Hon. Excursions Sec.: Mike Stoddart
email: mike.stoddart@live.co.uk
phone: 0151 625 8939
mob: 07710 764 966
General Information about Field Excursions
Each person attending field meetings does so on the understanding that they attend at their own risk.
Liverpool Geological Society has Public Liability Insurance Cover for field (and indoor) meetings, but Personal Accident cover and Personal Liability cover remain the responsibility of participants. Field meetings are open to non-members (additional charge of £2/day). Some field meetings may be physically demanding. If you are uncertain, please ask. Priority is given to Members.
Safety is taken very seriously. Please make sure that you study any risk assessment or safety briefing and that you have all the safety equipment and clothing specified for the field meeting.
26th – 28th June 2026
Field excursion to the Jurassic Coast
This weekend field excursion to will be held on Friday 26th, Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June 2026.
We are delighted to announce that our President, Professor Peter Burgess, will lead a three day excursion to the UK’s Jurassic Coast for the Liverpool Geological Society in the summer of 2026.
The proposed itinerary is:
Friday 26th June. Buddleigh Salterton etc, Lower (and Upper?) Triassic, then Lyme Regis/Charmouth Lower Jurassic on way back to Weymouth.
Saturday 27th June. Osmington Mills, middle to Upper Jurassic and Portland Lighthouse Upper Jurassic to Cretaceous.
Sunday 28th June. Lulworth Cove and Fossil Forest, Upper Jurassic to Upper Cretaceous.
We will be based in Weymouth for the weekend as it is central and has plenty of affordable accommodation. For those wanting to extend their stay in the area, we strongly recommend a trip to The Etches Collection near Kimmeridge (£9.50 entrance fee) and The Tank Museum at Bovington Camp near Wareham (£19.50) but we will not be arranging this.
Those wanting a taste of what the area has to offer, geologically, could study Wessex Coast Geology by Ian West of Southampton University or buy the BGS Memoir “Geology of south Dorset and south-east Devon and its World Heritage Coast” (£24).
Members wishing to attend the excursion should notify our Field Excursion Secretary at mike.stoddart@live.co.uk
Sunday 8th August
Field excursion to the Shap Pink Quarry in eastern Cumbria
The quarry is currently run by Armstrong Group to produce “Shap Granite” roadstone but it has a long history of operation to produce decorative facia stone. The British Geological Survey describes the quarried rock as a potassium feldspar-megaphyric granite and gives it a radiometric age of 397 +/- 7 Ma (K-Ar, biotite) which makes it early Devonian. A good hand sample shows beautiful megacrysts of orthoclase feldspar which usually show twinning. The pluton is also the host to mineralisation along joints and a keen eye will often spot specimens of chalcopyrite or molybdenite.
Members wishing to attend should contact our Field Excursion Secretary at mike.stoddart@live.co.uk to reserve a place. Mike will be in touch to confirm details and organise car sharing.
Sunday 13th September 2026
Field Excursion to Brymbo Fossil Forest near Wrexham
We are planning a visit to the Brymbo Fossil Forest near Wrexham (LL11 5BT) on Sunday 13th September. The website of the site tells us “During work on the Brymbo steel works site in 2003 several large tree-like fossils were uncovered while open-cast mining overlying coal. After initial assessment by Peter Appleton and Dr Jacqui Malpas, five years of excavation revealed thousands of fossils and over 20 large tree trunk like structures with rooting networks perfectly preserved, some measuring up to 2.5 metres in height! Coal has been mined on the Brymbo site since the 1400’s, all the while the miners blissfully unaware of the origin of the coal that they were labouring to extract”.
There will be a charge, but pricing structure has not been finalised yet. Members who would like to attend should contact our Excursion Secretary at mike.stoddart@live.co.uk to reserve a place. He will be in touch closer to the date to confirm pricing and to organise car sharing.
https://www.brymboheritagetrust.org/brymbo-fossil-forest
