Field Meetings
Travel is by members’ cars, or possibly other transport if the numbers are sufficient, with costs shared between members at a standard rate. When a visit requires specific equipment – for instance hard hats, torches, wellingtons, high visibility jackets – you will be notified in advance. You will also be required to confirm that you have read the risk assessment for the visit.
Field Meeting Booking
Booking can be done either at lecture meetings or by clicking on the "Field Meeting Registration" link when it is shown in the details below. For one day meetings, the cut off time for booking is 12 noon on the day before the meeting. The longer field meetings will usually have earlier booking cut off times. The booking link will not be available until booking opens and will disappear once the booking closing time has passed.
All attendees need to sign a Risk Assessment Document
Safety on field meetings is taken very seriously. Should you be unsure about either the risks
involved or your ability to participate, you must seek advice from the leader. Please make sure
you understand the risk assessment offered by the leader of the meeting and that you have the
safety equipment specified. You must declare, at the time of booking, any disabilities or medical
conditions that may affect your ability to safely attend this field meeting. In order to ensure
the safety of all participants, the RGS reserves the right to limit or refuse attendance at field
meetings.
By signing up to a field meeting you are confirming you have read this safety
briefing note, are accepting the risks and responsibilities and are permitting the RGS to keep
your contact details for the duration of the trip.

Wednesday 11 June 2025
Unconformities, bedding & fossils of Ogmore and Southerndown, South Wales
Leader: Prof Paul Wright
Field Meeting Registration
Ogmore by Sea is a special place and provides an opportunity to look at two very contrasting types of unconformities. One represents the 130 my time gap between the Carboniferous Limestone and the late Triassic where late Triassic alluvial fan sediments were deposited near the margins of a large desert lake formed in a rift basin. The second is at the base of the Jurassic when the early Jurassic marine transgression the Triassic upland and Ogmore became a tropical island. We will examine the Sutton Stone representing Jurassic beach-shoreface deposits and see fossil corals that grew on ledges on those cliffs and the overlying Southerndown and Blue Lias. The Blue Lias deposited in low energy, sub-storm wave, offshore settings, and the underlying coarser grained limestones of the Southerndown Beds were deposited in storm-influenced shallower waters. Both units show striking bedding yet in both cases the bedding or bedding surfaces are not primary. Ah, all is not what it seems!
Picture:-Carboniferous-Triassic Unconformity, Ogmore (from Wright & Marriott field guide 2025