Siccar Point, Borders Coast

Siccar Point is located about 35 miles east of Edinburgh near the village of Cockburnspath.

It is tucked away, not on the tourist trail and not easily accessible. It is world-famous, though, as the most important site described by James Hutton (1726-1797) in support of his world-changing ideas on the origin and age of the Earth.

"Having taken boat at Dunglass burn, we set out to explore the coast; … at Siccar Point, we found a beautiful picture of this junction washed bare by the sea. The sand-stone strata are partly washed away, and partly remaining upon the ends of the vertical schistus; and, in many places, points of the schistus strata are seen standing up through among the sand-stone, the greatest part of which is worn away. Behind this again we have a natural section of those sand-stone strata, containing fragments of the schistus." James Hutton

Even without the historical link with James Hutton, Siccar Point is a place worth visiting. A stunning natural seascape, framed by steep cliffs, and with a wild feel and a sense of calm. Standing on the cliff top overlooking Siccar Point you get a feeling of being on a boundary: to the north and west is a gently rolling landscape, with rich agricultural land and many signs of people in the farming, industry and settlements. Away to the south, the landscape is very different, where steep grey cliffs plunging into the wild North Sea, and there is not much sign of human habitation. The landscape reflects the underlying rocks, the same rocks which are exposed at the point below. The tough greywacke sandstone layers make up much of the Southern Uplands, while the land to the north is underlain by softer and younger sedimentary rocks such as the Old Red Sandstone.