On Saturday 18th May at 1pm I will be leading an undercliff geology walk starting from Saltdean. A four mile gentle walk and talk along the Undercliff Walk from Saltdean to Brighton Marina – a Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
You will hear about the chalk and flint rocks which give our downland walks their form and qualities. The chalk was laid down at a time of global warming, shortly before the extinction of the dinosaurs.
I have recently returned from a geological study trip to the Italian limestone Apennine hills and the Swiss Alps. From there I was able to learn and experience many of the processes and forces responsible for the formation and uplifting of our Downs.
I am not a geologist but I have been learning quite a lot over the past few years – some of which I have shared online on this blog. Chalk and flint are extraordinary substances.
Prehistoric people relied on the glassy flints to make their razor sharp tools. Later they learnt that striking flint with a piece of iron (such as the iron nodules sometimes found in the chalk) would create a spark that could be used to light fires. Today flint is used as a building material in Sussex walls.
Chalk absorbs water like a sponge. It means that streams are rarely found on the surface in our downland valleys. However, wells sunk down deep into our chalk provide all of our drinking water on the South Downs.
Behind Brighton Marina, immediately overlooking Asda car park is one of Britain’s best examples of Ice Age geology. It used to be called a ‘bone bed’ for it is full of mammoth, wooly rhinoceros, and the bones of other ice age mammals that roamed across our South Downs when it looked like frozen Arctic tundra.
This walk is part of the Brighton and Hove City Council’s Healthwalks programme. For more information see: https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/health-walks
- Meeting place: Bus stop on top of cliffs opposite Saltdean Lido
- Buses: 12, 12A, 12X, 14, 14C, 27
- Time: 1-5pm
- 4 miles
- Free!
- Toilets at beginning and middle
- Wheelchair accessible
- Family friendly
Newmarket Hill 