London Geodiversity Partnership
LightNews LightNews
banner
londongeology.bsky.social
London Geodiversity Partnership
@londongeology.bsky.social
610 followers 230 following 87 posts
Preserving and communicating the geology of London. Sharing good practice, influencing policy and establishing cross-London working for Geodiversity
Posts Replies Media Videos
londongeology.bsky.social
Why are all these chalk boulders on the foreshore of the River Thames? They are derived from barge beds - platforms constructed from chalk blocks onto which barges could beach. You can often see remains of barge beds ie at Battersea #londongeology #urbangeology #Thames
Boulders of white chalk amongst the brick and flints on the Thames foreshore at Battersea Remains of barge beds on the Thames foreshore at Battersea. Platforms constructed of chalk blocks can be seen emerging out of the mud. Battersea Bridge is in the background.
November 16, 2025 at 5:07 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
A wet day out to look at the Pulhamite outcrops in Battersea Park. These are man made ‘outcrops’ constructed in the 1870s #urbangeology #londongeology
A Pulhamite cave with two LGP members standing in front of it. The structure is sculpted to resemble an outcrop of Millstone Grit sandstone. The Pulhamite cascade in Battersea Park along with our group Small ‘outcrop’ of Pulhamite in Battersea Park. Close up of the cave ‘outcrop’ of Pulhamite.
November 14, 2025 at 5:51 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
Did you go to the @geolassoc.bsky.social Festival of Geology this weekend? Please do share your photos of walks, talks and other events! #festivalofgeology #fog
London Geodiversity Partnership’s stall at the Festival of Geology at Burlington House on Saturday
November 2, 2025 at 8:41 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
Some photos from yesterday’s guided walk to Hainault Forest Park #londongeology #hainaultforest #walklondon
A group of people looking at the London Clay and superficial deposits around the Lake at Hainault Forest Park The walking group at the meeting place outside the visitor centre at Hainault Forest Park.
September 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
Another busy weekend! LGP’s stand at Abbey Woods Woodland Festival. Open until 4 pm, come and learn about #londongeology
A man and a child are visiting our stall which has a display of fossils and other information about London’s geology.
September 14, 2025 at 1:16 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
Come and visit our stall at the Highgate Wood Community Heritage Day today and learn about the geology of the woods and London. More information at
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/events/commu...
#londongeology #highgatewoods
Members of London Geodiversity Partnership running today’s stall at Highgate Woods this morning
September 7, 2025 at 11:36 AM
londongeology.bsky.social
Here’s the info for our free, guided walk to Hainault Forest Park with #LondonNaturalHistorySociety on 20 September. Please register at the email in the flyer (or alt text) if you want to join us
#londongeology
Geotrail around Hainault Forest Country Park 20 September 2025 Start at 11am Guided jointly by the London Geodiversity Partnership and London Natural History Society Romford Road, Chigwell, IG7 4QN Meet: Global Cafe [TQ 4767 9264) opposite first car park, or by bus from Romford or Grange Hill stations (all details will sent to those booking). Hainault Forest Country Park is a public park that shows the geomorphology of the underlying geology – largely the Claygate Member capping the London Clay. We shall also see the Bagshot Formation and some till, with head in the valley. They all have distinctive features that affect the geomorphology and the flora and fauna of the area. The Lake and the visitor centre are between 50m and 60m with Cabin Hill (c90m) to the north and Dog Kennel Hill (c80m) to the south. There is evidence of the Anglian glaciation with the deposit of sandy and clayey till with chalk and flint. Hainault Forest is a Metropolitan SINC (Site of Importance for Nature Conservation), which is a fine example of old wood pasture and ancient woodland. It is also a SSSI that extends into Essex. The Country Park is a Borough SINC and both areas share similar species of rare birds, rare invertebrates and locally uncommon plants. The walk is free but please register with the London Geodiversity Partnership at geotrail@londongeopartnership.org.uk Further details and a Risk Assessment will be sent nearer the time
August 29, 2025 at 10:24 AM
londongeology.bsky.social
A recce for our free public walk for #EarthScienceWeek looking at the landscape and geology of Hainault Forest Park. The walk will take place on 20th September - watch this space for more info! #londongeology
People walking up a hill, away from the Hainault Forest Park visitor centre, which is in the background of the photo. Fallen trees in a dry stream bed. Upturned trees can reveal the underlying geology in their root balls. A photo of a forest with a meandering stream cutting through it. People walking towards the photographer along a gravel path in parkland.
