United by the Channel

The Cross-Channel Geopark is a unique collaboration between the Kent Downs National Landscape (England) and the Caps et Marais d’Opale Regional Nature Park (France). This partnership celebrates our shared geodiversity and aims to achieve UNESCO Global Geopark status, becoming the world’s first Cross-Border Geopark connected by the sea.

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Discover our Geosites

Pano Banc Nez 2020 Resize Scaled Aspect Ratio 1152 480Cap Blanc NezNatural tagsCoastal tagsOpen Spaces tagsThe white cliffs that you can see when you look across the Channel from England are known as Cap Blanc Nez (‘White Nose Cape’)
Cap Gris Nez © Eden 62 Fabien COISY Aspect Ratio 1152 480Cap Gris NezNatural tagsJurassic tagsOpen Spaces tagsOne half of the ‘Grand Site des Deux Caps’, Cap Gris Nez is the closest point to England in France.
4400484997 4281d10346 K 2 Aspect Ratio 1152 480Chalk MonumentsGeological tagsOpen Spaces tagsWalking & Cycling tagsOn the chalk hills of the Kent Downs there are four ‘hill figures’ carved into the slopes of the hills themselves.
8147375917 9454311ca4 K 1 Aspect Ratio 1152 480Shorne Woods Country ParkNatural tagsFamily Friendly tagsOpen Spaces tagsShorne Woods is a 300 acre country park between Gravesend and Strood with an interesting geological heritage. Gravesend, Shorne
52665015580 Daba3554da K 1 Aspect Ratio 1152 480Blue Bell Hill and Culand PitsIndustrial tagsFamily Friendly tagsOpen Spaces tagsBlue Bell Hill picnic site is a stunning viewpoint that looks out across the Medway valley and to the Weald. Maidstone
Follow our journeySt Margarets Bay, Cross-Channel Geopark_John MillerSt Margarets Bay, Cross-Channel Geopark_John Miller
Visit & Explore Parc OpaleLe Cap Blan NezLe Cap Blan Nez

The Heritage Beneath our Feet

Did you know? Thousands of years ago, a powerful flood tore through the chalk ridge between Dover and Calais, creating the iconic White Cliffs of Dover and transforming Britain into an island. Yet beneath the Channel, a layer of chalk still links the English and French coasts today, symbolising our deep geological ties.

Discover the Geopark

The Cross-Channel Geopark spans both land and sea, connecting the terrestrial beauty of coastal chalk landscapes in England and France with the marine environment that binds them. From the majestic White Cliffs to the rolling hills of the Kent Downs and the Parc Naturel Régional, this Geopark showcases the extraordinary geology and natural wonders of both regions.

If successful, the UNESCO Global Geopark status would make it the only cross-border Geopark in the world connected by the sea, offering visitors a truly unique experience.

Map of the proposed boundary of the GeoparkView the Map