Burnmouth Coast

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 55.8170, -2.0388

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Berwickshire CountyNorthumberland County

Condition (NatureScot)

Favourable (4)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
F1 Maritime cliff Favourable — 2012-01-31
F2 Caledonian Structures of the Southern Uplands Favourable — 2024-04-19
F3 Lower Carboniferous [Dinantian - Namurian (part)] Favourable — 2005-03-31
F4 Fly assemblage Favourable — 2016-11-09

Climate exposure

This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.

Coastal

Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.

Habitats

Mixed scrub, Montane scrub

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Carboniferous, Silurian

Landscape processes: Coastal

Birds & fish recorded

Fish

SpeciesSeason
Grayling Unknown

Description

BURNMOUTH COAST The Burnmouth Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) comprises an 8 km long section along the sea cliffs and foreshore of the Berwickshire Coast. The site is centred on the village of Burnmouth, extending north of the village to the headland near the entrance to Eyemouth harbour, and south to the national boundary with England. The site is of geological and biological interest. There are two separate geological interest features within the SSSI representing rocks formed at two different periods in the geological past. In the northern section, rocks of Llandovery age of the Silurian geological period represent the feature of interest. The rocks are siltstones and shales that have been folded by intense compressive stress that was generated during the Caledonian mountain-building episode which formed the Southern Uplands. The Caledonian Structures within the site are exceptional not only in the Southern Uplands but in the Caledonian Orogenic Belt as a whole. In the southern section, the interest is the Dinantian age rock succession of the Carboniferous period that occurs over a 3 km section of coast, south from a point just north of Burnmouth. This section provides near-continuous exposure through more than 600 metres of strata that are typical of the Lower Carboniferous deposits of this north-eastern area of the Northumberland Trough. Situated between the Midland Valley and other parts of the Northumberland Trough, this succession has been intensively studied and is of importance in linking the Scottish and English Lower Carboniferous sequences. It is therefore a key site for understanding the palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographic evolution of Northern Britain. The biological interest of the site is the coastal grassland on the sea cliffs throughout the site. This habitat supports an outstanding diversity of maritime grassland plants including scrub and species now rare in Scotland and the Borders. These include spring squill Scilla verna, waxy lady’s-mantle Alchemilla glaucescens, common butterwort Pinguicula vulgaris, salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba, and great horsetail Equisetum telmateia. Associated with the coastal grassland habitat are several invertebrate species of restricted distribution nationally. Of national interest are the flies found in the seepages of the cliffs, including the Red Data List limoniid cranefly Dicranomyia goritiensis. Of local interest are butterflies including a colony of the rare small blue butterfly Cupido minimus, grayling Hipparchia semele, wall Lasiommata megera, dark green fritillary Argynnis aglaja, the cinnabar moth Tyria jacobaeae and the six-spot burnet moth Zygaena filipendulae.

Species mentioned

English name
search for this in other sites		 Latin name
search with Google		 IUCN / Red List Type Family
dark green fritillary Argynnis aglaja Not listed in GB list butterfly nymphalidae
small blue Cupido minimus NT butterfly lycaenidae
grayling Hipparchia semele EN butterfly nymphalidae
wall Lasiommata megera EN butterfly nymphalidae
Dicranomyia goritiensis Not listed in GB list fly limoniidae
waxy lady's mantle Alchemilla glaucescens LC herb rosaceae
great horsetail Equisetum telmateia LC herb equisetaceae
butterwort Pinguicula vulgaris LC herb lentibulariaceae
salad burnet Poterium sanguisorba VU herb rosaceae
spring squill Scilla verna LC herb liliaceae
the cinnabar Tyria jacobaeae Not listed in GB list moth erebidae
six-spot burnet Zygaena filipendulae Not listed in GB list moth zygaenidae

