The 139.5-hectare (345-acre) site, notified in 1951, is situated on the south Cornish coast of the English Channel, 6 miles (9.7 km) south-east of the city of Truro. It starts at Creek Stephen Point in the west, following the coast of Gerrans Bay to Nare Head and then on to Manare Point, near Portloe in the east and also includes Gull Rock off the coast.[2][3]