Booking is essential for all visits
Please email Gerald Lucy (geraldlucy@greenbee.net)
to reserve a place.
Alternatively, text or telephone 07512 156579.
If you subsequently decide not to come, or expect to arrive late, please telephone the number above so that a message may be passed on to the leader and participants will not be kept waiting.
Do not 'turn up' at a field visit in the hope that you can take part. Everyone must book a place beforehand.
June 20 The Naze, Walton, Essex. Fine exposures of Red Crag and London Clay where
(Sunday) fossils may be found. Meet at Essex Wildlife Trust’s Naze Visitor Centre near the cliff top tower, Old Hall Lane, CO14 8LE (grid ref. TM 264234) at 11:00 am (Low tide 2:12pm). Car parking charges apply. A garden sieve and a trowel will be useful. Children are particularly welcome. [Leader: Gerald Lucy].
July 24 Thorndon Country Park, Brentwood, Essex. The pebbles at Thorndon Country
(Saturday) Park have had a long and eventful history, providing evidence of massive global climate change. We will be doing the ‘pebble walk’ and visiting the gravel ‘wall’ revealing 450,000 year-old glacial outwash. Earlier this year (2021) the wall was extended and given a thorough clean and re-excavation with the help of a three ton digger. Meet at 2:00pm in the Thorndon Countryside Centre car park (parking charge), Thorndon Park North, The Avenue, Brentwood, Essex, CM13 3RZ (TQ 607914).(Sat nav users should follow the brown signs) [Leaders: Ian and Ros Mercer].
August 14 Bulls Lodge Quarry, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex. Visit to this working
(Saturday) quarry. Thick till (boulder clay), deposited by an ice sheet, contains derived fossils and erratics. The underlying Kesgrave Thames gravels contain boulders from North Wales and S.W. England, and Hertfordshire Puddingstone. Meet 9:00 am in the quarry access road (Hansons Aggregates) off Generals Lane (TL 7423 1009) (not in the car park). Helmet, boots and high visibility jacket essential. (Working quarry - no under 18s permitted). [Leaders: Dr. Peter Allen, David Turner, and Gerald Lucy].
Sept. 19 Otford, near Sevenoaks, for a trip around the Solar System (followed by a
(Sunday) geological mapping exercise). Meeting at Otford village car park at 10.30 am. (TN14 5PQ). We will walk around the Otford Solar System model which is the largest scale model in the known universe. The full walk will take about 2 hours, depending on whether we get lost on the way to Pluto or not. After lunch in Otford we will interpret the village millennial mosaic which has quite a lot of geology. Then in the afternoon we will visit a local quarry in the Lower Greensand where we will be able to examine some quite complex folding. Bring along your compass/clinometer if you have one. [Leader: Mike Howgate]. Joint visit with the Amateur Geological Society.
October 2 Hill Farm, Gestingthorpe, Essex. A repeat visit to this farm where sink holes
(Saturday) keep appearing. There is also a small private geological and archaeological museum
which has interesting finds and fossils – glacial erratics and Roman artefacts collected
by the farmer, Ashley Cooper. The farm is also the site of a Roman villa. Gestingthorpe village is known for a particularly high concentration of sarsen stones. Bring a packed lunch and waterproofs and footwear suitable for field walking. Meet at Hill Farm (CO9 3BL) (TL 821391) at 10:30 am. [Leader: Ashley Cooper].
October 16 North Stifford and the Mardyke Valley, Essex. A visit to North Stifford Church in
(Saturday) Thurrock which has a great variety of interesting rocks in its walls. Followed by a visit to the nearby Mardyke Valley. The trip will be an introduction to the fascinating geology of this part of Essex. Meet 11:00 am at St Mary's Church (RM16 5UE) (TQ 604803) The church is on High Road, North Stifford (the main road through the village). There is very limited car parking but some on-street parking is available in the cul-de-sac called Sherwood to the west (a few minutes walk). Bring a packed lunch. [Leaders: Ian and Ros Mercer].
