The UK coastline home to Britain’s ‘Great Barrier Reef’ – and it’s the largest of its kind in Europe
THE UK is home to the longest chalk reef in Europe that’s been nicknamed Britain’s Great Barrier Reef by marine experts.
Destinations like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in the Philippines spring to mind when picturing a reef bed.
Even though the UK is far from having a tropical climate, which we typically associate with barrier reefs, there are still a couple of thriving reef beds in UK waters.
One of those places is the Cromer Shoal Chalk Bed, which is said to be the largest of its kind in Europe.
Located just off the Norfolk Coast, the reef was only discovered 10 years ago, and is often referred to as Britain’s Great Barrier Reef by marine conservationists.
Stretching for roughly 20 miles, Cromer Shoal Chalk Bed was made a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
Spanning for more than 20 miles, the 100-million-year-old reef provides 350 species of marine plants and animals with a habitat.
Species like crabs, lobsters, starfish, sea cucumbers, cuttlefish, sea bass, sea scorpions and jellyfish live in the Cromer Shoal Chalk Bed.
The English reef is also thought to be the only place where a purple sponge called Parpal Dumplin is found, with the sea species only being discovered in 2011.
Other features are also hiding under the water’s surface, including deep chasms that were made during the Ice Age.
Because of its unique marine life, Cromer Shoal Chalk Bed is a popular spot with scuba divers.
According to Lowestoft Sub Aqua Club, a website dedicated to scuba diving, divers can reach the reef from seaside towns like Cley and Bacton on the Norfolk Coast.
They wrote: “The accessible chalk starts at Cley and continues around the coastline heading west until you reach Bacton.
“There are many sites where it is possible to SCUBA dive or snorkel the Norfolk chalk reef from the shore.”
For those Brits who can’t scuba dive, it is also possible to see the chalk bed when snorkelling.
ScubaPro added: “From the shore the chalk can be seen in depths as shallow as one metre, which also makes the chalk reef a great place to snorkel.”
Cromer Shoal Chalk Bed isn’t the only reef bed in the UK, there’s also the Thanet Coast chalk reef in Kent – the second largest reef in the UK.
The UK is home to plenty of other lesser-known landscapes, including Borrowdale Rainforest.
Borrowdale Rainforest is the biggest temperate rainforest in the country, and one of the last remaining examples of a “mysterious and untouched” landscape in the UK.
The area has been named a national nature reserve as part of the King’s Series, with the new status helping to conserve the rainforest by linking it up with other nearby habitats.
Inside the UK's free ‘indoor rainforest’
Exploring the Amazon rainforest or going on an adventure in the jungles of Borneo might seem like impossible dreams for some.
But at the heart of a UK city there’s a huge rainforest-like attraction, with hundreds of exotic plant species, that can be visited for free.
The Barbican conservatory in London is described as both a “utopia” and “a favourite” place for those living in the capital.
The indoor garden is the second largest conservatory in the city, but it doesn’t cost anything to enter, with guests able to meander around its walkways and paths at their leisure.
Small terrapins and exotic fish can be seen swimming in ponds inside, adding to the feeling that you’re in a tropical landscape.
Meanwhile, these camping etiquette mistakes will make other campers hate you.
And these are the best campsites to visit in the UK.