Field Trip: Deadmaids Quarry
Leader:
Entry Fee
Members: Free
Visitors: £3.00
Date and Time
10:30
Location
Mere, Wiltshire
Field Trip Description
Deadmaids quarry just to the west of Mere is an S.S.S.I. for the only clear location showing the junction between Upper Greensand and the Lower Chalk. The whole face is obscured by ivy, grass and brambles. Parking is at the back of the trading estate just next to the location. Bring gardening gloves, secateurs, loppers hard hat and eye defenders will keep out the debris. Bringing a packed lunch is recommended.
This site is of importance both for the Chalk and for the Upper Greensand units of the Cretaceous. The quarry provides the finest available section in south west England of the Upper Greensand/Chalk transition as developed in the area to the north of a shallow area in the Cretaceous sea known as the ‘mid-Dorset Swell’. The unique and highly fossiliferous ‘Popple Bed’ is well exposed above the Chert Beds, and is of importance for the rich and diverse assemblage of fossil bivalves, gastropods, ammonites, brachiopods and echinoids which it contains, mainly as phosphatised casts. This is a key locality for study of the palaeontology of the lowermost part of the Chalk (the Cenomanian Stage) in Britain
See: www.thegcr.org.uk/SiteReports.cfm?Step=3v for more information about the location.
If you have any queries concerning the trip please contact Isabel Buckingham at [email protected] or tel 01985219313.
Directions
From A303 heading east: turn off left for Mere which is a sharp turn; follow signs, go under A303 and just after the turn to he left B3095, turn right into Trading estate and follow round to the left and behind as there is lots of marking space just by the site.
From A303 heading west: take the slip road left into Mere and proceed through the little town on what was once the main road. As you exit westwards just before B3095 turn right into trading estate and bear left then right.
From north in Wiltshire: Aim for Warminster ring road A36, and take A350 south signed Shaftesbury. IGNORE sign for Exeter, go under A303, turn right at Traffic lights then you can filter onto A303 westbound which is safer, then follow above.
From north in Somerset: Easiest to find A303 anywhere and head east until Mere turn off, head for Frome and on ring road take B3092 which will take you past Stourhead.
Important Notice: Bath Geological Society Insurance
Each person attending a field meeting does so on the understanding that he/she attends at his/her own risk. The Bath Geological Society has Public Liability Insurance Cover for field and indoor meetings, but Personal Accident Cover and Personal Liability Cover remain the responsibility and personal choice of the participant.
There may be an element of appropriate cover included in house insurance or in travel insurance: although Bath Geological Society activities are not particularly dangerous members are advised to check whether exclusions apply to activities in which they plan to participate in case they wish to arrange further cover. An annual travel insurance may be the best solution for any member who regularly attends field events: this again is a matter of choice.
Please note however that all members participating in overseas events will be required to have travel insurance for the duration of the event: this is so that participants are covered for Medical, Repatriation and Personal Liability expenses. The Personal Accident element remains the personal choice of the member and again members are advised to check exclusions so that they can make an informed decision about the cover they want.