Totternhoe Stone Pit (SSSI)
Location and Access Information
Grid Reference: SP 980222
This small disused quarry face is located in the Totternhoe Knolls Nature Reserve (managed by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough). The reserve is situated just to the north of the village of Totternhoe, approximately 4km to the west of Dunstable. There is a car park and picnic site off Castle Hill Road (signposted). Alternative access is available from Castle Hill Road just past the turning to Eaton Bray.
View the site map on Nature on the Map
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Geological Interest
The quarries at Totternhoe were formerly worked for the Totternhoe Stone, which was extensively used in the building of local churches. This rock unit occurs at the base of the Chalk, which forms the Chilterns Hills. The Chalk is an extremely pure limestone deposited some 70-90 million years ago in a tropical sea and was formed predominantly from the calcareous skeletons of minute marine algae. At this locality, the base of the Totternhoe Stone is exposed and has yielded a large number of fish teeth belonging to several species of small sharks and rays. The former quarry spoil heaps now support species-rich chalk grassland, with several types of orchid including common spotted, fragrant and common twayblade.
