Barafundle Bay & Stackpole Quay
Pembrokeshire, Wales
Unsung Heroes 
Geotourism
The coast at Stackpole is formed of Visean limestones which contain classic deformation structures. These include a dramatically exposed syncline – a structure first published by Murchison in his Silurian System (sic) in 1839. It subsequently formed the cover to the first issue of the Journal of Structural Geology (1979).
In the quay area itself is an equally stunning fault zone which has excellent examples of a highly disaggregragated and shattered fault core and an excellent 'damage zone' of shattered by largely unmoved blocks.
Further south along the coast path is the stunning beach at Barafundle Bay. The strange breccias on the north wall of the bay include slickensided surfaces indicative of fault motion.
Woodock et al. (2014, J Struct Geol) interpret these as fault collapse breccias – essentially collapsed caves formed along faults, which were active close to the Earth’s surface in Triassic times. There are many other examples, though generally far less accessible, elsewhere in the limestone cliffs in this part of Pembrokeshire.
This area forms part of the National Trust’s Stackpole Estate, and lies on the Pembrokeshire Coast long distance footpath.
Text courtesy of Prof Rob Butler