Beacon Hill, Norfolk

Infobox Mountain
Name = Beacon Hill
Photo =6th April 2008, Beacon Hill, Roman Camp (4).jpg
Caption = The summit of Beacon Hill.
Elevation = 103 metres above sea level
Location = Norfolk, England
Range =Cromer Ridge
Prominence =c. 79 [Col of 26 metres above sea level at grid reference gbm4ibx|TM038790, at the confluence of the Rivers Little Ouse and Waveney]
Coordinates =
Topographic
OS "Explorer" 25
Type = Prominent hill
First ascent =
Easiest route =Sandy Lane
Grid_ref_UK = TG186413
Listing = County top

Beacon Hill is the highest point in the English county of Norfolk. [”OS Explorer Map” 25, Norfolk Coast East, ISBN 0 319 21727 2] The hill is located ¾ mile south of the village of West Runton on the North Norfolk coast. At its summit the hill is 103 meters (338 ft) above sea level. The hill is also known as Roman Camp. The summit and surrounding woodlands are now in the care of the National Trust. A lane running west from Sandy Lane leads to a car park which is maintained by donations made to the National Trust collection box provide on the edge of the car park. Litter bins and benches make Beacon Hill an ideal location for picnics. There are several footpaths to follow across the area.

Formation

Beacon Hill is a part of the Cromer Ridge which is a ridge of old glacial moraines (terminal moraine) that stands next to the coast above Cromer. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/articles/2005/06/21/coast05_iceage_feature.shtml BBC Coast] ] The Cromer Ridge seems to have been the front line of the ice sheet for some time at the last glaciations, which is shown by the large size of the feature. All the material that was dredged up from the North Sea was poured out of the glaciers to form Beacon Hill and the rest of the ridge. The Ridge is the highest land of East Anglia and stretches for 14 km along the North Norfolk coast. It is characterized by its irregular, undulating, intimate and well-wooded topography and by substantial areas of heather in the west. Small, enclosed arable fields, hedge banks, sunken lanes such as Sandy Lane which leads up Beacon Hill are common characteristic features all along the ridge.

Features

On the summit of Beacon Hill there is an earthwork enclosure. This area is known as Roman camp, a name which it is believed was coined around the turn of the 19th century by local horse drawn cab drivers as a suitably romantic picnic spot for an afternoon’s drive. Maps from the 18th century have the site marked as a rounded enclosure ‘termed’ as the old Beacon and watch tower. [Bryants Map of 1826] The Ordnance Survey map of 1838 calls the site a Signal Station and calls it Black Beacon Hill. ["East and West Runton: Two Villages, One Parish" by G.F. Leake, Poppyland Publishing, p. 26 ISBN 0946148759.] It is understood the banks located here today are the remains of a signal station built during the time of the Napoleonic Wars and was part of a chain of signals stretching from Devon and as far north as Edinburgh. ["East and West Runton: Two Villages, One Parish" by G.F. Leake, Poppyland Publishing, p. 27 ISBN 0946148759.] The signal sites from Norfolk downwards were abandoned from November 1841.

References