Field Trip: 50th Anniversary Field Trip: Combe Hay circular Walk
Leader:
Entry Fee
Members: Free
Visitors: £3.00
Date and Time
10:30
Location
Will be provided on registration
Field Trip Description
Saturday April 9th, 2022 @ 10:30am-4:30pm
This trip will be a guided 5-mile circular walk from Odd Down to Combe Hay to Midford to Tucking Mill to Horsecombe Vale via Southstoke and back to Odd Down.
It is a walk-through pleasant landscape with pretty views and some outcrops of the Middle Jurassic: Bridport/Midford Sands and the Inferior Oolite around Midford.
There will be lots of history related to the geology;
- We will pass old Fuller’s Earth workings, near the P&R
- Great Oolite mines and quarries
- Sections of the Somerset Coal Canal (SCC) with its old locks (finished 1805)
- Route of the Limpley Stoke to Camerton railway which replaced the canal in the 1882, and the Bath to Bournemouth railway (Somerset & Dorset line, 1862-1966), all providing insights into the industrial heritage of the area.
- We will also be in the area where William Smith conducted some of his early surveys for the route of the SCC after which he produced his first map: the Geology of 5 miles around Bath (1799) and realised the significance of fossils in biostratigraphy.
- We will also see the house where Smith lived in Tucking Mill.
The walk will be on footpaths, tracks and minor roads (care needed); there may be some mud if recent rain. There are some hills and slopes. The William Smith Trail, produced by the Combe Down Heritage Society with input from the Bath Geological Soc (2016), covers part of this walk
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.