Geology is taking a break over the summer, but will be back in October 2025.
From October 2025 there will be two Geology Groups; Introduction to Geology on alternate Monday mornings and Continuing Geology on Wednesday mornings. Further details in their own section.
Here is a taste of what has been happening in Geology over the past three years:.
Summer 2025
Fortnightly outings starting on Wednesday 30 April, various times and locations
30 April - Wakehurst Place
14 May - Lewes Town Walk
28 May - Skelton Workshop
11 June - Eridge Rocks
25 June - Lewes Town Walk
9 July - Eastbourne cliffs (Afternoon)
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Spring 2025
Five fortnightly meetings starting on Wednesday 15th January, 10 - 12 in the Linklater Pavilion
15 January - Pett Level - Mike Robson
29 January - Ice Age Giants - Roger Smith; A palaeontological trip to Morocco - Chris Roach
12 February - NO MEETING
26 February - Geology and Building Materials in East Sussex - Lindsay Frost; Venus - Mary Parker
12 March - Ophiolites and the geology of Cyprus - Norman Moles
26 March - Pigments - Hilary Golden
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Autumn 2024
Five fortnightly meetings starting on Wednesday 9th October, 10 - 12 in the Linklater Pavilion
9 October - Sea Ice and Ice Cores
23 October - Ancient Rocks and Radioisotope dating
6 November - The 2024 Field Trips
20 November - Map Reading and Geology in the News
4 December - Milankovitch Cycles and Climate change
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Summer 2024
10 April Soils of Sussex in Linklater Pavilion
24 April Geological Timescales - How are geological periods defined?
8 May Skelton Workshop - Introduction to Stone Sculpting
22 May Cuckfield and Whitemans Green
8 June Pett Level
23 - 27 September 2024 - Residential Field trip to FSC Slapton Ley, South Devon
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Spring 2024
Linklater Pavilion 10.00 - 12.00
17th and 31st January, 28th February, 13th and 27th March 2024 - talks by members of the group on topics as varied as the Wren's Nest SSSI in Dudley, the Kent Coalfield, geohazards, geodiversity, magma, the planet Mercury and 2023 field trip to Shropshire.
14th February visit to Hastings Museum to see the geology collection.
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Autumn 2023
11 October Limestones, with Hilary Golden
25 October Evolution and Extinction of Ammonites, with Bob Chandler
8 November Mudstone, Sandstone and Conglomerate
22 November Geology through museum specimens, with Philip Hadland
29 Nov and 6 Dec Museum guided tour starting at 11am in Hastings Museum**
6 December Pot Luck in the Linklater for those not on the Hastings Trip
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Summer 2023
19th April – Geodiversity in Sussex - Peter Anderton of the Sussex Geodiversity Partnership. Linklater Pavilion 10 – 12.
26th April – Skelton Workshops: U3A Geology Group have-a-go at stone carving at the Skelton Workshops The Skelton Workshops are located in part of a large modern barn at the Artelium Wine Estate vineyard in Streat. As the Downs rise above the Lewes/Ditchling road (B2116) on one side, on the other is a complex of sometimes deep-set, winding lanes which criss-cross the beautiful old Sussex countryside. Once you finally find your way to Artelium, the setting is open and very quiet - apart from the insistent, but very small tapping of metal on stone. The workshop space is large and very airy (almost open to the elements in fact) - so dusty air is never a problem. Students (usually around 10) work on chunky “bankers”, small but very solid, square-ish wooden benches - designed so that you can get all-around your work at a convenient height. A few students work on letter carving, against vertical easels on the end wall of the barn. Our talk was given to us by U3A Geology student, Peter Haynes who, like me, attends the Skelton Workshop once a week, for what I think of as therapy and morning off the normal trials and tribulations of life. Stone carving is, in fact, completely absorbing and very relaxing. There i s no repetitive strain on the wrists or shoulder or back-breaking walloping - just the gentle tap of the hammer and chisel on stone.Peter, who studied Geology at university some years ago, introduced us to a table-full of samples of the rock types commonly used for sculpting and letter carving at Skelton. These are mainly sedimentary rocks (mostly limestones) and metamorphic rocks (mostly “serpentines” ). Igneous rocks (like granites) are too hard to carve easily with hand tools, due to their high quartz content, and densely packed crystals. This quality is used to advantage of course, in kerb stones and setts/cobbles and in the building materials of Aberdeen for example. It was explained that the naming of rocks can be confusing as its often linked to a location rather than the rock’s geology. Quarries are usually of rocky outcrops rather than of deeply set seams. At the surface, the rock is seldom homogenous and may vary in hardness - all issues for the stone carver. Softer rocks are less dense - they have been subjected to less temperature and pressure over time. So marble for example is a hard metamorphic rock whereas soapstone is a very soft one. The problem with soft stone is that it weathers very easily - and all your hard work washes away if you leave your carving outside. Peter explained that the limestones we use occur mostly from the Jurassic period in geological time (at least 150million years old). Metamorphic rocks (like the Zimbabwe serpentines used at Skelton) are mined from the GreatDyke which lies within a crater dated 2.5million years old. After explaining more geological details about the different rocks on show, the geology students were invited to “have a go” at carving. They were given small chunks of soapstone, as this is the softest stone and easiest to get a result quickly. Students all enjoyed the process and some said that they would join the taster-day offered at Skelton in the summer. The morning was a great success, yet another exciting summer term activity included in this busy and fascinating U3A course. John Skelton (1923-1999) was a nephew of the renowned stone mason Eric Gill of Ditchling. John was apprenticed first to Gill then to Joseph Cribb of Ditchling. His extensive body of work includes many displays of commemorative work on buildings, and in churches and many cathedrals throughout the country. There is an example of his work in Lewes Grange Gardens called Janus.
10th May – Bexhill cliffs and museum
24th May – Dorking (Box Hill walk) also......... visit to Southerham Quarry, Lewes
7th June – Nick Hawes Mineral Collection
21st June – Boat Trip from Newhaven; also......... visit to Southerham Quarry, Lewes
4-8 September - Residential Field Trip to FSC Preston Montford, Shropshire (Geology 2)