August 27, 2025 at 7:08 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
A couple of photos from our walk today for #inspirallondon led by myself & fellow LGP member @gaildickerson.bsky.social. The walk - Rivers, Reservoirs, Ice &Sea - looked at the geology and colours in the landscape in East London. We walked from Forest Gate E7 to Wood Street E17 #londongeology
Starting the walk on Wanstead Flats - the photo shows a view looking north, our direction of travel, with a gravel path heading towards woodland in the distance The monolithic twin tower blocks on Leyton Flats Looking at swatches of colours made from earths and oak galls at the end of the walk A close up of the colour swatches mainly showing the ones made by Gail and representing the geology of the London basin
August 16, 2025 at 6:15 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
Paternoster Square was once a really nice piazza in the City of London. Today it’s full of clutter, sheds and poor quality public art #walklondon
A view of Paternoster Square ruined by sheds, stalls and unattractive tv system and naff sculptures
June 27, 2025 at 9:39 AM
londongeology.bsky.social
A few photos from our recent field trip along the River Ravensbourne looking at the results of cleaning and naturalising the river and flood management #riversoflondon #lonfonrivers #londongeology
The team standing on a bridge over the river A white egret - wildlife is thriving on the river Artist Gail Dickerson describes her work to the group whilst standing on the riverbank A view of the confluence of the Pool and the Ravensbourne
June 2, 2025 at 4:58 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
An ancient forest at Tripcock Ness in the London Borough of Greenwich. Well-preserved tree stumps and other plant material emerge from clay and silt. The forest is probably at least 3,000 years old. Read more at londongeopartnership.org.uk/wp/wp-conten... #londongeology
A view of the River Thames foreshore at Tripcock Ness. Tree stumps and trunks can be seen emerging from the mud.
May 21, 2025 at 9:18 AM
londongeology.bsky.social
The #urbangeology of London’s war memorials ruthsiddall.co.uk/Walks/WarMem... #veday80 #veday
The display of ceramic poppies in the moat area of the Tower of London in 2014. The usually grassy and green moat area is red due to the mass of poppies. The castle walls rise behind them. On the left crowds of people are standing looking at the display.
May 8, 2025 at 9:03 AM
londongeology.bsky.social
Living in a London Chalk quarry! Park Hill Chalk pit in Carshalton. This flinty chalk was burned for lime and knapped flints were used to face nearby cottages. More at londongeopartnership.org.uk/wp/wp-conten...
A substantial cliff face of white Chalk, the remains of an abandoned quarry, stands at the end of a row of mid 20th century residential flats and their garden.
May 3, 2025 at 7:47 AM
londongeology.bsky.social
Lesnes Abbey Woods has varied geology and fantastic fossils and is a great day out. It’s also easy to get to on the Elizabeth Line. Download our leaflet and map at londongeopartnership.org.uk/informationb...
A geological map of Lesnes Abbey Woods in SE London showing the succession of Chalk, Thanet Sands, Lambeth Group and Blackheath Formation.
April 24, 2025 at 7:28 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
One of the best photos illustrating Ice Age London. These are ice wedge polygons seen as crop marks during the dry summer of 1976. They formed during the Devensian glacial maximum at 50 ka. Located at Whalebone Lane, Romford #londongeology #iceagelondon londongeopartnership.org.uk/wp/wp-conten...
A black and white air photo of fields north of the A127 road. A polygonal network of dark lines covers the fields appearing like very large mud cracks. These cracks were formed by ice wedges during the long Devensian winters which thawed briefly during the Summer and collected clay and gravel. These cracks cracks enlarged each year.
April 15, 2025 at 8:58 AM
londongeology.bsky.social
A shout out for the exhibition Earth Unwrapped at Pangolin London which features work by Maja Quille who is one of several artists LGP collaborates with. It’s on until mid June #londongeology
A flyer for the exhibition Earth Unwrapped. The text reads: With preoccupations spanning the vast to the particular, and materials ranging from Otjize pigment from Namibia to fifty million year old London clay, this exhibition will coincide with Kings Place Music Foundation’s 2025 festival of the same name to spark questions about, and wonder for, Earth. Featured artists include Julie Brook, Jon Buck, Zachary Eastwood-Bloom, Andy Holden, Paul Huxley, Peter Oloya, Angela Palmer, Maja Quille and Sean Alec Auld. The exhibition runs until 15 June 2025 Wed - Sat 10 am - 6 pm Pangolin London Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG www.pangolin.co.uk
April 14, 2025 at 6:50 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
Did you know that there is a small fossil forest in London’s Regent’s Park? These petrified tree stumps were brought here, probably at some time in the late 19th Century from the Purbeck beds on the Isle of Portland. Read more here londongeopartnership.org.uk/wp/wp-conten... #londongeology
A set of photos showing the fossil tree stumps in Regent’s Park and an algal ‘burr’, also from the Purbeck Group strata which would have once surrounded a tree stump. There is also a view of one of the areas displaying fossil tree stumps landscaped with ferns and tree ferns.
