Hertfordshire Geological Society

HGS Field Trip Excursion to the Isle of Wight
2025-09-24 16:00 - 2025-09-28 12:00 UTC | Wight Hotel, 11 Avenue Road, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 8BN, United Kingdom
Numbers and arrangements now finalised for this excursion.

Wednesday 24 September arrive on island
Embark from Southampton @ 1 pm on Red Funnel Ferries arriving East Cowes 2 pm. Please check in at least 30 mins prior to sailing.
3 pm check-in at Wight Hotel, Sandown PO36 8BN
Evening meal at hotel where we will be joined by our field trip leader Andy Gale.
Thursday 25 September Day 1
Sandown to Whitecliff Bay, seeing almost the whole stratigraphy exposed.
Morning: Sandown to Culver, along the sandy beach (Wealden-Chalk groups).
Lunch: Culver Haven pub.
Afternoon: Whitecliff Bay, Chalk to Bembridge Limestone, the whole Paleogene succession. This traverse illustrates much of the Cretaceous-Paleogene geological history of southern England (GA Guide Chapters 2 pg 27 & Chapter 3 pg 33).
Friday 26 September Day 2
Southwest Wight (high tide 14:11)
Morning: Wealden dinosaur habitat at Brook Chine and Chilton Chine. Dinosaur footprints at Hanover Point.
Lunch: Wight Mouse pub
Afternoon: Compton Bay for Wealden, Lower Greensand and Chalk groups (GA Guide Chapters 11 pg 56 & Chapter 12 pg 59).
Saturday 27 September Day 3
Northwest Wight
Alum Bay, the Needles, Chalk, through to Headon Hill Formation.
Lunch in Red Lion, Freshwater
Afternoon, Solent Group (Eocene sands and clays, very fossiliferous) in Thorness Bay.
Most of the beach going is pretty easy, sand/shingle. Although tides are not ideal they are manageable. However if there is an onshore wind, we may have to modify the afternoon itineraries (GA Guide Chapter 9 pg 50).
Evening meal at hotel where we will be joined by our field trip leader Andy Gale.
Sunday 28 September depart island
Hotel check-out by 10 am (high tide 15:30)
Depart from East Cowes @ 2:30 pm on Red Funnel Ferries arriving Southampton 3:30 pm.

Angiosperms: pollen, evolution and ecosystems
2025-10-09 19:45 - 21:30 | Oaklands College, Sapsed Room (SR), Oaklands College, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0XS, United Kingdom
Talk by Dr Luke Mander, Senior Lecturer, The Open University
Abstract
Luke’s works with both living plants and material from the plant fossil record, which represents a vast archive of morphological novelties and natural design solutions that have been produced over the course of evolutionary time. In this context, he is particularly interested in the evolution of tropical rainforests, which are among the most complex ecosytems on Earth. He has worked mostly with pollen grains, which are morphologically fascinating objects with an outstanding fossil record, but also work with the leaves of vascular plants.
His current research activities are focused on plant palaeobiology and morphology.
He is interested in quantifying the morphology of plants, classifying plants on thebasis of their morphological characteristics, and investigating the biogeographical evolution of plant diversity.
Biography
Luke received a PhD in 2010 from University College Dublin for a thesis that investigated 200 million-year-old fossil plant remains in East Greenland. He then spent two years as a postdoc in the Department of Plant Biology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I returned to the UK with a two-year EU Marie Curie fellowship in the Earth System Science group at the University of Exeter. He has been a lecturer at The Open University since 2015.
View This Talk In The Members’ Section.

The Onset of Modern-Style Plate Tectonic
2025-11-13 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom Talk
Talk by Professor Craig Storey, University of Portsmouth
Abstract
Since the 1960s we have accepted the plate tectonic paradigm as being central to how our planet operates at the present day. However, there is much ongoing debate as to when plate tectonics began and how similar it was to the current observable mode. Hypotheses range from the Hadean to the Neoproterozoic and therefore span across profound changes in the Earth system, including atmospheric oxygenation and the proliferation of life. In this talk I will review (some of) the “hallmarks” of plate tectonics, their first appearance and secular evolution, and speculate on when it all began and how it evolved.
View This Talk In The Members’ Section.