Plant communities

W20 — Montane scrub

Salix lapponum-Luzula sylvatica scrub

Salix arbuscula, Salix cinerea, Salix lapponum, Salix myrsinites, Salix phylicifolia, Salix reticulata, Empetrum nigrum, Calluna vulgaris, Salix lanata, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium uliginosum, Carex atrata, Carex bigelowii, Carex binervis, Carex flacca, Luzula multiflora, Luzula sylvatica, Huperzia selago, Selaginella selaginoides, Aulacomnium palustre, Mnium hornum, Philonotis fontana, Plagiomnium undulatum, Rhizomnium punctatum, Dicranum bonjeanii, Dicranum majus, Dicranum scoparium, Fissidens adianthoides, Racomitrium lanuginosum, Calliergonell cuspidatum, Ctenidium molluscum, Hylocomium splendens, Hypnum callichroum, Hypnum cupressiforme, Palustriella commutatum, Plagiothecium denticulatum, Plagiothecium undulatum, Pleurozium schreberi, Ptilium crista-castrensis, Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus, Sanionia uncinata, Scorpidium revolvens, Thuidium tamariscinum, Atrichum undulatum, Polytrichastrum alpinum, Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum palustre, Sphagnum russowii, Sphagnum squarrosum, Sphagnum subnitens, Sphagnum teres, Barbilophozia barbata, Chiloscyphus polyanthos, Diplophyllum albicans, Lophocolea bidentata, Plagiochila porelloides, Ptilidium ciliare, Scapania undulata, Cladonia squamosa, Peltigera canina, Angelica sylvestris, Caltha palustris, Hieraclium spp., Saussurea alpina, Solidago virgaurea, Campanula rotundifolia, Succisa pratensis, Valeriana officinalis, Rhodiola rosea, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Thymus praecox, Epilobium anagallidifolium, Dactylorhiza viridis, Euphrasia officinalis, Rhinanthus minor, Oxalis acetosella, Oxyria digyna, Polygonum viviparum, Rumex acetosa, Anemone nemorosa, Ranunculus acris, Thalictrum alpinum, Alchemilla alpina, Alchemilla glabra, Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale, Galium boreale, Galium saxatile, Saxifraga aizoides, Saxifraga hypnoides, Saxifraga oppositifolia, Saxifraga stellaris, Viola riviniana, Agrostis canina, Agrostis capillaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Deschampsia cespitosa, Deschampsia flexuosa, Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra, Nardus stricta, Dryopteris dilatata, Phegopteris connectilis

W21 — Hedgerow scrub, Mixed scrub

Crataegus monogyna-Hedera helix scrub

Hedera helix, Salix cinerea, Acer pseudoplatanus, Ilex aquifolium, Betula pendula, Corylus avellana, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur, Fraxinus excelsior, Malus sylvestris, Sorbus aria, Taxus baccata, Ulmus glabra, Ulmus procera, Sambucus nigra, Viburnum lantana, Euonymus europaeus, Cornus sanguinea, Juniperus communis, Ligustrum vulgare, Clematis vitalba, Rhamnus cathartica, Crataegus laevigata, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Juncus effusus, Plagiomnium undulatum, Brachythecium rutabulum, Kindbergia praelonga, Rhynchostegium confertum, Tamus communis, Heracleum sphondylium, Torilis japonica, Arum maculatum, Arctium minus, Cirsium arvense, Lonicera periclymenum, Moehringia trinervia, Silene dioica, Stellaria graminea, Stellaria holostea, Stellaria media agg., Calystegia sepium, Mercurialis perennis, Geranium robertianum, Iris foetidissima, Glechoma hederacea, Lamium purpureum, Origanum vulgare, Stachys sylvatica, Teucrium scorodonia, Allium ursinum, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Circaea lutetiana, Rumex sanguineus, Anemone nemorosa, Ranunculus repens, Fragaria vesca, Geum urbanum, Potentilla sterilis, Poterium sanguisorba, Rosa arvensis, Rosa canina, Rubia peregrina, Rubus fruticosus agg., Galium aparine, Urtica dioica, Viola riviniana, Anisantha sterilis, Arrhenatherum elatius, Brachypodium pinnatum, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Bromopsis erecta, Dactylis glomerata, Elytrigia repens, Holcus lanatus, Holcus mollis, Poa trivialis, Asplenium scolopendrium, Pteridium aquilinum, Dryopteris filix-mas

W22 — Hedgerow scrub, Mixed scrub

Prunus spinosa-Rubus fruticosus scrub

Hedera helix, Acer campestre, Corylus avellana, Ulex europaeus, Prunus spinosa, Plagiomnium undulatum, Brachythecium rutabulum, Eurhynchium striatum, Kindbergia praelonga, Thuidium tamariscinum, Atrichum undulatum, Lophocolea bidentata, Achillea millefolium, Cardamine flexuosa, Lonicera periclymenum, Moehringia trinervia, Silene dioica, Silene uniflora, Stellaria media agg., Mercurialis perennis, Geranium robertianum, Stachys sylvatica, Teucrium scorodonia, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Oxalis acetosella, Digitalis purpurea, Plantago lanceolata, Veronica chamaedrys, Armeria maritima, Rumex acetosa, Filipendula ulmaria, Geum urbanum, Rosa canina, Rubus fruticosus agg., Rubus idaeus, Galium aparine, Urtica dioica, Viola riviniana, Agrostis capillaris, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Dactylis glomerata, Festuca rubra, Holcus lanatus, Holcus mollis, Poa trivialis, Asplenium scolopendrium, Pteridium aquilinum, Dryopteris borreri, Dryopteris filix-mas