Ladram Bay to Pennington Point

This area in East Devon represents the Mid to late Triassic period (240 - 210 million years ago) and was still a desert environment, dominated by seasonal rivers, streams and lakes. It is these environmental conditions that enabled the existence and preservation of rare Triassic fossils, including amphibians, reptiles, fish, plants, insects and fossil footprints. This relative abundance of Triassic life indicates recovery following the Permian mass extinction. 

At areas of high elevation, Early Cretaceous geology (105-100 Million years), laid down in shallow sea environments, sits directly above the Triassic sandstone. This is an example of where there is a gap in the usual stratigraphic sequence of the geological record, known as an ‘unconformity’.

Must see areas include: 

• Gentle Triassic clay valley and steep-sided Cretaceous sandstone hilltops
• Ladram Bay sea stacks
• The River Sid
• Sidmouth
• High Peak 
• Connaught Gardens