The Holderness Coast in the north east of England stretches from the high chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head in the north to the sand spit of Spurn Point in the south. The low lying area of Holderness was deposited as boulder clay and outwash gravel and boulders by the retreating ice of the last glaciation about twelve thousand years ago. The coastline is quickly eroding along all of its length from Bridlington in the north to Easington in the south. The moraine cliffs at Barmston, south of Bridlington, have one of the highest rates of erosion in Europe, with the average rate of erosion along the Holderness coast quoted as 1.8m per annum. The coastline itself is comprised of low sedimentary cliffs, at the base of which are thin narrow beaches.