Tours & Dates - Trial-a-Bite

Information on Tours & Available Dates

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Information on Tours

Summarised below are the tours we currently offer. We have kept the descriptions short, so you do not have to plough through lots of descriptions, however if you have any questions or require clarification on any points then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please note - some important points:

We at present do not offer 'turn up and go' tours. All our tours must be pre-booked. When taster day tours are offered, they are offered on specific dates, however they must be booked up for in advance. Please also note that the tides and dates listed below, are not booked days or days where we have a particular trip planned. They are dates when the tides are suitable for a trip. These dates may be booked for a trip.

Where a 'day' is mentioned in description, this refers to the period over which the beach may safely be accessed for rock and fossil hunting. This period may be as much as six hours or as little as two. The time depends on the physical characteristics of each individual site. Please contact us as we will be able to advise you regarding this aspect of the tours.

For dates with suitable tides, please scroll further down this page

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NEW!

Coming Soon - Trial-a-Bite of fossil hunting 'Taster Day'

These 'taster sessions' are a series of short, 1 or 2 hour fossil hunting trips. You may book for a time slot that suits you. Unfortunately we cannot, at this time, take bookings and payment on the day, therefore payment in advance by, cheque, only please.

Watch this space for dates, times and venues.

Join our mailing list to get up to the date news of new tours ( ask us for the tours news only otherwise we will email you our quarterly earth sciences news letter as well).

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Half/One Day Tours

Combined Geology and Fossil Tours

The Cretaceous Weald of Kent - tour 1

Duration: 1 day, 3 stop

Venues in North Kent and Sussex.

Accessability - Some scrambling over rocks (6 to 8 foot climb down to the beach), Beach is shingle, grassland on one site. Longest distace about 1km (there and back)

Facilities - free parking at two sites, pay parking at one. lavatories only available at Hastings. Hastings has many good resturants, cafes, pubs and fish & chip shopshowever we strongly recommend the Neptune Fish Bar in Pleasure row, Hasings, just opposite the coach car park. For Something more substantial we recommend Foyles B&B Tea Room, they also can supply very good accommodation. There are also some very good shops too.

An introduction to the cretaceous environments in Kent & Sussex. Examining chalk and sandstone exposures, folding, faulting, and culminating in a fossil hunt at the beach. Although this trip was originally designed for KS3 secondary pupils, but can easily be adapted for KS2, KS4 and ‘A’ level students, it is ideal for anyone interested in geology or those whishing an insight into the geological history of south east Britain.

Please contact us for further details or to book this tour.

The Cretaceous Weald of Kent - tour 2

Duration: 1 day, 2 stop

Venues in North Kent and Sussex.

Accessability - Some scrambling over rocks (6 to 8 foot climb down to the beach), Beach is shingle, grassland on one site. Longest distace about 1km (there and back)

Facilities - free parking at one site, pay parking at one. lavatories only available at Hastings. Hastings has many good resturants, Cafes, pubs and fish & chip shops, however we strongly recommend the Neptune Fish Bar in Pleasure row, Hasings, just opposite the coach car park. For Something more substantial we recommend Foyles B&B Tea Room, they also can supply very good accommodation. There are also some very good shops too.

An introduction to the cretaceous environments in Kent & Sussex. Examining sandstone exposures, folding, faulting, and culminating in a fossil hunt at the beach. This trip was originally designed for KS3 secondary pupils, but can easily be adapted for KS2, KS4 and ‘A’ level students. This tour is a cut-down version of the Cretacious Weald of Kent - Tour 1, allowing more time at the beach for fossil hunting.

Please contact us for further details or to book this tour.

Introduction to Mapping

Duration: Half day,1 stop

Venue in North Kent

Accessability - Walking on grassland, some scrambling up steep slopes

Facilities - free parking at site. No lavatories or other facilities. There are however some good pubs a short drive away, towards Westerham.

An introduction to the use of the compass/clinometer, followed by a practical exercise in mapping exposures and folds. This tour is for the more serious geologist or students wishing to practise their mapping skills.

Please contact us for further details or to book on this tour.

Introduction to Field Techniques

Duration: Half day,1 stop

Venue in North Kent

Accessability - Walking on grassland, some scrambling up steep slopes

Facilities - free parking at site. No lavatories.

An introduction to geological field techniques including fizz tests, rock identification in the field and interpretation of observable exposure/structures. This trip is best run in conjunction with 'Introduction to mapping'. This tour is for the more serious geologist or for students whishing to practise their skills in this area.

Please contact us for further details or to book on this tour.

