TODAY we wanted to look at a rather interesting place in West Cumbria.

Clints Quarry is just a stones throw from Egremont, but is a truly magnificent place to visit.

It is owned and managed as a nature reserve by Cumbria Wildlife Trust.

The quarry is a scheduled Site of Special Scientific Interest and is of considerable botanical importance as well as geological.

The fallen blocks of stone that may be seen contain a variety of fossils – brachiopods and corals.

Little is known about local limestone quarries, but Clints was mentioned in a 1909 prospectus for the Workington Iron and Steel Company.

The limestone which was easily quarried, was used in blast furnaces to make steel in the heyday of the Acid Bessemer process between 1850 and 1890.

There are well preserved lime kilns which were probably used to produce lime for local farmers for land improvement.

Nowadays the site is a nature reserve with steep cliffs surrounding the quarry and multiple bodies of water and hilly grassland covering the area.

A number of animal species live in Clints Quarry, most notably badgers which are a common sight.

Longlands Lake, is within a short walking distance. So also is the Egremont section of the cycle path.

These photos show a group of volunteers at Clints Quarry, 13 year old Emma Twyford climbing one of the cliffs, a walking map of the quarry, the old jump pools, a bench vandalised at the site and a view of the cliffs.

Other photos show some of the nature that can be seen at Clints Quarry.