The Orwell Clunch Pit

I took my new camera out for a spin today. I ended up in Orwell which is about ten miles south-west of Cambridge. It seemed quite a pretty place, and so I stopped. I wandered up a public footpath, and discovered a sign entitled The Orwell Clunch Pit. I didn't have a clue what clunch was, so naturally, I stopped to read on. It said:

Clunch, a hard form of chalk, may have been quarried from this hollow in the hills ideas long ago as the 13th Century. It was much used for building, particularly the walls of local houses and probably parts of the Village Church, and may also have provided the lime needed for mortar and to improve the parish fields.

The clunch pit has been a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) since 1985 because of the variety of wildlife it attracts. I noticed bumble bees in particular: they seemed to think my hair clip was a real flower.