Geology and Fossils of Hastings

Duration: 1day, 1 stop

Venue in Sussex

Accessability - Some scrambling over rocks (6 to eight feet climb down to the beach), Beach is shingle. Longest distace about 1km (there and back)

Facilities - pay parking, lavatories available. Hastings has many good places to eat - fish & chip shops, cafes pubs etc, however we strongly recommend the Neptune Fish Bar in Pleasure row, Hasings, just opposite the coach car park. For Something more substantial we recommend Foyles B&B Tea Room, they also can supply very good accommodation. There are also many good shops for those wishing to add a little 'retail therapy' to their day out.

A fossil hunting trip to Hastings, looking for animals and plants of the Cretaceous. This tour introduces the discipline of 'palaeo-environments' where we use the clues within the rocks found on the beach that give an indication of the environment in which the fossils of the organisms we find lived.

Please contact us for further details or to book on this tour.

The Eocene (Herne Bay & Reculver)

Duration: 1 day, 2 stop (tides permitting)

Venues in North Kent

Accessibility: Walking over shingle as well as tarmac, some scrambling over rocks. Total dfistace 3km (there and back). Most of the walking may be done on tarmac, for the less adventurous.

Facilities: Pay parking, lavatories available at both sites. Many good food outlets such as fish & chip shops cafes etc are to be found at Herne Bay. The choice is more limited at Reculver where refreshments may be purchased from the pub (which is very good and reasonably priced).

A fossil and rock hunting trip to examine the life and environment of the Eocene. This trip gives the opportunity to examine the Oldhaven , Woolwich and Thanet Beds as well as the london Clay. There is always the chance of collecting sharks teeth, Ray dental plates, gastropod and bivalve shell fossils as well as plant fossils.

Please contact us for further details or to book this tour.

Code Title/description Geology and fossils of the lower chalk Duration 1 day, 1 stop
Under development

Code Title/description The geology of White Horse Stone & Kits Coty long barrows Duration
Under development

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Fossil hunting only

Fossils of Hastings

Duration: 1 day, 1 stop

Venue in Sussex

Accessability - Some scrambling over rocks(six to eight foot climb doen to the beach), Beach is shingle. Longest distace about 1km (there and back)

Facilities - pay parking. lavatories available. Hastings has many good places to eat or get a cup of tea (or something a little stronger, even!) however we strongly recommend the Neptune Fish Bar in Pleasure row, Hasings, just opposite the coach car park. For Something more substantial we recommend Foyles B&B Tea Room, they also can supply very good accommodation. There are many good shops to visit as well as a museum.

Description - A fossil hunting trip to Hastings, looking for animals and plants of the Cretaceous. Visit one of the less known but still classical fossil locations, second only to the Isle of Wight for cretacious fossils and rocks. This area offers plant and invertibrate (mollusc & crustacean) fossils as well as the chance to find bony fish and shark remains. More rarely evidence of dinosaur, reptile and other vertibrates can be found at this suprising venue.

Please contact us for further details or to book this tour.

Fossils of Folkestone

Duration: 1 day/1stop

Venue in Kent

Accessability - This is not for the faint hearted or for people who have mobility issues! Access to the beach at the site is via steep paths and cut steps into the cliff. The beach area where the fossils are found requires moving over rocks of different sizes, many of them covered with seaweed! Round trip on the beach is at least 1 mile. Essential footware - walking boots - No trainers or wellingtons.

Facilities - free on road parking. lavatories available. There are no facilities whatsoever once the beach has been reached. There are plenty of pubs, cafe's, fish & Chip shops as well as restaurants in Folkestone town. However parking is not free there. We recommend that you bring something to eat and drink with you.

Description - Although the access to this site is not as easy as some (and not as difficullt as others) we highly recocommend this site.This beach offers the chance to examine the marine geology and fossils of the middle to upper Cretaceous (Gault and greensand). The difficulties in accessing and crossing the beach are offset by the plentiful fossils of ammonites, belemnites, with the brachiopods also fairly common. More rarely the ammonite relation - Hamites can be found as well as skeletal remains of fish and reptiles. This site offers not just the promise of plentiful specimens with the chance of a rare find, but has more of the feel of an 'adventure' than can be offered by many other sites.

Please contact us for further details or to book this tour.

Fossils Of Eastbourne

Duration: 1 day/1stop

Venue in Sussex

Accessability - This is not for the faint hearted or for people who have mobility issues! Access to the beach at the site is via a half mile walk across the south downs way. The path has some steep sections and steep steps to negotiate.

Facilities - free on road parking. lavatories available (public park). There are no facilities whatsoever once the beach has been reached. There is a cafe close to the car parking.There are plenty of pubs, cafe's, fish & Chip shops as well as restaurants in Eastbourne town. However parking is not free there. We recommend that you bring something to eat and drink with you. particularly is if is a hot day.

