Field Trips

General Information

Do check with this website and/or the organiser before leaving for any trip.  We will also try to contact anyone who has registered an interest in a trip in advance. 

Always check the latest issue of "London Platform" for up to date information on any event, or check with the event's organiser. Details of events more than two months ahead are provisional.

Using The Maps On This Site

Having problems with the maps? Click here for help

Registering Your Interest In An Event

Now there is a new and convenient way of registering for or asking questions about any or all of our events online, using the Registration Form.

Simply select the events you are interested in, enter your contact details and press the button. The organisers of the events you have selected will contact you and confirm your interest. You can use the form as many time as you like and you are not committed to anything by registering an interest - you are saving the LOUGS money and the organisers' time by registering in this way. Go on, give it a go. If you have any problems or questions, please contact me at paul@lougs.org.uk.

February Thursday 18

HALF-TERM EVENT – Northmoor Hill RIGS with Jill Eyers

Jill has included Northmoor Hill in her Rocks Afoot series of geological walks and has been instrumental in making this one of our 'local' RIGS sites. For some years it has been overgrown but now a concerted effort has been made to conserve the site. Jill has had a volunteer team out there and now she has money to finish the job professionally. It seemed to us a good idea to get out there with Jill to look at it before the summer vegetation re-established itself and so rather than our usual inner London building stone walk we decided to visit this site. The Nature Reserve has maintained walkways and steps, and interpretative boards at the points of interest so it will be possible to do the walk without the full regalia of boots and hard hats. Jill has provided a good description of the route in her book with clues to the underlying rock types in the vegetation and comparison of a modern and fossil ‘swallow hole’ and she will be able to show us these. We have decided to make it a morning trip, followed by lunch in a suitable pub for those that want it leaving plenty of time to get back to London for the evening talk.

Meet: 11.00 am Northmoor Hill Nature Reserve: Tilehouse Lane, opposite Denham aerodrome [TQ 034 891].

There is ample car-parking but no toilet facilities. Alternatively there will be a pick-up from the following stations at 10.30: Hillingdon Underground Metropolitan Line and Denham Mainline Bring: Suitable warm/wet clothing but if coming by train, stout shoes rather than boots will be sufficient.

Cost: Our usual field-trip charge of £2.50 will cover both the trip and evening talk.

Please indicate if you will require a lift and your preferred station

(Eyers, J. 1998 Rocks afoot: Geological walks in south Buckinghamshire. Published by J. Eyers, 48 pp. Information can also beviewed at:  http://www.bucksgeology.org.uk/northmoor_hill.html)

Please register for the day and evening events separately.

Laurie Baker

February Thursday 18

TALK: ‘Thames Tideway’ by Jackie Skipper

The Thames Tideway Project – or, a brief history of trying to keep the Thames clean

March Sunday 21

S276 STUDENT DAY - Herne Bay

Welcome to geology! Your LOUGS committee is offering a hands-on experience to get you started. We are organising a field trip to Herne Bay on the north Kent coast where you can see REAL rocks to supplement your virtual field trips. You will quickly learn that rocks, even when they are 55 million years old, do not have to be hardened. The cliffs at Herne Bay are particularly interesting as you can see the layering of 3 different rock-types in the cliff face. They are an SSSI.

Iain Fletcher

April Saturday 17

Riddlesdown Quarry (formerly known as the Rose & Crown Pit) followed by a mapping exercise at Croham Hurst, Croydon led by Rory Mortimore.

For those of you have been on Rory’s trips before, you will need no introduction.  Rory is an expert on the Chalk and has worked on a conservation plan for Riddlesdown which is currently being implemented by the City of London Corporation with the aid of a flock of sheep and goats. The Riddlesdown Chalk Quarry (often referred to as the Rose and Crown Pit) ceased working in the 1960s but has avoided the fate of most quarries of landfill or development and so it is currently probably the best location to examine Chalk in the London Area.  The Quarry is now an SSSI both for the geology and the wildlife.  Scrub has been cleared from a scree slope and steps installed to give access to the main face.  Remains of the old lime workings can still be seen. 

