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SITES TO VISIT
OTHER SITES OF GEOLOGICAL INTEREST
Saffron Walden
Of the dozens of quarries in the Upper Chalk that used to exist in the
north-west of the county only a few are still visible. Numerous glacial
erratics are situated in the grounds of Saffron Walden Museum, including
a three tonne septarian nodule. Large quantities of clunch have been used
in the interior of St. Mary's church.
West of Saffron Walden is Audley End House (owned by English Heritage)
where there is a sarsen stone opposite the entrance gates. In the grounds
of the house on the Tea House Bridge is a fine Jurassic septarian nodule
sliced in half and used as a table. Inside the house is a nineteenth century
collection of minerals and fossils which includes a mammoth tusk collected
nearby in 1832.
Further west, at Catmere End, a very large sarsen stone sits in the long
grass by the crossroads at TL 497388.
Stanway
In Stanway churchyard is the grave of the most famous Essex geologist,
John Brown (1780-1859), whose collection of nearly 8,000 specimens was
bequeathed to the Natural History Museum.
South Woodham Ferrers (TQ 813986)
Bushy Hill to the north of the town is of London Clay capped by Claygate
Beds with landslips on the southern and western slopes. There are fine
views from the summit with the Bagshot Beds hills of Rayleigh to the south
and the Langdon Hills to the south-west. Less than a kilometre (half a
mile) north of here is an isolated patch of boulder clay which indicates
that a lobe of ice from the Anglian ice sheet briefly penetrated beyond
Hanningfield to this point. To the east is a typical London Clay landscape.
Takeley
Between Takeley and Bishop's Stortford lies Hatfield Forest, 1,100 acres
of medieval woodland owned by the National Trust. On the edge of the lake
are a number of erratic boulders including a fine puddingstone. These
were no doubt discovered when the lake was created in about 1750.
Wanstead
All the terraces of the present Thames have provided London with flat
land for development. The 'Flats' of East London are good examples of
terrace surfaces; Wanstead Flats is a part of one of the middle terraces,
Leyton Flats a fragment of the high terrace.
Wendens Ambo
On the bend of the main road opposite the church is a high, ancient wall
which is remarkable for the variety of local rocks used in its construction,
including many large boulders. A sarsen stone can be seen by the entrance
to Audley End railway station.
West Tilbury (TQ 656778)
The ridge of high ground between West Tilbury and Chadwell St. Mary is
a high terrace of the present Thames and from here there is a view south
over the Tilbury Marshes. The high point known as Broom Hill or Gun Hill
is a rich habitat for animals and plants and adjacent to the road is a
disused gravel pit with a small section through terrace gravels.
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