The value & potential of the UK’s dinosaur track sites
2025-12-11 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom Talk
Talk by Richard Butler, Professor of Palaeobiology, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham
Abstract:
Dinosaur tracks provide important data on the distribution of dinosaurs through time and space and unique information on palaeobiology and behaviour, such as dinosaur locomotion, herding behaviour and species interactions. Dinosaur tracks and trackways are typically not collected and generally are left in the field: as such they have significant realised and potential value for tourism and education. In our recent work, we have comprehensively reviewed the distribution of dinosaur track sites in the UK and their scientific and cultural ‘value’. Fourteen dinosaur track sites are present in situ in the UK today, distributed across England, Wales and Scotland, and spanning from the Late Triassic to the Early Cretaceous. UK sites with considerable national and international scientific value include the Late Triassic dinosaur track site Bendrick Rock, in South Wales, and the Middle Jurassic site at Ardley and Dewars Farm quarries in Oxfordshire, parts of the latter having been excavated by our research team in 2024 and 2025. By contrast, the Early Cretaceous dinosaur track sites at Hanover Point, Isle of Wight, and Spyway Quarry, Dorset have relatively high cultural value due to their accessibility and visitor appeal, but modest scientific value. Our work helps identify threats and opportunities for UK dinosaur track sites, potentially helping to guide future conservation, scientific research, and public engagement efforts.

Critical minerals from geology to circular economy: a matter of national security
2026-01-08 19:30 - 21:30 | over Zoom
talk given by Associate Professor Kathryn Moore, University of Exeter

The end-Triassic mass extinction and its aftermath
2026-02-12 19:30 - 21:30 | over Zoom
talk given by Professor Paul WIgnall, University of Leeds

Little Heath Geoconservation
2026-02-14 10:00 - 17:00 | Little Heath, Potten End, Potten End, United Kingdom
Annual vegetation clearance

AGM
2026-03-12 19:30 - 21:30 | Redbourne Parish Centre, The Park, Redbourne, Hertfordshire, AL3 7LR, United Kingdom
followed by refreshments and launch of the
The Hertfordshire 50th anniversary book – Mike Lambert & Nick Pierpoint

Joint trip Ver Valley Society/ HGS
2026-03-21 08:00 - 17:00
TBD

The Ice-pushed chalk of the Chiltern escarpment between Barkway and Hendon
2026-03-29 10:00 - 16:30 | Silver Ball Transport Café, Reed, Royston London Road, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 8BG, United Kingdom
Joint trip with AGS
Meeting at 10 am at Silver Ball Transport Cafe on A10 at Reed. Finishing around 4:30 pm.
Pub lunch will be arranged.

49th Percy Evans Lecture: The Geology of the Lower Chess Valley & where does all that water go?
2026-04-09 19:45 - 21:45 | Redbourne Parish Centre, The Park, Redbourne, Hertfordshire, AL3 7LR, United Kingdom
given by Dr. Haydon Bailey, HGS Chairman

Geology of Stonehenge and the bluestone controversy
2026-05-14 19:45 - 21:45 | Redbourne Parish Centre, The Park, Redbourne, Hertfordshire, AL3 7LR, United Kingdom
talk given by Prof. Peter Worsley, Emeritus Professor of Quaternary Geology, University of Reading

The Chalk Sea Ecosystem Project
2026-06-11 19:45 - 21:45 | Redbourne Parish Centre, The Park, Redbourne, Hertfordshire, AL3 7LR, United Kingdom
talk given by Dr James Witts, Senior Post Doctoral Researcher, Natural History Museum London

Researching the Puddingstone Book
2026-07-09 21:45 | Redbourne Parish Centre, The Park, Redbourne, Hertfordshire, AL3 7LR, United Kingdom
talk given by Gerald Lucy, Essex Rock & Mineral Society & Mike Howgate, AGS & HGS

The Deep Geology beneath southern England (TBC)
2026-09-10 21:45 | Redbourne Parish Centre, The Park, Redbourne, Hertfordshire, AL3 7LR, United Kingdom
talk given by Dr. Chris Pullen, Director, CP Exploration

Book Presentation - The Meteorites
2026-10-08 19:45 - 21:45 | Redbourne Parish Centre, The Park, Redbourne, Hertfordshire, AL3 7LR, United Kingdom
given by Helen Gordon, Hertfordshire University & Author

Alpine peaks and salt intrusions - Geological windows into Earth's mantle
2026-11-12 19:45 - 21:45 | over Zoom
given by Dr. Jonathan Turner, Geologists’ Association Field Guide Editor

The history of geological thought and exploration of the geology of the Himalaya
2026-12-10 19:45 - 21:45 | over Zoom
given by Dr. Danny Clarke-Lowes, Director, Nubian Consulting