April 10, 2025 at 8:22 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
If you like this account please do give it a share! We are really struggling to get engagement on this platform. London’s geology is more varied than you think and we are here to spread the word, look after and promote London’s geosites #londongeology
A series of photos from Gilbert’s Pit in Charlton. A pair of hands holds a slab of the Woolwich Shell Bed, an iron oxide rich clay packed with white fossil shells A series of photos from Gilbert’s Pit in Charlton. The Blackheath Beds, pavked with well rounded, black flint pebbles forms the top of the section at Gilbert’s Pit
April 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
A new stone circle is being constructed at Bulls Lodge Quarry in Essex using boulders and erratics from the ancestral Thames travels. Follow their progress on Instagram @boreham_stone_circle. I can see some Hertfordshire Puddingstone being manoeuvred into position! #thamesgeology #londongeology
April 7, 2025 at 3:52 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
This exposure in Hornchurch Railway Cutting marks the most southerly extent of ice during the Ice Age. The 450 ka Hornchurch Till - grey, chalky & rich in erratic Jurassic fossils, is overlain by Black Park gravels deposited by the Thames #LondonGeology londongeopartnership.org.uk/wp/wp-conten...
A photo of a trench cut across sloping ground - the side of a railway cutting in Hornchurch, East London. Two spades lie at the lower part of the trench. The trench exposes a grey coloured muddy sediment in the lower part - the glacial till - which is overlain by rusty orange brown sediments - river gravels - in the upper part of the trench. This photo is from an excavation in the cutting in 1983.
April 4, 2025 at 9:31 AM
londongeology.bsky.social
And whilst at Somerset House, it’s mandatory to check out the fantastic orthocones in the Öland Limestone paving! Orthocones are squid like creatures which had long, conical shells #urbangeology
LGP members pointing out fossils in the red and grey limestone chequer board paving at Somerset House. A detail of one of the red paving slabs showing a circular fossil feature which is a cross-section through an orthocone. A smaller longitudinal section through an orthocone is also present. A slab of grey limestone with syneresis cracks which make random pattern on the stone. The slab is also cut by a calcite vein and a fossil orthocone is visible.
March 28, 2025 at 6:48 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
We had an LGP team trip to the exhibition ‘Soil: a World at our feet’ today. A highly recommended experience! It’s at Somerset House. If you can, you should go. Photo details in the alt text #soil #somersethouse
A series of paintings by Herman de Vries showing pigments made from ochreous sediments. There are 40 paintings arranged in a square, which is 8 frames x 6. Each frame contains a swatch of earth pigment. A still from an installation by Wim Van Egmond titled Soil in Action. I’m not exactly sure what the image is but I think it is fungal mycelium and spores. Delicate, transparent tendrils and bubble like structures are seen against a brown background. Another still from Wim van Egmond’s installation showing roots penetrating soil. An installation by Jo Pearl called Oddkin. The sculpture features various three-dimensional shapes which evoke microbial life forms are fashioned in clay which is coloured either orange, white or grey. These ceramic forms are suspended from wires and lit so that they cast black shadows on the brown background
March 28, 2025 at 6:29 PM
londongeology.bsky.social
Join us for a geological walk along the River Ravensbourne in #Geoweek - Saturday 24 May 2025. Detail in the flyer and Alt text below #londongeology
Poster for the geological walk. Text reads: Ramble around the River Ravensbourne Saturday 24 May 10.30am – 4.30pm (approx.) Meet at the Ravensbourne Station entrance on Crab Hill. Trains to Ravensbourne are every 30 minutes; the 9.07 from St Pancras (9.16 at Blackfriars) will get to Ravensbourne on time. The London Geodiversity Partnership has developed a 6 kilometre (3¾ mile) Geological Trail south to north from Ravensbourne through Beckenham Place Park to Catford along the Ravensbourne and Pool Rivers. On the way we will examine the 55 million year old cemented Blackheath pebbles in Beckenham Place Park and discuss the other rocks that underlie the routes of the Ravensbourne and its tributary, the Pool River. We will look for clues in the landscape and discuss geology seen in the distance at various points. We shall walk alongside the Ravensbourne, looking at the improvements to naturalise the river, discussing the new flood prevention scheme and the changing geomorphology of the river. We shall stop at the Homestead Café in Beckenham Place Park for lunch, then walk via the streets to the Pool River near Lower Sydenham. Thence along the Waterlink Way to the confluence of the two rivers, and a further 600m to the end of our walk at Catford. The walk is free but it would be helpful to inform us if you wish to come along: geotrail@londongeopartnership.org.uk
March 27, 2025 at 10:42 AM
londongeology.bsky.social
Hollow Pond on Leyton Flats was once a gravel pit in the Hoxnian Boyne Hill Gravels. In situ, ochreous gravels with iron cemented ferricrete horizons can be seen on the S shore of the pond #londongeology londongeopartnership.org.uk/wp/wp-conten...
Photos of the orange coloured, iron rich gravels with flint pebbles and seams of mottled grey clays on the south side of the pond. Map of Hollow Ponds and Leyton Flats showing the location in red double-dashed lines of the in situ gravels.
March 26, 2025 at 8:51 AM