Hill End Pit
Location and Access Information
Grid Reference: TL 198239
This small, disused chalk pit is located 3km to the west of Stevenage and is a Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust reserve. The B651 towards the Hitchin to Codicote Road (B656) passes the site and just past Hitch Wood there is a car park. The nature reserve is situated on the other side of the road.
View the site map on Nature on the Map
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Geological Interest
This small chalk pit provides exposure in the Upper Cretaceous Chalk and is noted for the fossils that are found here. The Chalk, is a very pure limestone that was deposited in a sub-tropical sea 70-95 million years ago. Typical fossils found in the Chalk include brachiopods, bivalves and sea-urchins which inhabited the calcareous muds lying on the sea-floor. The pit is also of interest for its small area of chalk grassland and scrub, including characteristic plant species suited to the calcareous soils such as viper's bugloss, cowslip, mullein and marjoram.