 Croham Hurst, only a few miles away at Breakneck Hill is also an SSSI (but not for the geology) and is public open space.  Small exposures of ferruginous cemented pebbles of the Harwich Formation can be seen at the top of the hill and Chalk on the roots of trees at the bottom.  Small exposures in the intervening ground reveal Thanet Sand Formation but no direct evidence for the Lambeth Group has been found.  Although exposure is poor it is possible to roughly map the junctions from these small exposures.

Both locations have steep slopes and the paths can be rough and possibly overgrown in places.  At Riddlesdown there is a risk of falling chalk so the City of London Corporation insist that hard hats must be worn while examining the face.

Itinerary

Morning: To examine the Chalk in Riddlesdown Quarry.  Rory will set us an exercise to keep us on our toes.  This will require you to make a sketch geological section to identify the Chalk formations, lithological marker beds and fossil horizons present in the quarry. Also look for changes in fracture style and degree of weathering in the pit.

Lunch: in a nearby pub (unfortunately the Rose & Crown ceases to exist)

Afternoon: Mapping exercise at Croham Hurst

 Meet: 10.30 TQ 336 592 at the entrance to Riddlesdown Quarry beside Jewson’s Yard on the east side of the A22 (Godstone Road) between Purley and Whyteleafe. Parking in Old Barn Lane and other roads opposite.  Closest railway station is at Whyteleafe; bus 407 runs along the A22 between Purley and Whyteleafe but with notice the train can be met at about 10.00

 Finish: Between 16.00 – 17.00.  Maps will be given on the day showing how to get from Riddlesdown to Croham Hurst and instructions for the mapping exercise will also be handed out.

 Lunch Arrangements:  We plan to visit a pub (details on the day) but you may prefer to bring a packed lunch as pub food can often be slow. 

 Bring: Packed lunch (if required), fluid, hard hats, walking boots, hand lens and warm/wet gear

 Contact: Di Clements  If you have not already done so, please send your address and telephone number and indicate whether you could offer, or would require a lift or whether you would like to be picked up from Whyteleafe station.

May Saturday 8

Corsi Rock Collection in the Oxford University Museum with Monica Price, followed by a Building Stone walk led by Di Smith

Note: there is limit of 25 people on this trip, so be sure to register early!

Yvonne Brett

June Sunday 20

Bargates of Guildford and Godalming with Graham Williams

Di Clements

July Sunday 4

S276 Revision Day

Run by LOUGS at Royal Holloway College in Egham.

The provisional outline below is based on the previous S260 course, any changes are likely to be minor.

The revision day addresses the 'practical' aspect of the exam which is worth 50% of the marks. Hence you can pass by working hard at Egham, without worrying about the rest! The day is divided into three sessions and a lunch break. It has been running for over twenty years and is led by experienced tutors.

The problem map in part II of the exam requires a knowledge of geological maps and field relations. In this session you will work through a number of examples using models and a well tried procedure which has been found to be a great help to those having difficulty with this aspect of the course.

The rocks session revises the classification of rocks and provides rock samples for identification. Hands on experience of identifying rocks is the best way of gaining the experience to do well in the exam. The best geologists are those who have handled the most rocks.

The fossil session gives students an opportunity to examine a variety of 'real' fossils which complement those in the Home Experiment Kit. The session concentrates on the compulsory part of the paper where students are asked to draw and label a given specimen and make deductions about its mode of living and fossilisation potential. The session will finish with a short tutorial on the graphic log element of the course.

All this is provided for £5 - which includes free tea/ coffee/ soft drinks. You can also take the opportunity to talk to tutors and graduates regarding future course choices. A fun and worthwhile day in the company of other students and tutors.

Register book a place and to receive full details including how to pay.

Geoff Barton

July  Thursday 15

Evening walk “Looking for the lost River Tyburn”.

Di Clements

July Sunday 25

Fossil Hunting trip to Barton-on-Sea

Iain Fletcher

September Sunday 12

Autumn Geowalk with Brian Harvey – details to be confirmed

Laurie Baker

October Sunday 17

Weald and Downland Museum, Singleton led by Di Smith

Jenny Parry

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Page updated: 07/07/2007