Hunstanton

Coordinates: 52°56′N 0°29′E / 52.93°N 0.48°E / 52.93; 0.48

Hunstanton (local ⁱ/ˈhʌnstən/ HUN-stən) is a seaside town (population 4,961) in Norfolk, England, facing the Wash. The population had reduced to 4,229 at the 2011 Census.

Hunstanton is an east coast town but faces west and is one of the few places on the east coast in England where the sun can be seen to set over the sea.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. The population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 5,420.

Geology

The coastal cliffs include the type section of the Hunstanton Formation of lower reddish limestone which was laid down during the Lower Cretaceous. This is topped by a white chalk layer from the Upper Cretaceous epoch.

History

Hunstanton is a 19th-century resort town, initially known as New Hunstanton so distinguished from the adjacent old village from which it took its name. The new town long ago eclipsed the village in scale and population.

The original settlement of Hunstanton is now known as Old Hunstanton, probably taking its name from the River Hun which runs to the coast just to the east of Old Hunstanton. It is also said that the name Hunstanton originated from the word "Honeystone", a reference to the local red Carr stone. The river begins in the grounds of Old Hunstanton Park which surrounds the old moated hall, the ancestral home of the Le Strange family. Old Hunstanton village is of prehistoric origin and is situated near to the head of Peddars Way. In 1970, evidence of Neolithic settlement was found. The quiet character of Old Hunstanton remains distinct from and complements that of its busy sibling, with clifftop walks past a privately owned redundant lighthouse and the ruins of St. Edmund's Chapel, built in 1272.

Dover

Coordinates: 51°07′46″N 1°18′32″E / 51.1295°N 1.3089°E / 51.1295; 1.3089

Dover (/ˈdoʊvər/; French: Douvres) is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's county town Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings. The town is the administrative centre of the Dover District and home of the Dover Calais ferry through the Port of Dover. The surrounding chalk cliffs have become known as the White Cliffs of Dover.

Its strategic position has been evident throughout its history: archaeological finds have revealed that the area has always been a focus for peoples entering and leaving Britain. The name of the town derives from the name of the river that flows through it, the River Dour. The town has been inhabited since the Stone Age according to archaeological finds, and Dover is one of only a few places in Britain – London, Edinburgh, and Cornwall being other examples – to have a corresponding name in the French language, Douvres.

Norfolk Coast

Norfolk Coast may refer to: