Holywell Coombe, an embayment in the chalk scarp overlooking Folkestone, Kent, was designated a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1985 because it contains richly fossiliferous Late Quaternary sediments providing a unique archive of the last 13,000 years.
The construction of the Channel Tunnel across the Holywell Coombe SSSI brought about a major rescue excavation, funded by Eurotunnel, that set an important precedent in Earth Science conservation. This multidisciplinary investigation has added enormously to our understanding of the environment and natural history of the...

The principal aim of this volume is to provide descriptions of Sites of Special Scientific Interest, selected as part of the Geological Conservation Review, that yield evidence for the Pleistocene history of the River Thames and its tributaries. Although defined thematically, the volume covers all Pleistocene GCR sites in the Thames valley. A number of sites in southern East Anglia are also included because they provide important evidence bearing on the history of the Thames system. The justification for a GCR volume devoted to the Thames lies in the special importance of the river in the...