January 14
(Saturday)

Tankerton, nr Whitstable, Kent. The London Clay exposed here at a very low tide has produced occasional fish, crab and turtle remains. Meet at 7.30 a.m. near the beach huts at Tankerton [TR 127 674]. Low water is at 9.43 a.m. Joint visit with the Medway Fossil and Mineral Society and the Tertiary Research Group.         

                                                                                               [Leader: Fred Clouter]

The Naze, Walton, Essex. An opportunity to collect fossils from the fine exposures of Red Crag and London Clay, and to view the new Crag Walk which opened last June. Meet at 10.30 a.m. at the café [TM 264 234] by the cliff-top tower. Low water is at 1.08 p.m. Joint visit with the Essex Field Club and the Tertiary Research Group.

                                                                                                [Leader: Gerald Lucy]

Elsenham Sand Quarry, Elsenham, Essex. The Red Crag Nodule Bed may be exposed in this working quarry beneath Chillesford Sands and glacial till. Fossils in the RCNB are rare, but Carcharodon teeth have been found here. Meet at 8.30 a.m. in the Brett Aggregates car park (the access road joins the main road at TL 547 255). This visit involves walking one mile from the car park to the quarry and back. Joint visit with the Essex Field Club and the Tertiary Research Group.
                                                                                               
                                                                                                [Leader: Gerald Lucy]

Bawdsey and Sutton, Suffolk. We will examine London Clay exposed at low water and also the Red Crag deposits in the cliff. We will also visit Sutton Knoll to look at Pliocene deposits and the new plantation of tree species from that period. Meet at 10.30 a.m. at the car park [TM 306 475] on the east side of the B1083 Woodbridge to Bawdsey road approximately 1.5 miles south of Sutton Hoo. Joint visit with the Suffolk Natural History Society and the Tertiary Research Group.

                                                                                            [Leader: Bob Markham]

July 1
(Sunday)

Bull’s Lodge Quarry, Boreham, nr Chelmsford, Essex. This working quarry shows boulder clay deposited by an ice-sheet, in which derived fossils can be found, whilst the underlying Kesgrave river gravels contain far-travelled boulders from north Wales. Meet at 9.30 a.m. in the quarry car park [TL 738 104] off Generals Lane by the roundabout. Joint visit with the Essex Field Club.

                                                                                              [Leader: Richard Pinto]

Birch Quarry, nr Colchester, Essex. Last visited by our Society in 2002, this sand and gravel quarry exposes pre-glacial Thames gravels and boulder clay. Far-travelled rocks and derived fossils can be found. Meet at 9.30 a.m. at Hanson’s Quarry car park [TL 927 200]. Joint visit with the Essex Field Club.

                                                                                              [Leader: Richard Pinto]

Maylandsea, Mayland, Essex. Foreshore exposures of London Clay at this site yield stem fragments of the crinoid Isselicrinus subbasaltiformis, the lobster Hoploparia gammaroides and sharks’ teeth. Meet at 10.30 a.m. on the sea-wall [TL 907 037] on the east side of Lawling Creek, 1 km north of Maylandsea. Low water is at 12.30 p.m. Joint visit with the Tertiary Research Group and the Essex Field Club.

                                                                   [Leaders: Jeff Saward and Rick Johnson]

Orfordness National Nature Reserve, Orford, nr Woodbridge, Suffolk. The shingle spit on the island is the largest in Europe and shows interesting geomorphological features. Meet at 10 a.m. near the National Trust ferry Octavia for crossing to the island [TM 425 495]. There is a £4 charge for NT members and an £8 charge for non-members, with a pay-and-display car park in Quay Street, Orford, 150 yds away. Joint visit with the Essex Field Club.

                                                                                             [Leader: Dr Peter Allen]

A visit to Blockley, in Gloucestershire, may be arranged with the Medway Fossil and Mineral Society in July or August if permission is given, and also a visit to Wallasea Island in the autumn when London Clay from the Crossrail tunnel under London is deposited on the island for the RSPB reserve.

If you wish to come on any field visit it is absolutely essential either to sign the relevant attendance sheet, available at monthly meetings, or to contact the Field Visits Secretary to reserve a place. If subsequently you decide not to come, please inform the Field Visits Secretary on 01245 267450. If you get delayed and expect to arrive late, please phone 07884 372885 so that a message may be passed on to the leader, and participants will not be kept waiting unnecessarily. This mobile phone will be switched on only 30 minutes before the planned meeting time.

Members are expected to make their own travelling arrangements and are responsible for insuring themselves and their equipment. The ability to work out a national grid reference from an Ordnance Survey map is essential. You are advised to wear old clothing and bring waterproofs, wellingtons, hammer, chisels, plastic goggles, trowel, OS map, GPS, notebook, pencil, paper tissues, newspaper, collecting bags, specimen tubes, packed lunch, first aid kit, and a hard hat for visits to quarries and cliff sections. Access to working quarries will be permitted only if steel-capped boots, a plastic hard hat, and a yellow tabard with reflective strips are worn. All geological sites are potentially dangerous. Members and guests are reminded that they attend field visits at their own risk and the attention of all participants is drawn to Sections 11 and 12 of the Constitution. Children under 18 years of age are welcome to attend most field visits provided that they are accompanied by an adult, but access to working quarries will be refused.

Return to Home Page