Description - Although the access to this site is not as easy as some (and not as difficullt as others) we highly recocommend this site.This beach offers the chance to examine the marine geology and fossils of the middle to upper Cretaceous (gault clay, upper greensand and lower chalk). The difficulties in accessing and crossing the beach are offset by the wonderfully preserved fossils of ammonites, belemnites, with the brachiopod and bivalves that may be found. This site offers not just the promise of plentiful specimens with the chance of a rare find, but has, like Folkestone, more of the feel of an 'adventure' than can be offered by many other sites.

Please contact us for further details or to book this tour.

Code Title/description Fossil hunting trip to Walton on the Naze Duration
Under development

Multi-day Tours and Expeditions

Please bear with us - Under Construction

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Available Dates

At present we can only operate at weekends (other than during school holidays) due to other commitments.

Please consult the ‘available dates’ tables for a suitable time for your field trip. When you have booked and we have received your deposit, this will reserve the date for your use (subject to our terms and conditions).

If you wish to visit sites that are not by the sea then please ignore the ‘available dates’ tables and contact us with your requirements

The tables, below, indicate which dates have the best tides (generally). For an accurate tide prediction contact us with your preferred date and site(s).

Do not use these tide times for navigation

Tide Dates & Times for 2009

*Date*	*Day*	*Time (GMT)*
12/12/09	Saturday	14.40
13/12/09	Sunday	15.40

Suitable Dates for 2010

January
Date
Day
Tide
9/1/10
Sat
12.49
10/1/10
Sun
13.58
23/1/10
Sat
10.39
24/1/10
Sun
11.29

February
Date
Day
Tide
6/2/10
Sat
11.08
7/2/10
Sun
12.02
21/2/10
Sun
10.01

March
Date
Day
Tide
6/3/10
Sat
09.53
7/3/10
Sun
10.30
27/3/10
Sat
16.03
April
Date
Day
Tide
3/4/10
Sat
09.51
4/4/10
Sun
10.24
5/4/10
Mon
10.58
6/4/10
Tues
11.41
7/4/10
Weds
12.43
8/4/10
Thurs
14.17
9/4/10
Fri
15.52
19/4/10
Sun
09.17
24/4/10
Sat
15.26
25/4/10
Sun
16.31
Easter Holidays

May
Date
Day
Tide
2/5/10
Sun
09.27
8/5/10
Sat
14.26
9/5/10
Sun
15.38
June
Date
Day
Tide
1/6/10
Tues
09.48
2/6/10
Weds
10.10
3/6/10
Thurs
10.46
4/6/10
Fri
11.29
5/6/10
Sat
12.20
6/6/10
Sun
13.19
19/6/10
Sat
12.11
20/6/10
Sun
13.11
1\2 term

July
Date
Day
Tide
3/7/10
Sat
10.58
4/7/10
Sun
11.39
17/7/10
Sat
11.01
18/7/10
Sun
11.45
20/7/20
Tue
13.37
21/7/10
Weds
14.51
22/7/10
Thurs
16.14
23/7/10
Fri
17.24
31/7/10
Sat
09.55
Summer Holidays
August
Date
Day
Tide
1/8/10
Sun
10.28
2/8/10
Mon
11.03
3/8/10
Tues
11.42
4/8/10
Weds
12.36
5/8/10
Thurs
13.48
6/8/10
Fri
15.19
7/8/10
Sat
16.43
8/8/10
Sun
17.45
14/8/10
Sat
10.01
15/8/10
Sun
10.38
16/8/10
Mon
11.17
17/8/10
Tues
12.03
18/8/10
Weds
13.03
19/8/10
Thurs
14.27
20/8/10
Fri
16.04
21/8/10
Sat
17.15
30/8/10
Mon
10.00
31/8/10
Tues
10.30
Summer Holidays
September
Date
Day
Tide
1/9/10
Weds
11.07
2/9/10
Thurs
12.00
3/9/10
Fri
13.14
4/9/10
Sat
14.51
5/9/10
Sun
16.18
18/9/10
Sat
15.45
19/9/10
Sun
16.52
Summer Holidays
October
Date
Day
Tide
2/10/10
Sat
12.54
3/10/10
Sun
14.28
16/10/10
Sat
13.20
17/10/10
Sun
15.00
30/10/10
Sat
11.30
31/10/10
Sun
11.41
November
Date
Day
Tide
13/11/10
Sat
10.30
14/11/10
Sun
11.28
21/11/10
Sun
10.22

December
Date
Day
Tide
12/12/10
Sun
10.00
18/12/10
Sat
15.54
27/12/10
Mon
10.16
28/12/10
Tue
11.03
29/12/10
Weds
12.03
30/12/10
Thurs
14.29
31/12/10
Fri
15.28