, influence of salt spray and degree of exposure (including effects of wind), aspect (duration of exposure to sunlight), grazing intensity and fertilizer inputs from adjacent farmland. The sandstone cliffs of the Angus coast are relatively resistant to wave action, but erosion in places may inhibit the establishment of some vegetation types, whilst other plants are especially adapted to this environment. This erosion also makes the area more interesting geologically.

Main Areas of Habitat in Tayside
The two main areas of maritime cliff and slope in Tayside are both designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest and are therefore fairly well documented.

Whiting Ness to Ethie Haven
This is the longest continuous stretch of sea cliffs and rocky shore in Tayside. Up to 50m high and stretching about 11 km along the coast, the terrain is very dangerous in places and many parts are inaccessible. The site covers the cliffs and immediate hinterland from Whiting Ness to Meg’s Craig just south of Auchmithie, and the cliffs and hinterland from Rumness, north of Auchmithie to Corbie Knowe on the southern edge of Lunan Bay. The cliffs are widely studied as they show a spectacular series of erosion features including sea stacks, blowholes, caves, wave cut platforms and arches. Carlingheugh Bay has a raised beach and relic sea cliff thought to date from the main postglacial transgression approximately 6,000 years ago. This part of the Angus coast is a well-known site for migrating birds in autumn and winter.

The site is a SSSI because of its unimproved coastal grassland and large numbers of coastal breeding and wintering birds, as well as for its geological interest. Plants include Long-bracted sedge Carex hostiana, Maiden pink Dianthus armeria, Clustered bellflower Campanula glomerata, and Hairy Violet Viola hirta and cliff vegetation such as Sea spleenwort Asplenium marinum and Pellitory-of-the-Wall parietaria diffusa, together with some rare and unusual mosses and liverworts. The site contains the largest breeding seabird colony in Angus with nationally important numbers of overwintering Turnstone Arenaria interpres and Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritima feeding and roosting on the flat, rocky shoreline. Also present are Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla, Herring Gulls Larus argentatus, Fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, Puffins Fratercula arctica, Guillemots Uria aalge and Razorbills Alca torda. Moth and butterfly species include Grayling Hipparchia semele and Small pearl-bordered fritillary Boloria selene, as well as the nationally rare Small blue butterfly Cupido minimus. Rare snails and beetles are also present.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Seaton Cliffs Reserve lies at the south end of the SSSI. At 12.1 hectares, it is 8% of the total SSSI.
Two Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites within the SSSI have been notified. The first of these is Whiting Ness where the exposures of the irregular unconformity between the Upper Old Red Sandstone and the Lower Old Red Sandstone demonstrate that the stratigraphy of the
Midland Valley Devonian consists of two separate episodes of sedimentation with a sedimentary break between, the entire Middle Devonian being absent. Secondly, fine coastal exposures of the Ethie Lavas between Black Rock and East Comb show margins that are commonly pillowed and characterised by complex lava/sediment relationships suggesting extrusion of lava onto wet sediment. This site has important research potential for studies on Lower Devonian volcanic environments.

The Tayside RIGS Group has named the area from Whiting Ness to Carlingheugh Bay a Regionally Important Geological Site (RIGS).

As well as the cliffs’ natural heritage and geological interests, there are a number of ancient forts and castles designated
by Historic Scotland. There is also a rich history associated with the cliffs between Whiting Ness and Ethie Haven from
Bronze and Iron Age occupation of some of the caves and Maiden Castle to use of the caves at Dickmonts Den by
smugglers and wreckers. Places and events associated with the area were used by Sir Walter Scott who described the
shipwreck of January 1800 in ‘The Antiquary’ and renamed Auchmithie as “Musselcraig”, home of the “Mucklebackits”.

Rickle Craig to Scurdie Ness
Scurdie Ness to Boddin Point is a continuous length of rocky shore approximately 4km long.

This rocky stretch of coastline was selected as an SSSI for its geological interest and uncommon species-rich grassland types reflecting the base-rich nature of the underlying rock - notably on and around the old lime kiln on Boddin Point - and on the more friable volcanic rocks. Characteristic plants include the scarce Nottingham catchfly Silene nutans, as well as Kidney vetch Anthyllis vulneraria, Clustered bellflower Campanula glomerata, Fairy flax Linum catharticum, Carline thistle Carlina vurgaris and Burnet saxifrage Pimpinella saxifraga. Small
areas of ‘perched’ saltmarsh are found around the high water line. Over 30 species of snails are known owing to the rich vegetation.

There are two Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites within the SSSI. Scurdie Ness to Usan Harbour provides the best section in Scotland through Old Red Sandstone lavas and associated sedimentary rocks of the Montrose Volcanic Formation. These rocks were formed about 410 million years ago with lavas being erupted from a volcano to the north-east (the Montrose volcanic centre). During periods of non-volcanic activity sediments containing pebbles of volcanic rock collected in lakes and rivers flowing over the lavas. After the lavas had been erupted fluids flowing through the rocks deposited silica in cavities, forming agates. The area around Scurdie Ness is a GCR site in its own right for its mineralogy because of the presence of these agates, some of which are gem quality, within the lavas.

KEY SPECIES
P = UK Priority species C = UK species of conservation concern

Birds	Shag	Phalacrocorax aristotelis	C
	Herring gull	Larus argentatus	C
	Turnstone	Arenaria interpres	C
	Purple sandpiper	Calidris maritima	C
	Kittiwake	Rissa tridactyla	C
	Fulmar	Fulmarus glacialis
	Rzorbill	Alca torda	C
	Puffin	Fratercula arctica	C
	Guillemot	Uria aalge	C
Invertebrates	Small blue butterfly	Cupido minimus	C
Invertebrates	Small pearl-bordered fritillary	Boloria selene	C
Higher Plants	Kidney vetch	Anthyllis vulneraria
	Pellitory-of-the-wall	Parietaria judaica
	Maiden pink	Dianthus deltoides
	Nottingham Catchfly	Silene nutans
Lower Plants	Moss and liverwort spp.		C

Mammals
Bat species may use the caves and clefts for roosting, breeding and hibernating.

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